Candid O'Malley Debate Preview - Grilled by Iowa Press
Democratic presidential candidate Martin O'Malley citing his record as Maryland's Governor as a model for national leadership. A conversation with Martin O'Malley on this edition of Iowa Press.
Borg: Martin O'Malley knows government. And he does it by the eights. Eight years on Baltimore, Maryland's City Council, another eight as the city's two-term Mayor and then another eight as the state's Governor. And he is now hoping to spend eight in the White House. Campaigning for the democratic nomination he is repeatedly citing what he sees as progressively leading Maryland as a template for how he'd lead the nation. Governor O'Malley, welcome back to Iowa Press...
Henderson: Bernie Sanders wasn't exactly a household name in Iowa and he has catapulted himself into a competitive position with Secretary Clinton here. Why him and not you?
O'Malley: Well I think in the opening rounds of this presidential selection process that in both parties in our search for a new leader I believe that voters gravitated to those candidates that most firmly repudiated the establishment. And in the Republican Party that candidate was Donald Trump. And in our party it has been Bernie Sanders. But what people say to me whenever I'm in Iowa after they have come out and kindly heard what I have to offer and the vision for a future where our economy works for all of us again, people say I'm glad to know we have an alternative. I've never heard of you before. I'm glad I came out today. So that tells me people are shopping. People are looking for a new leader. And neither party ever nominates angry.
Lynch: Talking about the debates coming up on Tuesday night, David Axelrod, who is one of the architects of Barack Obama's success, said he expects you to provide the fireworks Tuesday night. He said, you're so far into asterisk land that unless you do something to light things up they're going to write you out of the script. So what sort of fireworks do you have in mind? Bottle rockets? M-80s?
O'Malley: I like David Axelrod but I think sometimes we all get ahead of ourselves in these things. I know for people that have been following this race for a long time this may look like the final two minutes of the game but I think this was actually the opening kickoff. So I'm looking forward to a debate where we actually discuss the ideas, like debt free college, raising the minimum wage, making wages go up rather than down, paying overtime pay for overtime work. I'm looking forward to a debate about the ideas that people care about around their kitchen table because, let's be honest, our country has come a long way since the Bush crash of 2008. We're creating jobs again. But our country doesn't work very well when 70% of us are earning the same or less than we did ten years ago. So we still have work to do. And people will be looking at the democratic candidates and what they have to offer. They've heard the republican candidates. Nothing new here. Double down on trickle-down economics.
Lynch: This is your chance to make a first impression then. So do you have to step it up?
O'Malley: I think the very fact that we're going out on that stage is a big step up. I am the only candidate on that stage who will be able to point to fifteen years of executive experience, actually pulling people together to get difficult things done, things that many of the other candidates will only be able to talk about, whether it was making college more affordable, making our schools number one, passing a living wage, passing comprehensive gun safety legislation, Dream Act, marriage equality. These are all things that I've gotten done. They were actions, they weren't words, and that is what people are looking for right now.
Borg: I can't pass up the opportunity to continue that football analogy that you said kickoff. If that's true and if you have to make the impression that Jim said here, what issue is it you're going to use to kick off all the way back for a touchdown?
O'Malley: You know, really, Dean, it's about getting things done. The two phrases I hear all across Iowa and all across our country are the phrases new leadership and getting things done.
Borg: But other candidates don't have that? Is that what you say differentiates you?
O'Malley: I believe it does. If you look at the other candidates there is no one else on that stage who will have fifteen years of executive experience as a big city mayor and as a governor. So as we talk about things like criminal justice reform or affordable college, I've actually done these things. And so my proposals have that air of credibility to them.
Borg: Let me take you to an issue here. Trans Pacific Partnership, TPP. It is at the edge of the news right now. In fact, your position opposing that puts you in direct opposition to a sitting democratic President. What do you know that he doesn't?
