Let me say this - Choosing between O'Malley and Sanders

[Aerows]

Is an embarrassment of riches. I haven't seen two better people run for President in my lifetime.

Neither of them mince words, and say what needs to be said. Bernie called Charleston on the racist motivation that it was. O'Malley steps up to the plate, too, but hasn't gotten enough airplay, imho.

These are two fantastic people that could lead our country into a future that isn't owned by crony capitalism.

I still lean Bernie, though, because he has had 40 years to be the wealthy insider on the Senate and still held firm principles. He is exactly as financially prosperous as he was before he was elected.

He didn't take bribes, use insider information, and hip check corporations in exchange for votes.

That alone should make him noteworthy and refreshingly honest.

O'Malley is genuine as well, and I like him. I don't have as much information on him, but I am mightily encouraged by his stances. He served the state of Maryland well by all accounts as its Executive, and that experience speaks toward his leadership.

[Kalidurga]

1. I feel the same way I would be comfortable voting for either one.

I will campaign for Bernie. But, if I don't get to vote for him I will vote for O'Malley assuming one or the other is on the primary ballot.

[Aerows]

8. It's early days in the campaign season

I don't mind saying I like them both, though. I hope that doesn't make me a traitor to both camps!

[TM99]

2. Sanders is my first choice, and O'Malley is my second.

If it comes down to HRC as a choice in the primary or in the general, I won't be voting Democratic.

[Juicy_Bellows]

3. Not sure if you intended my interpretation or not.

But I read it as even if you vote for Hillary you aren't voting Democratic.

[TM99]

5. That's a decent intrepretation

but inaccurate.

I am an independent. I don't have any loyalty for a party. If the Democratic party can get its shit together and get rid of the toxic neo-liberalism that has taken it over, by presenting a candidate like Sanders or O'Malley in the general, then yes, I and many like me will vote Democratic for the win.

I won't vote for Hillary Clinton ever.

[Juicy_Bellows]

6. That works for me. Thanks for replying to me I wasn't 100% certain!

I presented my interpretation that way because I tend to believe it is (mostly) true. I make no bones about being a Bernie supporter. I have never felt more energized to vote for a president in my life. I have had moments before where I was pretty excited. Obama definitely won me over in 08 - but my energy rapidly waned soon after his inauguration.

The two party system hasn't had one of it's own this exciting since I've been breathing. I know Bernie is technically an Independent but he is running as a Democrat and that is a wonderful thing. I am happy he went this way and not as a third party candidate, it is so refreshing.

[SaranchaIsWaiting]

4. I feel the same. We are blessed with those two.

I think I know Bernie a bit better now but am looking forward to learning more about O'Malley. Both are worthy of being called First Way Democrats.

[Aerows]

7. I agree

and welcome to DU, SaranchaIsWaiting.

[bigtree]

9. totally agree, Aerows

...Bernie Sanders has been a rarity in politics; an honest and principled legislator.

[Aerows]

10. Martin O'Malley

is rather awesome, too, though. He'll call bullshit plain and straight out.

[Vattel]

11. I trust Sanders way more than O'Malley

http://davidsimon.com/omalley-bad-math/

[Aerows]

13. I am not convinced by that article

I am convinced by the man himself and his public stances.

I think that is a hit piece, to be frank.

[Vattel]

16. I like a lot of O'Malley's public stances too.

But I am not about to pretend that his police sweeps and mass arrests as mayor were not awful policy.

[JonLP24]

18. From David Simon?

Believe O'Malley over David Simon? I'm not sure what the article says (but I'm certainly going to read it) but you can't expect David Simon to say anything else but the truth. I trust him way, way more than I can trust ANY politician.

His record on policing is quite clear though

---

The tensions date back at least to 1980, when the N.A.A.C.P. called for a federal investigation into police brutality, and continued into the past decade with a crime-fighting strategy known as “zero-tolerance policing” that led to mass arrests. Since 2010, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, just one Baltimore police officer has been prosecuted for killing a civilian: an off-duty officer who was convicted of shooting a Marine Corps veteran outside a bar.

