Video: Martin O’Malley knocks the Bush-Clinton dynasties in 2016

I was wondering when one of the candidates was going to drop this bomb and begin arguing against Jeb Bush and/or Hillary Clinton on the basis that we need new blood in the upper echelons of government. O’Malley is still considered a long-shot bid so he doesn’t have much to lose in hitting out at the Democratic frontrunner and a potential Republican rival.

Report from the New York Times:

Former Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland, who has been promoting himself to Democrats as a potential alternative to Hillary Rodham Clinton in the 2016 race for the White House, on Sunday spoke out against the possibility of a dynastic rematch between Mrs. Clinton and Jeb Bush.

“The presidency of the United States is not some crown to be passed between two families,” Mr. O’Malley said on ABC’s “This Week.” [Emphasis added]

Until now, Mr. O’Malley’s refusal to attack Mrs. Clinton outright has prompted detractors to suggest that he was running more for vice president than to be the party’s eventual nominee.

On Sunday, Mr. O’Malley said repeatedly that “new perspectives and new leadership are needed.”

And he said that Democrats needed to nominate someone who was willing to take on “wealthy special interest groups.” Asked if Mrs. Clinton fit that description, Mr. O’Malley demurred.

“I don’t know where she stands,” he said. “Will she represent a break with the failed policies of the past? I don’t know.”

Here is video of O’Malley’s full interview on ABC’s “This Week”:

The article focuses on this line of attack against Hillary from a fellow democrat, but I think it serves as notice to Republican primary voters leery of putting another Bush on the ballot as well. If Hillary is the Democratic nominee and Jeb Bush is the Republican nominee, then they can do throwback Thursday all day long and neither side is more guilty than the other of being part of a political dynasty.

However, if Republicans pick someone not named Bush, then Democrats risk facing attacks over Hillary as “old news,” despite being the first female nominee of either major party. The same is true if Democrats pick someone other than Hillary and Republicans settle on Jeb. In either of those cases, I think the benefit goes to the candidate who isn’t named Bush or Clinton. You could argue that name recognition goes a long way against a lesser known challenger. To that I say, you’re right, but it could be either good or bad.