O'Malley walks into a bar -- and takes a shot at Trump official

SAN DIEGO -- Let's hear it for public shaming.

If you follow the after-hours antics of politicians, you may have heard that former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley recently tore into Ken Cuccinelli at an Irish bar in Washington.

The Trump administration's acting deputy secretary of Homeland Security went to The Dubliner for a Guinness, he later told Fox News in a statement about the incident. Cuccinelli never got his beer. But he did get an earful from O'Malley about how his career path had gone astray.

In fact, from all accounts, it was an old school tongue lashing. It seems O'Malley does not look kindly on anyone who supports, defends or implements any part of President Trump's well-publicized crusade against immigrants.

It's not as if this sort of thing is unheard of. In the past, other Trump administration officials have also been berated in public -- from White House senior adviser Stephen Miller to then-press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders to then-Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

But, for O'Malley, it's separating immigrant families and putting kids in cages that really gets his Irish up. As he sees it, no one should ever condone that -- especially if they come from immigrant stock, as most of us do.

Cuccinelli certainly does. With a name like that, you probably guessed that his ancestors didn't come over on the Mayflower.

From 1880 to 1920, more than 4 million Italians emigrated to the United States. And they were not treated nicely when they arrived. Cuccinelli's peeps were insulted, beaten, discriminated against, and even -- in an infamous case in New Orleans -- lynched.

Why, at the time, you may even have found politicians in New York or Boston who were eager to label Italian immigrants criminals and "bad hombres."

O'Malley knows this history, which is why, in a text message to reporters, he called out Cuccinelli as "the son of immigrant grandparents who cages children for a fascist president."

In other words, the Democrat told the truth. But take it from me, in politics -- as in journalism -- telling the truth can put you in enough hot water to fill a swimming pool.

As a Mexican American who makes a living bashing those who bash immigrants -- especially Latino immigrants -- I've grown suspicious of Democrats who suddenly want to be my amigo. They jump on the bandwagon of criticizing Trump and his administration for their racist policies as if they've never seen anything so horrible in all their days.

That could be. After all, it's hard to see the full picture considering they had blinders on during the years when a Democrat was in the White House.

Yet, O'Malley is an exception. He walks it like he talks it -- even when he has to speak truth to power to a president of his party.

In the summer of 2014, when President Obama was violating due process by shipping planeloads of prospective refugees -- including women and children -- back to the murder capitals of Central America without so much as a hearing, O'Malley publicly stated the obvious: A civilized nation doesn't give death sentences to children.

Speaking at the time to reporters at a meeting of the National Governors Association in Nashville, Tennessee, O'Malley said about the border crisis: "We are not a country that should turn children away and send them back to certain death." He even called Obama's holding facilities "kennels."

That took guts, especially considering that Obama's henchmen -- and henchwomen -- could be petty and mean when punishing critics.

As reported by the media at the time, O'Malley got an angry call from Cecilia Muñoz, a daughter of Bolivian immigrants who was then the head of the White House Domestic Policy Council and Obama's chief apologist. According to CNN, which quoted anonymous sources who were "familiar with the conversation," Muñoz and O'Malley got into a "heated discussion."

Muñoz mentioned that the administration was considering housing some of the remaining child refugees at a former Army Reserve Center in Westminster, Maryland. The sources said O'Malley didn't like that idea, which was probably the whole point of the threat. Still, he kept up the criticism.

So O'Malley is the real McCoy. Good on him. Cuccinelli is a disgrace to his ancestors. But the Irishman has done right by his.

Meanwhile, going forward, let's have more public shaming. After all, the Trump gang has much about which to be ashamed.

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Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com. His daily podcast, "Navarrette Nation," is available through every podcast app.