Martin O’Malley, former mayor of Baltimore and Governor of Maryland, is scheduled to announce his candidacy for President today. As a citizen of Maryland, and a former Republican nominee for Baltimore City Council President, I have had a unique view of the rise to power of the guitar playing, muscle T-shirt wearing uber-politician and I am not surprised in the least he is making this leap.
At first glance, his candidacy seems to be a ploy to position himself for 2020 should Hillary lose the general election, or worse case scenario, a position as a Cabinet Secretary to build up his credentials for a future run. However, O’Malley had a history of pulling off improbable victories beginning with how he became Mayor of Baltimore.
O’Malley, a two-term city councilman, entered the race for mayor as the only white candidate in a city dominated by African-Americans. His primary opponents included City Council President Lawrence Bell and several other notable politicos. No one expected O’Malley to win but he made the most of a crowded field to split the African-American vote to win the Democratic primary. MOM sensed an opportunity and used it to get what he wanted.
Most political writers and operatives may consider Martin O’Malley comic relief, or as the above SNL video references him – a Simpsons character, but O’Malley has proved himself to have a nose for opportunity and tends to make the most out of them. It begs to wonder if MOM knows something which may cause the Hillary coronation to implode right before the unbelieving eyes of the Democratic Party faithful.
As a former city resident who has lived through the aftermath of the riots caused in part to his policing strategies, and a Marylander who has forked out excessive amounts of money in fees and even a “RAIN TAX” under his time as governor, I can’t imagine a worse candidate for President of the United States. However, I do not vote in Democratic Party primaries. If Hillary implodes, and O’Malley is the only who had the nerve to challenge her from the progressive faction of the party, he may be the only candidate left standing.
Faculty, Department of Political Science, Towson University. Graduate from Liberty University Seminary.