“This is part of a decades-long, growing frustration over the extent to which police in Baltimore have adopted a highly militarized approach to policing residents of our city,” said Sonia Kumar, a staff lawyer with the A.C.L.U. of Maryland, which brought a 2006 lawsuit to change some police practices here.

On Friday, the police said Mr. Gray should have received medical treatment immediately at the scene of the arrest, and confirmed he was riding in a van unbuckled, a violation of department policy.

“Over the years, we have had a number of incidents that have tarnished this badge and the reputation of this department,” said Police Commissioner Anthony Batts, adding, “I have been a reform commissioner.”

<snip>

Civil rights advocates and some elected officials here trace the tensions to “zero-tolerance policing,” a crime-fighting strategy championed by Martin O’Malley, the former governor and a potential Democratic candidate for president, when he was the mayor of Baltimore from 1999 to 2007. Aides of Mr. O’Malley note that on his watch, the number of annual homicides dropped below 300 per year for the first time in more than a decade, and that violent crime in Baltimore dropped by 41 percent. Steve Kearney, a top aide to Mr. O’Malley when he was the mayor, described the policies as “appropriate for the time.”

But zero-tolerance policing led to mass arrests of people for small infractions, as well as intense “community frustration,” Ms. Kumar of the A.C.L.U. said. “Countless innocent people,” she added, “were getting caught up in this dragnet style of policing.”

In 2006, the A.C.L.U and the N.A.A.C.P. sued Baltimore, alleging a broad pattern of abuse. The city settled in 2010 for $870,000 and publicly abandoned zero-tolerance policing. But people here say tensions persist.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/25/us/baltimores-broken-relationship-with-police.html?_r=0

African-American actors and his assistant director were swept under this 100,000+ arrest dragnet in 2005 (the governor election was in '06).

When it comes to "bad math" this is probably more specific


Homicide Rate, Police Procedures Questioned
Mayor Will Not Ask For Independent Audit

BALTIMORE —A recent incident may indicate how far Baltimore police will go in questioning not the suspect, but the victim of a possible crime. This comes amid questions about the city's homicide rate for 2005.

Last year, the Baltimore City Police Department reported 269 homicides, but the State Medical Examiner's Office, which handles victims of homicides statewide, reported 275.

WBAL-TV 11 News I-Team lead investigative reporter Jayne Miller reported the medical examiner reported a raw homicide number at 288. But 13 of those are cases don't count against the city's total.

<snip>

The latest questions come one day following the 11 News I-Team's report turning up criminal incidents in the city that have gone unreported.

One instance includes a fight in Baltimore's Cherry Hill neighborhood that was declared unfounded because, according to the police commissioner, the two assault victims refused to cooperate.

Another incident includes a shooting last November in south Baltimore that officers did not write up -- even though police located and interviewed the intended target. Instead, it was lumped in with a robbery from the same night a short distance away, but that report makes no mention of the shooting.

Then, there's a complaint from a Baltimore woman in last month. Miller said she called police when she came home from an evening out to report that her belongings in her apartment had been moved around.

Miller reported the first officers to respond wrote a burglary report, but some time later a lieutenant stepped in to question the woman.

She described that questioning as "being drilled like the Spanish inquisition." She deemed the topic as something very private: her mental health.

<snip>

On Tuesday, the mayor said he wouldn't object to an independent audit of the city's crime numbers now, but he will not be the one asking for it.

"No, I'm not asking for an independent audit. The, uh, no I'm not asking for one," O'Malley said.

"Do you intend to ask for an independent audit?" Miller asked the mayor.

