ROCK HILL, S.C. – With the Democratic presidential field whittled down to just three candidates, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley is taking every opportunity he can to pigeonhole his opponents as candidates of the past.
“What I believe the people the people saw tonight was the fact that I’m not part of the last four years of gridlock, getting nothing done and Washington politics,” the long-shot candidate told reporters late Friday night following his conversation with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow at the “First in the South” Democratic presidential forum.
“Right now, we need a president who’s not on the side of Wall Street like Hillary Clinton, but a president who’s on the side of main street America,” O’Malley said.
The former governor, who’s criticized both of his opponents for their records on gun safety laws, added that the next president “needs to have the spine to stand up to the National Rifle Association in addition to the big banks.”
O’Malley went on to address capital punishment, another issue he where claims he’s on the right side as opposed to Clinton.
“Tonight one of the more revealing questions was the triangulation and the process-driven answer that Secretary Clinton gave on the death penalty,” he said. “I repealed the death penalty… for two reasons: It’s not a deterrent and it has been unfairly administered throughout its history in the U.S.”
The former two-term governor issued one final blow to his opponents before wrapping things up for the evening.
“I believe that our country’s come along way since the crash of 2008, but I understand there’s still urgent work that needs to be done. I don’t think the answer to this problem is socialism. And I don’t think the answer to this problem is to declare all republicans our enemies. I believe American capitalism can actually work,” O’Malley said.
“I think the Democratic party is actually going to be very excited about the fact that instead of having to choose from candidates from the past, they actually have the ability to cast a vote for the future,” he added.
