‘The Politics of Higher Purpose’: An Interview With Martin O’Malley

Martin O’Malley is running a serious race for the presidency, in which he has courageously defended immigrants, refugees, and Muslims while arguing for bold gun-control policies. But do contemporary politics reward seriousness and courage? As one of three remaining Democratic contenders—with Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders—O’Malley gets good reviews for debate performances and speeches. Yet the former Maryland governor’s poll numbers are modest. Undaunted, he tells John Nichols that “the politics of higher purpose” can prevail.

John Nichols: You speak often of politics in terms of moral duty. That’s an echo of the Catholic social-justice tradition. But it also reflects your sense of how to get things done.

Martin O’Malley: Yes, the politics of higher purpose—that’s what’s always drawn me to public service. I believe that the power of politics isn’t money. It’s the beliefs that unite us, when they are actually tapped—when a leader is willing to make him- or herself vulnerable for the sake of those values. I’m the only one in this race who’s again and again staked my political future on issues of principle, whether it was driver’s licenses for new immigrants, the Dream Act, or ending the death penalty. When we moved to repeal the death penalty, there wasn’t a single adviser in my circle who said, “This is really great politics.”

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