Analyst: O'Malley email on Charleston shooting 'not very presidential'
O'Malley in email to supporters: 'I'm pissed'
The 2016 presidential candidates wasted no time responding to the Charleston church shooting, including Democrat Martin O'Malley, who used strong language in an email to supporters.
The former Maryland governor wants potential voters to know about his gun control record, but one political analyst said the way O'Malley did it Friday is "unpresidential."
Appearing with a somber tone on Friday's "Morning Joe" on MSNBC, O'Malley answered questions about the sweeping gun control bills passed in Annapolis in his last term.
"It was difficult to pass, but we knew if we could save one life, it would be an important effort," O'Malley said.
But in an email sent to supporters hours later, O'Malley's mood changed drastically with the subject line, "I'm pissed." He used the phrase four times to express his disgust with Congress and the National Rifle Association and then touted his record on banning high-magazine weapons and adding fingerprint requirements.
The email, in part, reads: "So now, I'm doubling down, and I need your help. What we did in Maryland should be the first step of what we do as a nation. The NRA is already blaming the victims of (Wednesday's) shooting for their own deaths, saying they, too, should have been armed. Let's put an end to this madness."
"It's a fundraising stunt. It's very intemperate. If anything, it shows he's not very presidential," political analyst Barry Rascovar said. "I'm a bit puzzled that he would do this except for the fact that's he out to try to raise money from supporters who might look for someone who is going to shout as loud as possible."
Republican presidential candidate and former Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson focused his response on racial tensions, saying: "If we don't pay close attention to the hatred and division that's going on in our nation, this is just a harbinger of what we can expect."
The following is the O'Malley email to supporters in its entirety:
I'm pissed that after an unthinkable tragedy like the one in South Carolina yesterday, instead of jumping to act, we sit back and wait for the appropriate moment to say what we're all thinking: that this is not the America we want to be living in.
I'm pissed that we’re actually asking ourselves the horrific question of, what will it take? How many senseless acts of violence in our streets or tragedies in our communities will it take to get our nation to stop caving to special interests like the NRA when people are dying?
I'm pissed that after working hard in the state of Maryland to pass real gun control -- laws that banned high-magazine weapons, increased licensing standards, and required fingerprinting for handgun purchasers -- Congress continues to drop the ball.
It's time we called this what it is: a national crisis.
I proudly hold an F rating from the NRA, and when I worked to pass gun control in Maryland, the NRA threatened me with legal action, but I never backed down.
So now, I'm doubling down, and I need your help. What we did in Maryland should be the first step of what we do as a nation. The NRA is already blaming the victims of yesterday's shooting for their own deaths, saying they too should have been armed. Let's put an end to this madness and finally stand up to them. Here are some steps we should be taking:
1. A national assault weapons ban.
2. Stricter background checks.
3. Efforts to reduce straw-buying, like fingerprint requirements.
Not one of the GOP presidential candidates comes even close to being right on this issue -- and some actually believe that things like background checks are excessive, or that high-capacity magazines are a basic right. Well, I believe we all have a basic right to safe schools, safe places to worship, and safe streets.
Are you with me?