O'Malley: Well I think we have to learn from the mistakes of our past. I think NAFTA was a huge mistake for us. As a country we lost a lot of jobs, caused a lot of displacement. I was in Newton today where you used to have all sorts of people employed at Maytag and that is no more. First it moved to Mexico, then the jobs moved to China. So I believe we need to build up our own economy. I came out, by the way, Dean, against the Trans Pacific Partnership eight months ago. On the eve of the debate Secretary Clinton apparently has changed her position after advocating for it before and now she says that she is also against it. There are aspects of this deal like the ability of multinational corporations to actually sue our government to evade labor standards, to evade environmental standards and all of this is a blind rush for cheaper labor abroad. I don't think that helps our country. Another distinguishing issue will be Wall Street reform and which of us actually has the independence to take on the big mega banks who are gambling on Wall Street. We're all still on the hook for it. We haven't completed our promise that we gave to people that we would rein in that sort of reckless behavior so it wouldn't happen again. People want a president who will be on their side in these fights not somebody that follows polls.
Henderson: Clinton is now on your side on this issue -- your indictment is --
O'Malley: Which one?
Henderson: Hillary Clinton on the TPP.
O'Malley: She has changed on a few issues. Keystone Pipeline was another one.
Henderson: So now that she is against that as well as the TPP are you suggesting that her positions are unsure, that people should look at them askance?
O'Malley: What I'm saying is that in all of my years of executive service, executive leadership, I have always understood where I stood. I understood the important principles that unite us as a people. I don't believe -- I think there's a big difference between leading, between forging a new consensus and following a poll. And I believe that what people are tired of in politics as usual are candidates that won't be straight with us, that won't tell us what the problem is, what the solution set is, unless it is poll tested and the focus groups tell us it's okay.
Henderson: So you think she's not being straight with Americans?
O'Malley: I think that in my experience I have always been straight with people, even on very difficult issues involving criminal justice, public safety. When I ran for Mayor of Baltimore in 1999 it wasn't because our city was doing well. We had to turn that around. And that's the sort of leadership that I think people want. And I believe that Secretary Clinton can come on this show and answer for herself why she shifted her positions on so many issues over the course of these last few months. I was against Trans Pacific Partnership eight months ago. I was against Keystone eight months ago. I have put out the most comprehensive plan for Wall Street reform that also calls for reinstating Glass-Steagall so we're not all on the hook for bailing out the mega banks when their bets go bad. She has yet to come to that position but I'm hopeful she will. I hope we forge a new consensus on this stage for any number of issues and that's what a campaign should be about. But it's also about leadership, it's about who has the ability to actually step up and do the difficult things that need to be done regardless of whether they're popular.
read more/watch entire interview - 28mins: http://www.iptv.org/iowapress/episode.cfm/4306/video/ip_20151009_4306
= new reply since forum marked as read
I can't wait to see him in the dabate. 
For people that have been following this race for a long time this may look like the final two minutes of the game but I think this was actually the opening kickoff. So I'm looking forward to a debate where we actually discuss the ideas. . .
I think the very fact that we're going out on that stage is a big step up. . .
Well I think we have to learn from the mistakes of our past. I think NAFTA was a huge mistake for us. As a country we lost a lot of jobs, caused a lot of displacement. I was in Newton today where you used to have all sorts of people employed at Maytag and that is no more. . .
There are aspects of this deal like the ability of multinational corporations to actually sue our government to evade labor standards, to evade environmental standards and all of this is a blind rush for cheaper labor abroad. I don't think that helps our country. . .
Henderson: Clinton is now on your side on this issue -- your indictment is --
O'Malley: Which one?
Henderson: Hillary Clinton on the TPP.
O'Malley: She has changed on a few issues. Keystone Pipeline was another one.
Henderson: So now that she is against that as well as the TPP are you suggesting that her positions are unsure, that people should look at them askance?
O'Malley: What I'm saying is that in all of my years of executive service, executive leadership, I have always understood where I stood. . .
I have always been straight with people, even on very difficult issues involving criminal justice, public safety. When I ran for Mayor of Baltimore in 1999 it wasn't because our city was doing well. We had to turn that around. And that's the sort of leadership that I think people want. And I believe that Secretary Clinton can come on this show and answer for herself why she shifted her positions on so many issues over the course of these last few months. I was against Trans Pacific Partnership eight months ago. I was against Keystone eight months ago. I have put out the most comprehensive plan for Wall Street reform that also calls for reinstating Glass-Steagall so we're not all on the hook for bailing out the mega banks when their bets go bad. She has yet to come to that position but I'm hopeful she will. I hope we forge a new consensus on this stage for any number of issues and that's what a campaign should be about. But it's also about leadership, it's about who has the ability to actually step up and do the difficult things that need to be done regardless of whether they're popular.'
