Wednesday on ABC’s “Powerhouse Politics” podcast, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate and former Gov. Martin O’Malley (D-MD) said former President Barack Obama’s decision to set up Organizing for America rather than “infusing” his energy into the Democratic Party devastated the party on state and local levels like a “bad forest fire.”
O’Malley said, “To put it kindly, President Obama decided to set up a separate political organization rather than infusing that energy of his candidacy and his amazing and historic victory, rather than infusing that energy into the veins of the Democratic party and making the Democratic party new and more energetic, instead the president and his people decided to set up a separate organization in ‘Organizing for America,’ OFA. I guess the president, perhaps and his people, thought their roles in history was to transform us, allow all of to transcend beyond the need for political parties. ”
He continued, “So when the Republicans and their small group of very wealthy donors, who are not afraid to write big checks, saw what was happening, they immediately filled that vacuum. And in a very methodical way, fielded candidates with a whole lot of money to run for state senate, state legislators, backed candidates for governor. And they were able to wipe us out at the state level and increasingly at the local level. We’ve never gone through a period of time, at least not in modern history were the Democratic party lost so many seats and so many governors offices even as our president was a Democratic. That was a mistake that we made. We have to learn from that mistake. And I believe what is happening now is the party is regenerating itself, almost like after a bad forest fire.”