He's Been Everywhere, Man

Before you put 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Martin O'Malley in the "Where Are They Now?" file, here are a few places where he's been and where he's going.  He's been in Texas, he's been at an annual Democratic dinner in Kentucky and he's campaigned in South Carolina for Democratic House candidate Archie Parnell in a special election.  And oh yes, he was in Utah earlier this year.  Martin O'Malley is going everywhere all over America to build up the Democratic Party from the ground up and to campaign for Democrats on the local level - something Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez doesn't seem to be even remotely interested in doing these days.

O'Malley (shown above in Iowa during his presidential campaign) is leading the fight to restore the Democratic Party, but so far he's leading a phantom army.  While the Republicans are delivering a blow to the head, Democrats respond with a tap on the shoulder.  Although Marty didn't go for Perez's current job, you'd think he had it from the way he's been fighting.

Right now, no one cares.  O'Malley, still the butt of jokes in and out of Democratic circles and in the pro-Trump and anti-Trump media, wants to be a part of the "resistance" against Trump ("Now we fight!"), but people keep resisting him ("What exactly do you mean by 'fight,' here, governor?" - Jake Tapper of the Clinton News Network).  But O'Malley is positioning himself to have the last laugh.  He won't get every Democrat he campaigns for elected, but he is cultivating a lot of goodwill among rank-and-file Democrats with his progressive message and his devotion to the party, and that can only help him if he seeks the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.

That is, unless Tom Perez runs the party into the ground first.

In which case, O'Malley should run for the 2020 presidential nomination of whatever party replaces it.  Many of his backers will likely be the ex-Democrats who got screwed by Perez.

Martin O'Malley has been everywhere, man.  So why are Democratic leaders treating him like a nowhere man?