Martin O'Malley, the Governor of Maryland, was unanimously selected to be the new chairman of the Democratic Governors Association on Wednesday, further elevating the Irish American politicians national profile.
O'Malley's rise to the top spot was assured since he had been the group's vice chairman for two years, but his decisive reelection last month deeply impressed party members during a season that had favored Republicans.
"Democratic governors will lead the way back to our party's resurgence," O'Malley told the press in Washington, noting that his own mission will be to help Democratic gubernatorial candidates win election in hotly contested races.
In the past Democratic Governors Association chairmen like Bill Clinton and Bill Richardson have used the positon to signal their interest in wider national roles.
At Wednesday's announcement O'Malley said a lot of hard work lay ahead and he argued that Democratic candidates should not run away from signature progressive values.
"Without a doubt, this is a time that will define us as a people, define us as a country," he said.
O'Malley, the former mayor of Baltimore, added that he believed the state of Maryland would benefit from his chairmanship because it would allow him to share policy ideas with his Democratic colleagues from other states.
5 Comments
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.mrkennedy | Dec 03, 2010, 04:04 PM EST
The Democratic party will continue to decline with the election of a pro-choice Catholic high school graduate, Gonzaga in D.C.!!!!!!!!!!
REMITROMJR | Dec 03, 2010, 03:00 PM EST
Gov, O'Malley's "decisive reelection last month deeply impressed party members during a season that had favored Republicans," Well, maybe that was true nationally, but in its history Maryland has had 29 Democratic and only 6 Republican governors so his victory was far from an upset. He'll be leading an organization composed of governors from a mere 19 states (as opposed to 30 states with Republican governors) and the e-magazine, Governing, has the following prediction for the near future, "the GOP can expect to make a pickup of three seats. That would push GOP control from 30 Republican governors, 19 Democratic governors and one Independent to 33 Republicans, 16 Democrats and one Independent. With extra luck, the GOP could end up with a net gain of six seats; with better luck for the Democrats, GOP gains could be held to a seat or two." So, were I Governor O'Malley, I wouldn't plan on the Democratic Governors Association to be a springboard for a future northward change of address to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington D.C.
CMMcShane | Dec 03, 2010, 11:58 AM EST
Gov.O'Malley is a good man and I would like him even better if he appointed Kathleen Callan, Esq. a Judge in Cumberland, Maryland. From "Dear Old Dad"
TommyJoe | Dec 03, 2010, 11:27 AM EST
Governor O'Malley is a great selection. His victory in Maryland on November 2 was very impressive. Here in Massachusetts we re-elected our highly competent governor, Deval Patrick and scored Democratic victories across the board. In 2012 we must defeat Scott Brown. The "tea party" movement is dangerous and no friend of the working person, the elderly or the disabled. They are mean spirited malcontents.
Searlit | Dec 03, 2010, 10:34 AM EST
Great news!