Martin O’Malley let loose on Hillary Clinton and national Democrats, saying he believes they are stacking the deck against other Democrats, including himself, running for president.
O’Malley said by limiting the number of debates, Democrat leaders are helping Clinton “glide to the nomination,” according to The Hill.
“There’s an effort by a few insiders to try to limit the number of debates that we have and I’ve shared with the chair — Debbie Wasserman Schultz — that I think that’s a grave mistake and I think it’s undemocratic,” O’Malley told The Hill in between in-between campaign stops in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines.
“It’s all about trying to pre-ordain the outcome, circle the wagons and close off debate,” O’Malley said. “If they could actually accelerate the date of the Iowa caucuses and hold them tomorrow — they’d like to do that. Then there’d be no campaign at all. That’s what they’d really like.”
In particular, O’Malley named the Clintons as major contributors to this problem:
Asked if the party insiders included the Clintons, O’Malley said: “Of course they are. President and Secretary Clinton are the most colossal, prolific fundraising couple in the history of representative democracies.”
An aide then reminded O’Malley that he was on the record.
“I know,” O’Malley answered, before continuing. “So yes — lots of people have long histories with the Clintons.”