Althouse: "Martin O'Malley, the former governor of Maryland and possible Democratic presidential candidate, is speaking out on the violence in Baltimore. O'Malley's rival, Hillary Clinton, is not."

April 28, 2015

"Martin O'Malley, the former governor of Maryland and possible Democratic presidential candidate, is speaking out on the violence in Baltimore. O'Malley's rival, Hillary Clinton, is not."

Says the Weekly Standard, noting yesterday's tweets from the 2 candidates.

In fairness to Hillary, she was not the governor of the state that is having terrible trouble right now. She was not the mayor of Baltimore. O'Malley, if he is to be a plausible alternative to Hillary, needs to be able to flaunt his achievements as governor and mayor.

He's tweeting things like: "We must come together as one City to transform this moment of loss & pain into a safer & more just future for all of Baltimore's people." I wouldn't give him much credit for self-interested, anodyne statements like that. Baltimore is really hurting him. The man was mayor of Baltimore or Governor of Maryland from 1999 to just this past January. If Baltimore has big problems, he's responsible for them! His expressions of sorrow and hope for the future are fundamentally ridiculous.

Meanwhile, it might be nice if Hillary would show up and contribute something to the national political debate.

55 comments:

rehajm said...: Meh. You get the government you deserve.; 4/28/15, 8:32 AM
Big Mike said...: Good thing the Republican was elected governor last fall. He's sent in the National Guard.; 4/28/15, 8:35 AM
Bob Boyd said...: The riots were probably funded by a grant from CGI.; 4/28/15, 8:36 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: She can't face the press, to coin a phrase. Nice job rushing your campaign out two months early Hillary!; 4/28/15, 8:38 AM
richlb said...: rehajm - might add - GOOD AND HARD.; 4/28/15, 8:38 AM
rehajm said...: I found Hillary's response more appropriate.; 4/28/15, 8:39 AM
MAJMike said...: I have a feeling that Hildebeast's Presidential run is just another money-making scam by Clinton, Inc. She's maintaining a low profile so as to garner the maximum contributions.; 4/28/15, 8:40 AM
Brando said...: It doesn't necessarily hurt O'Malley--he stopped being mayor ten years ago, and can say "this never happened on my watch!" Sort of like what Guiliani could say if NYC erupted under De Blasio's moronocracy.

As for Hillary, of course she will wait until her team game-plans exactly the most safe thing to say politically. She is not a politician, she is a queen waiting to be put on a throne.

Note--if your best argument for being elected is "I earned this" then you don't deserve to be elected.; 4/28/15, 8:42 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: MoM has a big problem here. So far, he is sounding pretty wishy washy, which is the sort of thing that Dem politicians do to appease their minority constituents. BUT, he needs the rioting to stop ASAP, and it isn't going to do so by pandering to the rioters and the minority community. What probably needs to be done, if he wants to win the general election, is that the rioters need to be told that the sort of rioting that has been going on risks loss of life, and, therefore rioters will be shot, esp. if they are throwing rocks at police or cutting fire hoses. Shoot a couple, and the riot will likely die. Or, just start taking rioters off the street, warehouse them until they can be processed, rinse and repeat.

Still seems a bit coincidental for Hillary! Her people are good at contriving things, but I don't think this good, and even she probably has high enough morals that they not cause and maintain riots for personal gain. But, with the Clintons, you never really know.; 4/28/15, 8:42 AM
Sebastian said...: "If Baltimore has big problems, he's responsible for them!"

I guess the handouts weren't big enough.; 4/28/15, 8:45 AM
traditionalguy said...: Silly goose. Hillary already owns the First Woman Presidency. She has title to it and all the political favors she will ever need are stored up for years to come.

And O'Malley is just another straight white male which is like saying "fundamentally ridiculous" twice.; 4/28/15, 8:47 AM
Anonymous said...: MOM is unfit. All one has to look at is the jail in Baltimore:n what could have been a season of The Wire, a federal indictment unsealed Tuesday accuses 13 female guards of collaborating with a Baltimore jail gang to smuggle drugs, cellphones and other banned goods into the city's main detention centers.

