Driven by the belief that economic inequality and declining wages will be vital issues in 2016, O'Malley has adopted a platform that resonates with much of Sen. Elizabeth Warren's (D-Mass.) populist plan to help the middle class. He was candid, for example, in his criticism of Democrats who have acquiesced to the Republican talking point that Social Security is driving the deficit.
"There's been a myth pushed that what's wrong with our country is entitlements," he said. "I think we do need to expand Social Security, and I think we need to be unabashed about it." O'Malley further cited Warren's boldness as the reason she connects with so many voters, saying, "I think that people have been responding to Senator Warren because of the clarity with which she speaks to the rigging of the system."
Though he did record an impressive number of progressive achievements in two terms as governor — overseeing the passage of marriage equality, banning assault weapons, ending the death penalty, raising the minimum wage and enacting a state version of the Dream Act — his more sharply framed populist message seems as though it was tailor-made for these times and this campaign.
Yet O'Malley does not seem like a natural economic populist. In conversation, he comes across as calm and measured, more comfortable with statistics than fiery political rhetoric. He is every bit the technocratic manager known for tackling crime in Baltimore using data and sometimes described as a "nerd."
That approach likely contributed to O'Malley's success as an executive, but it's unclear that his technocratic impulses can get traction in a campaign where passion may be vital to mobilizing the base. And with populist movements and activism on the rise, it remains to be seen how O'Malley's emphasis on a "politics of inclusion and connection" will play among voters who have seen virtually all of the gains from the recovery captured by the top 1 percent.
Driven by the belief that economic inequality and declining wages will be vital issues in 2016, O'Malley has adopted a platform that resonates with much of Sen. Elizabeth Warren's (D-Mass.) populist plan to help the middle class. He was candid, for example, in his criticism of Democrats who have acquiesced to the Republican talking point that Social Security is driving the deficit.
"There's been a myth pushed that what's wrong with our country is entitlements," he said. "I think we do need to expand Social Security, and I think we need to be unabashed about it." O'Malley further cited Warren's boldness as the reason she connects with so many voters, saying, "I think that people have been responding to Senator Warren because of the clarity with which she speaks to the rigging of the system."
Though he did record an impressive number of progressive achievements in two terms as governor — overseeing the passage of marriage equality, banning assault weapons, ending the death penalty, raising the minimum wage and enacting a state version of the Dream Act — his more sharply framed populist message seems as though it was tailor-made for these times and this campaign.
Yet O'Malley does not seem like a natural economic populist. In conversation, he comes across as calm and measured, more comfortable with statistics than fiery political rhetoric. He is every bit the technocratic manager known for tackling crime in Baltimore using data and sometimes described as a "nerd."
That approach likely contributed to O'Malley's success as an executive, but it's unclear that his technocratic impulses can get traction in a campaign where passion may be vital to mobilizing the base. And with populist movements and activism on the rise, it remains to be seen how O'Malley's emphasis on a "politics of inclusion and connection" will play among voters who have seen virtually all of the gains from the recovery captured by the top 1 percent.
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