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Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley will be the new chair of the Democratic Governors' Association, with North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue as vice chair, DGA members announced today at a press conference.
O'Malley, who served two terms as the DGA's vice chair, will succeed Delaware Gov. Jack Markell.
O'Malley withstood a tough midterm challenge from former Republican Gov. Bob Ehrlich, defeating his opponent by double digits. Markell said O'Malley's own electoral success will benefit the DGA's future political efforts.
"He's really somebody who knows how to win," Markell said, adding that in his new role O'Malley would help "revitalize our party."
O'Malley framed the future success of the DGA in economic terms, stressing that job creation, innovation and education improvement should be the top goals of Democratic governors.
"We are in a fight, and it is a fight for our economic future and it is a fight in which every state has a role and important part to play."
He denied that the DGA would take a parallel political stance to that of the RGA, whose incoming chairman, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, has been vocal in his opposition to President Obama. "That's not the agenda of the Democratic Governors Association," O'Malley said.
Technically, the new leadership team was announced before the DGA took a formal vote later this afternoon, but Gov. Markell announced the team early as a "sneak peek" for the press.
O'Malley's first election season as DGA chair will feature three governors' races: Louisiana, Kentucky and Mississippi.
Also during the press conference, DGA executive director Nathan Daschle addressed the ongoing gubernatorial recount in Minnesota, where Democrat Mark Dayton (a former U.S. Senator) is leading Republican Tom Emmer.
"We're confident, as is Sen. Dayton, that he will be victorious," Daschle said. "He has a 9,000 vote lead that's going to be very difficult for Tom Emmer to make up. We've contributed to the effort, we're going to continue to contribute to the effort financially, legally, in every other possible way to make sure that he is sworn in as the next governor of Minnesota as he deserves to be."
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I was thinking he sounds like a Republican and it would be great if that is what Obama was focused on.
Too funny.
Thanks for the laugh Ali.
Rick Perry is planning his state's secession from the United States. If Martin O'Malley is not planning a simillar move then I'd suggest the statement is accurate.
Actually it was pretty simple concise article that didn't mention secession. Try to obfuscate and marginalize, though.
And just the record, Texans love there country, most even believe in American exceptionalism, as opposed evidently to the current President and progressives.
Succession? Obama will fail, it will take years to clean up, but succession it won't be necessary.
bob -
yeah...education improvement. That's always been right at the TOP of the republi-can'ts list...(See "No Child Left A Dime" program, vouchers so that my tax dollars can teach your kid about Jesus, etc...)
Yea Jonbro, how the liberal teacher unions doing with that education thing after all these years.
you're blaming the teacher's? for what?!? their dedication to your kids? their long hours for crappy pay?
I pay the babysitter $8/hr. per kid for date-night with my wife; that's a teenager - barely half-a-dozen years older than my kids that she's taking care of! If the average public school teacher TAUGHT NOTHING...JUST SHOWED UP TO BABYSIT 30 kids, and made only THREE DOLLARS/hr./kid, that would be over $97,000 / yr. JUST IN BABYSITTING.
(Guessing you weren't a student during the Bush II years): you got a great education, I got a great public education (I'm 40-something). Our kids are being hammerred thru testing mills thanks to Republican education policy. I have no doubt that the Obama administration will fix that, just like he's already fixed SEVERAL Bush-era f~~~-ups. But if McCain had won, vouchers would be the law, and my kids would be getting a top-notch Canadian education!
Wow. What an inane argument.
They still can get a top notch Canadian education...
sure, but wouldn't it be better if they could get a top-notch education right here in the US, (...like you and I did...)
I recently got a new chair also, a Lazy Boy recliner! Man is it ever cozy.
the past election was a wake -up call to the dem party. I belive that GOV.O MALLEY the new DGA chair, was a good choice . he pulles no punches . and that he can lead the dem. party to a new start in making a come back to a majorty party in both houses in the congress of the US . the gop is going back to the old sound bite of getting the rich a tax break , and screw the rest . thats is there main go to plan . they want to freeze gov. employees pay, etc. and make life a living hell for the middle class and the poor in this country ! and the GOP wont rest till they have there "tea party gov " in hand !
Congratulations to Mr. O'Malley and also to Ms. Harris our new AG in California. All of Rove's millions could not purchase any elections in California. Thank god for that! Mr. Rove, why don't you keep your slimy self away from our wonderful state. We don't like weasels in this state. It is a state for free spirits and people who take care of their fellow man regardless of social status. It is a state that also donates $60 Billion extra federal funds annually to take care of the poor southern states that can't make ends meet on their own. A great big thank you would be nice but do leave our state and don't let the door hit you in the a$$ on the way out.
It's also a state facing a $25B deficit over the next 20 months. Apparently your wonderful state is failing to teach math to the free-spirit hippies.
http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-11-11/news/24826042_1_budget-deficit-deficit-estimate-deficit-balloons
If only we did what Gov Perry of Texas did and use stimulus money to balance our budget. We don't play funny math like hide debt for two wars or hide debt for redistribution of wealth to the wealthy through tax breaks. We do math properly and show a debt as a debt. Something the south doesn't know anything about since they haven't been able to be self sufficient since inception. You won't find comfort on this post. Go back to the fake and biased news show that weasel Rove frequents. You'll be more at home there.