The leader of the gang, the Black Guerrilla Family, also had sex with several guards and got four pregnant, according to the indictment, which also names seven inmates and five others with gang connections. Other inmates had "long-term sexual
relationships with corrections officers associated with the enterprise," which "cemented" the corruption.

Gang leader Tavon White, who is in the Baltimore City Detention Center (BCDC) awaiting trial for attempted murder, fathered children with two guards. The women, one of whom White got pregnant twice, tattooed his name on their bodies.; 4/28/15, 8:48 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: Hillary already spoke to this with her Happy Fun Camps.

Perhaps we can have these urban children get away from the stresses of the dysfunctional urban environment and spend some time at camps in rural areas, where they can find peace of mind and a sense of usefulness, say, picking cotton and singing songs at night under the watchful eyes of Camp Fun Administrators.

I am Laslo.; 4/28/15, 8:52 AM
campy said...: Meanwhile, it might be nice if Hillary would show up and contribute something to the national political debate.

Be careful what you wish for...; 4/28/15, 8:55 AM
Fen said...: Hillary can't contribute to the national debate. She is weak. And not a leader.; 4/28/15, 8:57 AM
Anonymous said...: Bruce Hayden said...
Shoot a couple, and the riot will likely die. Or, just start taking rioters off the street, warehouse them until they can be processed, rinse and repeat.

Ever read Major Patton's After Action Report on the Bonus Riots of 1932?

here is a bit (it assumes Martial law has been declared):

Legally:

As junior officers, we simply obey the orders of our superiors. As independent commanders there is a very remote possibility that we may have to back our judgment with our commissions. Officers in command of troops on riot duty should remember the following points;

1. Take no orders from civil officials; federal, state, or municipal.
2. Take no orders from National Guard or Reserve officers unless they have been mustered into the federal service and you have proof that they are so mustered.
3. You may and should cooperate with police or state troops who may be present; but you and not they are the judge of the amount and character of this cooperation. In the "Bonus War," for example, certain people strongly urged Major Surles to move several blocks out of his way to attack a building. Had he done so, he would have gotten in a lot of trouble as the house in question was full of women and children. It was my belief, and I see no reason to change it, that this advice was given with the deliberate intention of producing embarrassment to the Army.
4. Get your orders in writing. If the orders are dictated, that is oral, commit them to writing, read them back to the issuing officer, and ask him to initial them. If this is not practicable have several witnesses sign the orders and state that they heard them issued. Save that order. Some people have strange memories when it is necessary to pass the buck.
5. Before firing at a mob, warn them of your intention and tell innocent people to leave. Ask several members of your command to note the time and place at which you issued the warning.
6. Designate in advance certain sharpshooters to kill individual rioters who fire on or throw missiles at your men. Have this firing done ONLY on your order or that of a commissioned officer; at least in the first instance.
7. Get the names of several men who saw the shooting or throwing. Usually such witnesses are easy to find.
8. Should some orator start haranguing the crowd and inciting them to violence, grab him even if it brings on a local, small fight. Small fights are better than big ones. Words cunningly chosen change crowds into mobs.
9. If you have captured a dangerous agitator and some "misguided" federal judge issues a writ of Habeas Corpus for him, try to see the judge to find out what he is liable to do. If he seems prone to releasing the man, let your conscience be your guide. The legal phrase, "To present the body of the prisoner to the court," has a sinister and suggestive sound. There's always a danger that the man might attempt to escape. If he does, see that he at least falls out of ranks before you shoot him. To be soft hearted might mean death to your men. After all, WAR IS WAR.
10. Do not enrage reporters, but also, don't tell them too much or boast of your prowess to them. They dislike tear gas and are not provided with masks.
11. Finally, do your full duty as you see it and damn the consequences. Lord Allenby once said to me in speaking of his suppression of the riots in Cairo, "I have always thought that it is far better that a certain number of innocent students should perish than that the future of a great nation should be jeopardized."; 4/28/15, 8:57 AM
Anonymous said...: PS: For the record, the Bonus Army were 99.9% white guys and some families...; 4/28/15, 9:01 AM
bleh said...: The MD governor needs to use whatever authority he has to quell the riots because Baltimore's mayor seems like complete doofus.; 4/28/15, 9:01 AM
Tank said...: Hillary did not cause this and had nothing to do with it. She should just hide out and say nothing (about this) just like the Zero did when we had the financial breakdown and McCain was running around like he could do something about it.

