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News and Politics
Wes Moore's Plan from Hell: Wes Moore’s State Plan is an expensive boondoggle that Maryland can’t afford
Conservative Journalist Bethany Mandel Files for MoCo School Board: Mandel Has Sued MCPS After Being Blocked from Meeting
Guest Post: Larry Hogan and Conventional Political Wisdom: As they often say in the TV news world -- “stay tuned as this is a developing story.”
Democratic Polling Firm Push Polls Maryland over Hogan Candidacy: Somebody is afraid of Larry Hogan's candidacy...
US Education Department Investigating Johns Hopkins Over Anti-Semitism: Feds Investigating Hopkins' Failure to Respond to Harassment of Jewish Students
The Lincoln Project's AI Video is Stupid: Latest video shows just how far this anti-Trump group has lost the script.
Reminder….
The Monday Thought
To say that Larry Hogan’s surprise announcement of his Senate candidacy has changed a lot of strategies. And not just because John Teichert withdrew from the race and endorsed Hogan last week.
Let’s take a look at what some leading Democrats have said recently….
Moore said the country has seen the Supreme Court “dismantle decades of precedent overnight,” and he asserted that Republicans continue to “stand by” as women’s reproductive rights are attacked across the country.
Trone earlier this week unveiled a 30-second statewide TV ad featuring endorsements from Prince George’s County Councilmember Krystal Oriadha (D) and former state Del. Ana Sol Gutierrez (D-Montgomery).
“As a black woman that struggled during my pregnancy, it is so important to have elected officials that are not afraid to go against insurance. Big industry,” Oriadha says in the ad. “It’s important to have people that look like me, but it’s more important to have people that are going to fight for me.”
Yes, it’s the old playbook that Democrats are trying to use against Hogan. That Larry Hogan is “too extreme’ on abortion and women’s issues. If that sounds familiar to you, it should. Becuase it’s the same argument that Anthony Brown and his team used against Hogan during the 2014 gubernatorial campaign.
As you may have noticed…it did not work.
The reason that it does not work is because of what Hogan himself has said.
Do I agree with Hogan’s position? No. It is not the position I would take as a United States Senator.
But the Democrats accusations that Hogan “is going to vote with Mitch McConnell to ban abortion” is just plain old inconsistent with what Hogan’s actual record is as Governor AND his words as a candidate for the U.S. Senate.
The Huffington Post is trying to carry water for Democrats on this issue by tying the issue in to Hogan’s veto of funding to train more abortion providers:
The ex-governor used his promise as a backwards justification for vetoing a 2022 bill to empower nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives and physician assistants to perform abortions. That legislation also allocated $3.5 million to train abortion providers. Hogan claimed the bill went against his commitment to uphold Maryland’s existing abortion law. He also argued it would “set back standards for women’s health care and safety.”
Statehouse Democrats easily overrode Hogan’s veto, but Hogan was still able to delay the release of the $3.5 million until the arrival of his Democratic successor, Gov. Wes Moore, in 2023.
The problem of course is that the law DID set back standards for women’s health care and safety because it legally empowered nonphysicians to perform abortions.
Democrats are also trying to resurrect the discredited 2018 story about using state funds to help his businesses, funds that were put into place by the O’Malley Administration before Hogan ever took office.
MEANWHILE, over on the Republican side, RObin Ficker is going with the Charles Lollar strategy of peddling the “I’m the only candidate who can win!” theory despite every piece of evidence to the contrary and calling Hogan (what else) a RINO.
Remember, this is the same guy who sent this mailer in 2016, so….
Basically, the Democratic primary and the Republican primary have devolved into rehashes of 2014-era attacks directed solely at Larry Hogan. All that is old is new again. It remains to be seen in the General Election this fall if following the same strategy will yield a different result…..