Sunday, May 31, 2015

O'Malley's presidential announcement marred by protesters

Former Baltimore mayor and Maryland governor Martin O'Malley announced that he's running for president yesterday. His campaign debut was marred with a video failure and a ruckus.

From National Review Online:
But the announcement was marred by a steady stream of protesters nearby. They shouted about police brutality and economic injustice. "700,000 arrests under your watch, O'Malley!" one man shouted. Others blew whistles during his speech. "Oh, grow up," one O'Malley supporter muttered angrily.

O'Malley, the third Democratic candidate to enter the race, is considered by some a potential challenger to former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, but he has an uphill climb to the nomination. While Clinton sits at 64 percent in the polls, O'Malley hovers at less than one percent. His tenure as governor ended with the shocking defeat of his lieutenant governor, Anthony Brown, defeated by longshot Republican candidate Larry Hogan. And Baltimore's riots and soaring crime rate cast new doubt on his tenure as that city's mayor, which ended in 2006.

The protesters at Saturday's campaign announcement drew a direct line between O'Malley's policies and what they say as an oppressive police presence in Baltimore today. "He was brutally murdered!” said Tawanda Jones. Her brother, Tyrone Jones, was killed by Baltimore police during a 2013 traffic stop. She pointed at O'Malley, who was still at the podium. "I blame him!" she said.

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