It's not leadership, but it's smart.; 4/28/15, 9:03 AM
PB said...: Hillary has nothing to contribute. She expects to be the recipient AF any and all contributions. She is owed, damn it!; 4/28/15, 9:04 AM
Anonymous said...: http://pattonhq.com/textfiles/federal.html; 4/28/15, 9:05 AM
m stone said...: "We must come together" means as much as "I take full responsibility."

O'Malley needs to take a walk down Reistertown Rd to earn some respect.

If he survives.; 4/28/15, 9:08 AM
CStanley said...: Meanwhile, it might be nice if Hillary would show up and contribute something to the national political debate.

Can't she just eat her burrito bowl?; 4/28/15, 9:10 AM
Anonymous said...: Time for every one to catch re-runs of "The Wire". It explains every thing.; 4/28/15, 9:13 AM
Bobber Fleck said...: "We must come together as one City to transform this moment of loss & pain into a safer & more just future for all of Baltimore's people."

That statement is meaningful to a progressive crowd only if it is followed immediately by a rousing round of "Kumbaya".; 4/28/15, 9:23 AM
Anonymous said...: Bobber Fleck said...
"We must come together as one City to transform this moment of loss & pain into a safer & more just future for all of Baltimore's people."

That statement is meaningful to a progressive crowd only if it is followed immediately by a rousing round of "Kumbaya
----------------------That statement is meaningful to a progressive crowd only if it is followed immediately by great gobs of federal money.; 4/28/15, 9:27 AM
chillblaine said...: O'Malley and Clinton have nothing to offer. This is failure of blue governance, with Baltimore's mayor doing her best Ray Nagin. This should be hung like an albatross around Obama's shoulders as his Katrina. Jim Webb is looking better and better every day.

I would recommend bringing back Midnight Basketball. Because the best way to stop a bunch of black guys from rioting is to, er, never mind.; 4/28/15, 9:29 AM
Joe Schmoe said...: Who cares what Hillary has to say about it. I was thinking it would be nice if we had a black man or woman in a position of power, one who is respected by the black community, to step in and try to calm things down. Hmmmm, too bad we don't have someone like that, a president who campaigned on being a 'uniter', who could play the role of a modern-day Martin Luther King. But I guess that golf isn't going to play itself.; 4/28/15, 9:31 AM
BarrySanders20 said...: I like to hum "Ebony and Ivory" while watching video of the riots, while thinking about how nice it is that Obama has healed the racial divide, and how wonderful the democrats' urban welfare policy has been for the black community.; 4/28/15, 9:33 AM
NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...: No, nothing good will come from talking about riots. Not for Hillary, anyway. Everyone will forget the riot by next year. They might not forget something Hillary says. So why say anything?; 4/28/15, 9:45 AM
sparrow said...: I'm not a fan of O'Malley (know too little about him) but Baltimore has big problems no mayor or governor can fix.; 4/28/15, 9:55 AM
virgil xenophon said...: @The Drill Sgt/

I would remind you of the sentiments expressed by Patton that in the great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 Congress authorized both the Army AND the Police to shoot all looters on sight.

It seems our ancestors were made of sterner stuff..; 4/28/15, 9:56 AM
MadisonMan said...: Hillary isn't relevant to 2015. That's what this Baltimore event suggests.

On the other hand, MoM talking about this is like wading into quicksand.; 4/28/15, 9:57 AM
virgil xenophon said...: PS to Drill Sgt/

Due to nature of communications then, when Congress learned of the disaster they convened at 0400 to decide what sort of response to authorize.

