Martin O'Malley - Position Changes


[Editor's Note: On Monday, Feb. 1, 2016 Martin O'Malley announced the suspension of his presidential campaign via a written statement on his campaign website. Governor O'Malley wrote, "I wanted you to be first to know: tonight, I am suspending my campaign for the presidency... I want to thank everyone who came out to our events, and lent me their ear. Everyone who went out to caucus for me tonight, and lent me their voice. I give you my deepest gratitude... We must hold strong to our beliefs. A belief in the dignity of every person. A belief in our own responsibility to advance the common good we share. We all must hold strong to what this country truly is, can be, and should be, and must be."]



We are not suggesting that position changes are good or bad. We understand they are important to voters, which is why we have included them. We list the current position as Now X (Pro, Con, or Not Clearly Pro or Con) and the former position as Formerly Y (Pro, Con, or Not Clearly Pro or Con).
1
Now Not Clearly Pro or Con

"I think we need to have an open mind about that [legalizing marijuana]. I think there's a lot we can learn from Colorado and Washington State. They seem to be keeping very good records. They understand they are the first in the nation, and I think we should be guided by what they are doing in Colorado increases harm or reduces harm."
Source: Chris Moody and Alexander Rosen, "Fear and Loathing with Martin O'Malley," CNN.com, Oct. 9, 2015

Formerly Con

"I'm not much in favor of it [legalized marijuana]... because of seeing what drug addiction has done to the people of our state and the people of our city and I also know that this drug and its use and its abuse can be a gateway to even more harmful behavior. Yes, I know that there are some who say 'You can say the same thing about alcohol' and yes, that's true but I don't think the answer is to promote greater access and greater recreational abuse of drugs whether it's this particular drug or any other."
Source: The Marc Steiner Show , "11th Annual Annapolis Summit," Jan. 8, 2015

Back to present position