Gazette editorial: The interesting candidate you haven’t heard about.
In the Democratic race for president, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley isn’t just trailing — he’s invisible. Only 2 percent of Americans know his name. In one Iowa poll, he got zero support. O’Malley jokes about his low standing, saying he likes “tough odds.”
It’s too bad that more Americans don’t hear of him, because O’Malley stands for many humane, practical, decent values that appeal to people. He puts his humanitarian Catholic beliefs into action.
For example, he says America should take in 65,000 of the desperate Syrian war refugees who are overwhelming Europe. His proposal greatly exceeds the 10,000 goal of President Obama. O’Malley told MSNBC:
“The strength of our country depends on our acting in accordance with our deepest principles. And one of those very, very deep principles — and it’s taught in every world religion — is that thou shall be kind to strangers, particularly when they are fleeing death or famine … . We have to act like the good and generous and compassionate people we are.”
While he was Maryland governor, he signed a bill abolishing the barbaric death penalty.
He also is sensible and thoughtful on the subject of immigration. As a governor, he signed a law making children of illegal immigrants — whom he calls “new Americans” — eligible for in-state college tuition.
On America’s gun violence, he proposes practical solutions to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. O’Malley calls his crusade against gun murders his top priority. He wrote a CNN commentary saying: “For far too long, Democrats have been too afraid to stand up to the gun lobby.”
He drafted a plan to require background checks for all gun purchases. “And every person seeking to purchase or transfer a gun would have to obtain a fingerprint-based license, including completing safety training and a waiting period,” he wrote. “Without such protections, it will remain far too easy for criminals to legally buy guns.”
And on economic issues, in an interview with NPR earlier this year, O’Malley criticized the largely Republican recipe of deregulation, holding down wages and concentrating wealth.
“Our theory as Democrats and as the longer arc of our story as Americans is that we believe that a stronger middle class is actually the cause of economic growth,” O’Malley said. “What ails our economy right now is 12 years of stagnant or declining wages, and we need to fix this.”
Although his campaign is gaining little traction, O’Malley brings up important issues — and solutions — that would be good for the nation.
http://www.wvgazettemail.com/article/20150916/GZ04/150919689/1455
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