No dithering around in those days..; 4/28/15, 10:01 AM
Brando said...: "No, nothing good will come from talking about riots. Not for Hillary, anyway. Everyone will forget the riot by next year. They might not forget something Hillary says. So why say anything?"

The absence of saying anything may be taken as a statement of itself, and nothing good for Hillary in this case. But surely she can say something bland and noncontroversial, such as: "we are all saddened by the violence and support our local authorities in restoring order." A sop to the family of Freddy Gray could also be worked in there.

The fact that Hillary's team (because face it, she can't make a political decision on her own as she has the instincts of a cinderblock) couldn't come up with something bland and simple in the past day indicates they really aren't up to snuff. For a billion dollar campaign, they are remarkably inept.; 4/28/15, 10:04 AM
Fen said...: Hillary tried to put out a statement but the interns were busy with Bill.; 4/28/15, 10:14 AM
Seeing Red said...: '68! '68! '68!; 4/28/15, 10:19 AM
damikesc said...: I love that nobody expects Obama to do anything about this problem that will be anything but negative.; 4/28/15, 10:47 AM
rhhardin said...: I've forgotten the first name of Barnaby's Mr. O'Malley, but those were the times of real politicians.; 4/28/15, 10:54 AM
damikesc said...: Please note: The rioters don't give money, so Hillary doesn't care.

But she did change her H to a rainbow over the SCOTUS case --- because gay folks DO give money.

Keep that in mind, poor folks.; 4/28/15, 10:55 AM
exhelodrvr1 said...: If Hillary was willing to stand up to the rioters, and discuss what is actually ailing the black communities, she would probably guarantee herself a victory in the election.; 4/28/15, 11:09 AM
Brando said...: "I love that nobody expects Obama to do anything about this problem that will be anything but negative."

In his defense, what could he do here short of sending in a Marine division? Nothing he could say would make a difference to the rioters because rioters riot when they have the opportunity and answer to no authority. Something supportive of the police and local community would be nice, but wouldn't have any material effect.

Every big city's mayor and police commissioner should be studying cases like this as well as those where riots were quickly squashed and determine what accounts for the different outcomes. Mayor Rawlings-Blake apparently thought if the police gave demonstrators wider space (unlike in Ferguson) it would diffuse the situation and let the peaceful marches die out without going violent. Evidently they weren't ready when gangs of teenagers went wild in the Northwest corner of the city, and it went chaotic from there.

If I were a big city mayor, I'd be thinking of how something like that could have been avoided or reacted to differently.; 4/28/15, 11:09 AM
Brando said...: "If Hillary was willing to stand up to the rioters, and discuss what is actually ailing the black communities, she would probably guarantee herself a victory in the election."

Her own Sister Souljah moment, learned from the master himself.

I am a bit surprised that no one from either party has tried the Souljah gambit since 1992.; 4/28/15, 11:10 AM
YoungHegelian said...: @Brando,

I am a bit surprised that no one from either party has tried the Souljah gambit since 1992.

That's because Bill Clinton actually believed what he said on that occasion. When he spoke with conviction, he could reach out to the disaffected white male voters who thought, even then, that they had little place in the Democratic Party.

People forget how tightly Bill Clinton the candidate was associated with the "radically centrist" Democratic Leadership Council. It was affectionately known in DC as "the old white guys" caucus.; 4/28/15, 11:31 AM
lgv said...: I'm waiting for Clinton to show by helicopter, under sniper fire, then give a speech with a southern black accent, which squarely puts the blame on a you tube video of the arrest.; 4/28/15, 1:24 PM
grackle said...: The man was mayor of Baltimore or Governor of Maryland from 1999 to just this past January. Baltimore has big problems, he's responsible for them!

Believe me when I say that I do not enjoy defending a Democrat, but … I find it problematic to criticize a Governor of a state for local problems in a particular city. How, as Governor, was he supposed to prevent these riots?

Also, he was Mayor eight years ago! I find it equally wrong to hold him in any way responsible for the present riots eight long years after he left the office.

