Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley said Friday that he does not fear “retribution” from the Democratic Party or allies of Hillary Clinton for attacking the former secretary of state during his 2016 campaign.
O’Malley made the remarks on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” in response to a column by The Wall Street Journal’s Peggy Noonan, who argued that Clinton’s 2016 Democratic opponents “will not attack her character” or “personally” due to a fear “that the party will kill them” off for good.
“Well, my career ended when I was elevated to the rank of citizen about three months ago. So I don’t have a career to kill,” O’Malley said. “I’m the only candidate in this race with 15 years of executive experience as a mayor of a very great but very challenged city and as a governor.”
“Many Democrats talk about — and progressives talk about the things we should do, raising the minimum wage, making investments in education to give our kids a better shot at a future — a better future.” O’Malley said. “I’ve actually done these things as an executive. And I think, if you look at some of the latest polling in our party, you’ll see that in New Hampshire, for example, 59 percent of people, Democrats, are looking for a new leader. Some one other than the inevitable frontrunner.”
“Specifically, to Peggy Noonan’s charge, do you fear retribution from the Democratic Party if you campaign too aggressively against Hillary Clinton?” co-host Joe Scarborough asked O’Malley.
“No, I do not,” he responded flatly.
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