Former Maryland Governor and possible 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Martin O’Malley appears to have spooked Hillary Clinton supporters.
In an effort to dig both Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush, O’Malley said on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday that “the presidency of the United States is not some crown to be passed between two families.”
Former Democratic Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who currently serves as a senior advisor to the Ready for Hillary political action committee, didn’t like that.
“Martin O’Malley, he’s a very nice guy, and I was thinking that he might make a nice member of a President Clinton administration, so he better watch it,” Granholm cackled during a later panel discussion on “This Week.”
The Hillary supporter — who also dismissed the Clinton e-mail scandal as a “nothing burger” earlier this month — insisted that Clinton “welcomes a primary” no matter who she might face from her own party.
“I think that he, and anybody else, she would welcome into the mix and that would be healthy,” explained Granholm. “But, I also think that ultimately she will be the next president.”
Later during the discussion, Granholm attempted to dismiss the idea that Clinton is a member of a political “dynasty” in the same way as likely GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush.
“Dynasties suggest generational passing down,” Granholm alleged. “She’s not a different generation than a father who handing her this. And plus, she’s a woman. Women do not — are not seen as this dynastic creature. She’s going to be different no matter what.”
Expectedly, her fellow panelists did not agree. Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol called O’Malley’s statement “an effective shot” and political consultant Matthew Dowd characterized the nascent Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton campaigns as throw backs.
“I think, with dynasties, is this a forward-looking campaign?” began Dowd. “And for many people watching what’s developed over the last six months, it feels like we’re thrown back to the 1990s. I think that is true for Jeb Bush. It feels like a throwback for ten years, and I think for Hillary Clinton, it feels like it’s thrown back 20 years.”
Watch the full discussion below, with the choice conversation coming at about 3:00.