"No, I don't. But I know political opponents always ask for one in an election year. We audit internally all the time," O'Malley said.

http://www.wbaltv.com/Homicide-Rate-Police-Procedures-Questioned/8885162

[JonLP24]

19. Oh wow -- knew there were discrepancies but this is bad

City rape investigations questioned

The Baltimore Police Department has for the past four years recorded the highest percentage of rape cases that officers conclude are false or baseless of any city in the country, according to The Baltimore Sun's review of FBI data. More than 30 percent of the cases investigated by detectives each year are deemed unfounded, five times the national average. Only Louisville and Pittsburgh have reported similar numbers in the recent past, and the number of unfounded rape cases in those cities dropped after police implemented new classification procedures. The increase in unfounded cases comes as the number of rapes reported by Baltimore police has plunged — from 684 in 1995 to 158 in 2009, a decline of nearly 80 percent. Nationally, FBI reports indicate that rapes have fallen 8 percent over the same period.

---One thing you won't hear O'Malley campaign on is we had an increase on rape cases dismissed.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bal-city-rapes-gallery-storygallery.html

Seems the peak is the year he ran for governor.

[Juicy_Bellows]

12. I agree and I love your opening line.

An embarrassment of riches - too bad more folks don't get embarrassed by their riches - we might not be where we are now.

[Aerows]

14. Riches aren't automatically financial wealth

You are a wealthy person when you are healthy, have people that love you, work that challenges you, and inspiration that guides you.

That's wealth and riches .

[JonLP24]

15. I feel differently on the genuine part

I like some of his stances and his second term more than his first term as governor but has a history of taking credit or giving himself too much credit. This article does a good double check on some claims, the major one is the crime plus what this article doesn't mention is the number of homicides was higher out of the Medical Examiner's office than the number coming out of the police department in 2005 (by about 7 or so)

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-omalley-speech-facts-20150418-story.html#page=2

On things like crime or anything else he doesn't acknowledge mistakes or the reality but instead chooses to brag about it.

Some more on that.
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-09-20/news/bs-md-ci-omalley-baltimore-arrests-20130917_1_fewer-arrests-o-malley-crime

I don't care if one chooses him or trying to influence support for a different candidate, I can see how it can come across that way but honestly just giving my honest opinion on the genuine part of it. He may be, except when he isn't -- which can be hard to tell when he is.

[LibDemAlways]

17. An embarrassment of riches, yes, while the

declared candidates on the other side are simply an embarrassment.

[JDPriestly]

20. They are both good people with good ideas, but O'Malley is too soft-spoken, not

hard-hitting enough to win a national campaign against the nasty Republicans.

I think Sanders is the top candidate for 2016. O'Malley might make a good vice presidential candidate and possibly run for the top position later on.

O'Malley is not well enough known nationally and doesn't have the kind of colorful personality and distinct speech that Bernie has. Also, Bernie has the unique ability to answer questions because he knows exactly what he thinks and has thought nearly every issue through thousands of times. When he hasn't thought something through he says so right away.

There are reasons for Bernie's quick ascension in the polls. He is an unusually good candidate -- not just because of his ideas but because of his manner, his honesty, sincerity, his straightforwardness, just who he is.

Not that O'Malley is weak. But O'Malley is not yet to the point that Bernie has reached -- where he knows himself and what he thinks and is not ashamed of his own views or afraid of what people will think of him. I call that a state of grace. I am not referring to a religious concept. What I mean by state of grace is the feeling that a great artist or singer or actor has when he or she is completely him- or herself, "performing" completely without pretense or distance between performer and audience. It is a state of giving, a state of dedication to the moment.

Bernie is in that sort of state of grace in which he is himself no matter what. He is not self-conscious when he speaks because he is on a mission to tell the truth and to help people. That is what I mean by "a state of grace." He is not thinking of himself, how he looks, whether what he is saying is "right," will sell, is what his staff wants him to say. He is given to the goal of changing the nation for the better.

It's a state of grace. Teddy Roosevelt was in that state. Abraham Lincoln at times. It is not a state in which the candidate does not care. To the contrary. It is a state in which the candidate forgets his own ego because he or she is so dedicated to serving the people.

O'Malley is not yet in that state of grace. We haven't had a candidate in that state before Bernie in all of my lifetime. That is why I think Bernie may win. He is completely in a state of grace with regard to his candidacy. It is not something he chose. It is who he is in this moment.

[hootinholler]

21. Marty will be a fine VP

He still needs some foreign policy experience and VP will give him that.