Hillary Clinton’s Potential Democratic Challenger Martin O’Malley Rips Her on Same-Sex Marriage Flip-Flop
As some media figures criticize Clinton’s presidential rollout, the former Maryland governor attacks her position changes
Jordan Chariton | April 17, 2015 @ 9:07 AM
Last Updated: April 17, 2015 @ 9:22 AM
The media has been like a wild herd covering Hillary Clinton’s presidential rollout this week, with many reporters literally chasing down her campaign van.
Well, former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley might be speeding up his entry into the presidential — and media — contest, subtly going after Clinton at an event Thursday.
Responding to The Guardian on Clinton’s change of stance on marriage equality and drivers licenses for undocumented immigrants, O’Malley didn’t mince words.
“I’m glad Secretary Clinton’s come around to the right positions on these issues,” O’Malley said at a forum at Harvard’s Institute of Politics. “I believe that we are best as a party when we lead with our principles and not according to the polls.”
O’Malley continued to imply she has played her positions based on politics, rather than leadership: “Leadership is about making the right decision, and the best decision before sometimes it becomes entirely popular.”
A day earlier, O’Malley released a video that looked eerily like a campaign ad, again taking indirect hits at Clinton. “History celebrates profiles in courage, not profiles in convenience,” O’Malley says about same-sex marriage.
O’Malley has said he’ll decide on whether to challenge Clinton sometime before the end of May.
“It’s a colossal undertaking, and there are many different components of [a presidential race]”, he said. “Organization, policy, personnel — its a lot to put together. “I’ve never run a bad race, and I don’t intend to start now — if I were to do this,” he added.
The media is itching for some other, high-pitched Democratic challengers to make the race more interesting and less of a cakewalk for Clinton.
13 Unforgettable Hillary Rodham Clinton Moments: Secretary of State, Candidate and First Lady (Photos)
Photos of then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton checking her email went viral in 2011. When Clinton joined Twitter last month, she chose a shot like this for her profile page, quickly racking up 650,000 followers.
In December 2011 Hillary joyfully greeted Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma. Suu Kyi led the fight against military rule in Burma, where she spent years under house arrest.
Hillary Rodham Clinton made her debut in politics back in 1974 during the Watergate Scandal as a member of the impeachment inquiry staff. She was a recent Yale Law School graduate and not yet married to Bill Clinton.
Hillary Clinton became a lightening rod on the 1992 campaign trail, drawing criticism for remarks that she could have "stayed home and baked cookies and had tea but what I decided to do was fulfill my profession" and that she was not a "some little woman standing by my man like Tammy Wynette."
In 1996, then First Lady HIllary Clinton was put on the cover of Time magazine, with the story depicting the truth about the Whitewater real-estate scandal.
Hillary Clinton delivers a speech on the Monica Lewinsky affair with her husband and former President Bill Clinton standing by her side.
After taking on two ads that she claims misrepresented her stance on healthcare plans, an enraged presidential candidate Hillary Clinton delivers a speech on the shameful tactics used by rival Barack Obama in 2008. "Shame on you, Barack Obama!"
After losing the race for the Democratic candidacy for the 2008 election, Clinton ended her campaign with a memorable speech. "Even though we were not able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it's got about 18 million cracks in it, and the light is shining through like never before."
Alongside President Obama and other senior members of the White House staff, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton watches as the US Naval Seals take down terrorist Osama bin Laden on May 1, 2011.
Hillary Clinton and actress Meryl Streep share a laugh at the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors gala.
After returning to work from hospitalization from a blood clot, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton received joke gifts from her colleagues to celebrate her return. She received a football jersey and helmet.
In January, Clinton delivered a fiery speech to Congress about the Benghazi attacks on U.S. soldiers.
In 2013, Hillary Clinton joined the Human Rights Campaign for same sex marriage. Her support for equal marriage was received as one of her biggest contributions to the campaign upon retiring as Secretary of State in February 2013.
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A look at 10 of former First Lady's biggest moments in the White House, as Secretary of State and as Democractic candidate for president.
Photos of then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton checking her email went viral in 2011. When Clinton joined Twitter last month, she chose a shot like this for her profile page, quickly racking up 650,000 followers.