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.
Read: Time Magazine Tries To Paint Larry Hogan As A Hardcore Conservative »
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