Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley wants a debate with Hillary Clinton so that he can get the Democratic front-runner to commit to positions on Wall Street, trade, and the Keystone XL pipeline.
“I would ask Hillary Clinton what sort of ideas she has to make our economy work again for all of us and whether or not she has the independence to rein in the sort of recklessness on Wall Street that has tanked our economy once and threatens to do it again,” the former Maryland governor and Democratic presidential candidate said Sunday morning on CBS.
O’Malley, who has strenuously argued for more debates in the Democratic primary, went on to recite a list of issues on which he has staked out a position and Clinton has hedged her responses.
“I am in favor of re-instituting Glass-Steagall,” he said of the Depression-Era separation of commercial and investment banks. “I am in favor of putting robust prosecutorial efforts back on Wall Street.”
“As a candidate for president, each of us needs to state unequivocally whether we’re for re-instituting Glass-Steagall, whether we’re against the Trans-Pacific Partnership,” he said, referring to the Pacific-nations trade deal being negotiated by the Obama administration that unions and many liberals strongly oppose.
“I’m against the Keystone pipeline; where does she stand?” he asked. “These are the things that we can only have answered in a debate.”
Democrats have not had a presidential debate, while the Republicans have had one so far.
Clinton is the front-runner in the race, and looks to be a prohibitive favorite to lock up the nomination.
She faces several challengers to her left, however, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has risen in the polls.
O’Malley, however, has so far struggled to gain more than a few percentage points in national polls.
