Former Maryland governor Larry Hogan is not a Reagan Conservative. He’s more of a squishy George W. Bush Republican. He’s full of Trump Derangement Syndrome, and he was more than happy to lock down Maryland during Wuhan Flu. He fits in with people like Mitch McConnell, but, is he as wacky as ones like Susan Collins and Mitt Romney? Now he’s running for Senate, so, the media will portray him as a hardcore conservative
Larry Hogan Is Running for Senate as a Moderate. His Vetoes Tell a Different Story.
A governor uses his executive power to block efforts to expand abortion access, strengthen background checks on gun purchases, and require companies to offer paid family leave. That may sound like someone vying to be Donald Trump’s running mate, but it’s actually Larry Hogan, the former Maryland governor seen by many as the avatar of anti-Trump Republican moderation.
Hogan’s governorship is about to come under a microscope after he announced he was running for Senate, a surprise decision that came after months of speculation that he might make a third-party presidential bid. While Republicans had previously written off their chances of winning an open Senate seat in liberal Maryland, Hogan’s entry has changed the equation, given his reputation as the rare Republican even some Democrats like.
But during his eight years as governor, Hogan amassed a record of vetoing legislation that shows him to be more conservative than his national profile suggests. In April 2022, shortly before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Hogan vetoed a bill to increase the number of abortion providers throughout the state and allocate $3.5 million for a training program to perform the procedure safely. That same month, he rejected a measure that would require companies to offer 12 weeks of partially paid medical leave for their employees. In 2020, he blocked legislation to mandate background checks on private rifle and shotgun sales. And throughout his tenure, he vetoed bills to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, allow voters to fix mistakes on their mail-in ballots, and ban employers from asking job applicants about their criminal history.
Why should the taxpayers pay for abortions and abortion providers? That background checks bill did a lot more then appeared, and would essentially require registration of all guns in the state. Employers should ask applicants about criminal history. Really, Hogan seems more like a Michael Bloomberg type Republican: happy to use government for certain things, but, strong on economic matters. Or like a John McCain. He’s rather squishy on many things, and, really, just a Republican. Not quite a RINO, just a guy who let Trump Derangement Syndrome affect his Republican cognitive abilities.
But, what now? Is he a good choice? He’s said he won’t vote for a national abortion ban. This has incensed many Conservatives. But, it is the correct position. SCOTUS said in their opinion that abortion is left to the states, not the federal government. Los Federales shouldn’t be involved in voting to support or ban abortion.
He has stated he will support Trump if Trump is the GOP nominee. Is this a case of going where the wind’s blowing because he is running for senate? Was his TDS a case of needing the support of Democrats while governor of left leaning Maryland?
Will he be an ultra-squish Republican if he wins, throwing Republicans under the bus? Will he work towards strong border enforcement and be against amnesty? Is he willing to stop the government insanity on ‘climate change’?
“Everything he did that a Democrat wouldn’t have done is going to be pointed out and amplified,” says Michael Hanmer, a University of Maryland politics professor. “Maryland voters are pretty savvy. They’re not too far from Washington, D.C.” In a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans two-to-one, Hanmer adds, a right-wing veto history could be costly when the balance of power in Washington is at stake. “Those are vulnerabilities for him.”
However, he polled and still polls pretty darned well in Maryland. He’d probably be better off taking a slightly adversarial tone with Trump, letting Trump know he’s going to do this to get elected. And, at the end of the day, would you rather have a Republican in the Senate who might be a bit squishy, or a Democrat? What’s going to happen now is that the media will now turn on Hogan and pain him as an extremist, much like they did with John McCain, who was a media darling before he ran for president in 2008.
Mr Teach typed:
LOL. There are few Reagan or Bush conservatives remaining in the Trumpublican Party. Forgawdsakes, Representative Liz Cheney is NOT conservative enough for the MAGAt Party!! Senator James Lankford is NOT conservative enough for the MAGAt Party!!
So George W. Bush is now a squishy Republican? How many times did Mr Teach vote for him?
President Reagan supported cutting government spending but with greatly increased military spending, huge tax cuts while doubling the national debt. He and Fed Chair Volcker raised the Fed rate to 20.5% to quell inflation raising unemployment to over 10%. He nominated Sandra Day O’Connor, Robert Bork, Anthony Kennedy and Antonin Scalia to the Supreme Court. Of the four, Bork was not confirmed. There is no way that a President Trump would have nominated an O’Connor or Kennedy to the Supreme Court. President Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act in 1986 making it illegal for employers to knowingly hire illegal immigrants and also legalized (granted amnesty) to “illegals” here before 1982.
Can any nuConservative list the 6 most important positions of a “true” conservative?
e.g.,
Support federal ban on abortion?
Support federal flat tax or similar?
Support closing borders?
Government agencies?
Crime reduction?
Gun policy?
etc
THE MEDIA
Americans have a great deal of choice in the media they consume.
What Teach is most upset about is not that there are many different political flavors in the USA, but that the majority of American choose left of center media that teach does NOT approve of.
St least the rightwing has leSrned that it is no longer a
Acceptable to blame Jews for the media he does not approve of Americans choosing a bit squishy on that one, where as your real hard core conservatives like Taylor Green aren’t afraid to day it out loud or be seen with white nationalists blaming SOROS.
Well maybe that is the reason one uses alter egos, for safety reasons
We have l seen how Teach himself has gone squishy on abortion
The libs will be happy that domestic extremists have all helpfully labeled themselves to the FBI-those extremists that dare to put ash on their forehead for Ash Wednesday. Much easier to monitor then that way. Curtesy of the BB
The states that have the highest percent of Catholics are blue states while the states that have the lowest percentages are not only red states but also had the highest KKK membership. The KKK hated Catholics. I am old enough to remember when people said they wouldn’t vote for JFK for POTUS because he had to obey the Pope.
The KKK was a democrat operation. They (like all democrats) hated blacks, Jews, Catholics, Republicans, browns, homosexuals, Asians, Indians and everybody else not a white/protestant/democrat. The KKK in those days hated almost as may people as the moslems do today. Almost.
Funny how things change. Now democrats hate whites, Asians all religions but moslem, straight people, Republicans, Americans, and capitalists. The only thing they still do like before is subjugate people to slavery or indentured servitude wherever the opportunity arises.
Today’s racists, white nationalists, neoNazis, KKK, CCC, Atomwaffen, Aryan whatevers etc., are right-wing organizations that support the Republican Party and especially the new Trumpublican Party.
Ironically, most of the commenters here describe how Black Americans are ruining the nation, and how this is a white, Christian nation, based on white values. No Blacks, Muslims or Mexicans need apply.
In this, our conservative brethren and sistren are able to hold two diametrically opposed positions without triggered psychological stress!! It’s a unique skill!
Trump won! Vaccines kill more than they protect! Dems are pedophiles! Compared to white people Blacks are unintelligent, lazy and immoral! Republican Earl Butz (Nixon Admin) said it best, “I’ll tell you what the coloreds want. It’s three things: first, a tight pussy; second, loose shoes; and third, a warm place to shit.”
The Trumpublican Party is overwhelmingly white, Christian, evangelical, poorer educated and rural.
“Black Americans ruining the nation”. It’s probably more white liberals that are doing that. But 3-4% of the population committing over half of all homicides would definitely fit into a “ruining” definition
I too remember the talk about JFK being a puppet of the Pope.
In 2020 more Catholics voted for Biden than Trump according to every exit poll.
Teach
Reagan wanted to ban assault rifles, ooops I mean scary looking modern “sporting rifles”
Do you see Trump as a conservative ?The King of Debt ?