There's plenty of blame but let's hold those responsible who have been running the city and its police department recently enough to be realistically accountable.; 4/28/15, 1:55 PM
Brando said...: "Also, he was Mayor eight years ago! I find it equally wrong to hold him in any way responsible for the present riots eight long years after he left the office."

Exactly--it's as bad as Obama blaming Bush for things that occurred long after he left office. Unless there's some reasonable causation--maybe a delayed effect of an O'Malley-era policy that can be pointed to--there is a point at which the new leadership has to take ownership of the city's problems.

If anything, O'Malley could have been slimier about this--blamed the new mayor and said nothing like this happened on HIS watch, and if anything he brought crime rates down by being tougher on criminals (though this would cut against his newfound persona as a Leftist).; 4/28/15, 2:23 PM
Achilles said...: Brando said...

"I am a bit surprised that no one from either party has tried the Souljah gambit since 1992."

The democrats are different today. Their goal is balkinization, division,and strife.

The republican party,outside of Rand is too stupid; 4/28/15, 2:48 PM
mccullough said...: Nothing any politician can do but shut up. O'Malley failed that test with his saccharine sentiments.

The people who live in Baltimore know who the bad guys are. It's up to them to take them out. The police can't do it. The "government" isn't going to make your life better. Kill the cancers in your community, starting with the outsiders coming in to wreak havoc.; 4/28/15, 3:15 PM
averagejoe said...: At this point, what difference does it make? Hillary2016!!! Smrat Power!!!; 4/28/15, 3:24 PM
Alex said...: Hildabeast is signalling to the rioters - "I am with you, body & soul".

Good luck with that in the general.; 4/28/15, 4:38 PM
wildswan said...: O'Malley may not be responsible for the situation in Baltimore but the Democrats are

These mobs are supposedly caused by racism going back decades. So O'Malley would be guilty. And, more to the point, every statement that "this goes back decades" indites the Democratic party which has been running all the big cities for decades.

People just can't bring themselves to criticize the Democrats by name. But racism in big cities is another name for failure by the Democrats who run the big cities. Anger in big cities is anger at the policies of the Democratic party. But they can't say it.

If police brutality in big cities has been going on for a long time, the Democrats have been allowing it in big cities for a long time. If no cares about the blacks in Baltimore, it is the Democrats who have been in charge in Baltimore for years who have been ignoring their own constituents.

The Democrats caused these deep seated problems in the big cities they've been running for decades; 4/28/15, 6:12 PM
walter said...: Her angle is she's the common man. (that's sexist) The Chipotle Doctrine.(that's tasty); 4/28/15, 6:42 PM
Alex said...: Atlantic writer says why Baltimore must burn

Don't ya just love liberals?; 4/28/15, 6:54 PM
Brando said...: "These mobs are supposedly caused by racism going back decades. So O'Malley would be guilty. And, more to the point, every statement that "this goes back decades" indites the Democratic party which has been running all the big cities for decades."

It's absolutely the fault of the Democratic machine that controls cities like Baltimore--there's little accountability for abusive police when you have a police union protecting the worst offenders; there's little reason for low-margin businesses (like groceries) to open in the slums when the city does everything it can to make the business unprofitable (but they sure give out subsidies to open casinos and sports arenas for well-connected developers); the expensive but terrible school systems in the slums have little incentive to improve so long as they have a captive audience protected by the regulatory state.

It's no particular mayor's fault exactly--Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is a caretaker of marginal competence, but while being a cog in the system she's hardly a creator of it. O'Malley pushed the statistics-based policing model, which may have reduced crime but certainly led to a lot of the police abuses that lose the cooperation of the community.

What Baltimore and similar cities need, but probably won't get, is a real shakeup in the political structure, with reform-minded leaders who can fight the public sector unions, maintain a competent and disciplined police force, and change the regulatory structure to such an extent that it encourages and enables more businesses to open up in their cities. Whether residents will be fed up enough to try such a radical solution remains to be seen.; 4/29/15, 6:39 AM