Presidential candidate Martin O'Malley discusses plans for ISIS at Decorah campaign stop.
'The coffee was brewing at Java John's Coffee Shop in Decorah, Iowa, but it wasn't the caffeine that had the room of Iowa voters buzzing.
From on top of a restaurant booth bench, former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley began his stump speech.
"It's great to be a voice for change, but it's even more important to actually accomplish that change,” he said.
O'Malley trails behind the other two Democratic presidential candidates, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, in the polls. But he says that doesn't necessarily mean he'll lose the Iowa caucus in just 75 days.
Monday, his intimate coffee shop stop in Decorah might sway some vital voters. He focused largely on domestic issues, citing his successes as Baltimore Mayor and, later, Maryland Governor.
It's a message that speaks to voters like Deborah Bishop.
“I understand that he agrees with the other candidates on almost everything, but I really like the way that he was able to get these things done in Maryland,” said Bishop.
O'Malley says in five years, he can institute debt-free college, and he supports a 15 dollar minimum wage.
He also supports clean energy; an issue Iowans have kept an ear to.
Ryan Hall, a Michigan native who is new to Decorah, was the first to ask the candidate a question. “If the energy companies come to your office saying they want our local money to head to Wall Street, what will you say to them?"
His concerns stem from the massive amount of solar energy harnessed in Decorah. Hall also said immigration issues speak to Iowa voters, especially in Decorah and nearby Postville.
Talking immigration, O'Malley didn't hesitate to throw a quick dagger at Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
"So let that immigrant-bashing carnival barker Donald Trump speak to the fear within us, I'm going to speak to the goodness because the enduring symbol of our country is not the barbed wire fence, it is the Statue of Liberty,” he said.
Following terror attacks in Paris, O'Malley was asked tough international security questions.
In a one-on-one interview with NewsCenter's Devin Bartolotta, he said he has a plan.
“Our first priority has to be to defeat ISIL. We have an opportunity I believe to get the Russians to be part of a large coalition that includes NATO and many other nations in that region to do that. We should be a part of that,” he said.
The threat of ISIS cannot be contained with solely brute force in a new age of warfare, he said.
"What we need is a new national security strategy that is better at identifying threats earlier and taking action with other nations to reduce those threats,” said O'Malley.
But as the coffee and questions flowed, what few expected was for O'Malley to put on a show. Borrowing a guitar from the audience, O'Malley belted out The Iowa Walz, and had the whole crowd singing along.
It was a direct serenade that spoke directly to voters, with the big song for his campaign in just 75 days. See the video in the tweet below:'
http://www.kttc.com/story/30526654/2015/11/16/presidential-candidate-martin-omalley-discusses-plans-for-isis-at-decorah-campaign-stop