Ed Hale already abandoned the Republican Party after his failed, doomed-from-the-start campaign for Governor of Maryland. But the debased, defeated rump of his campaign has morphed into a fountain of dumbassery.
The Hale Campaign for Governor has morphed into “Hale Storm LLC”, a podcast that ostensibly has the mission to “ensure citizens like you are well informed about what policy makers, politicians and industry are doing to impact our lives, liberty and fortunes. Without fear, without favor and totally unapologetic.”
That idea that they are aiming to keep people “well informed” has been annihilated early in their run.
On their third episode, Hale Storm released a show with this premise: “Did Larry Hogan's performance during the pandemic weaken the Republican party in Maryland? Gordana Schifanelli shares her views on how Hogan may have destroyed any chance for a moderate Republican to win in deep blue Maryland.”
Yes, these clowns trotted out Gordana Schifanelli, of all people, on their third episode and think they maintain any semblance of credibility.
Let me tell you something: a show that has Ed Hale, who is a black hole of charaisma, interviewing Gordana Schifanelli, who has a room temperature IQ, is not scintillating entertainment.
Schifanelli, of course, is no stranger to Duckpin readers, as we have an entire slew of stories about the discredited former candidate for Lt. Governor of Maryland from the 2022 campaign. We also covered Schifanelli’s humorous attempt at running for Maryland GOP Chair, including her disqualification from the race, and her temper tantrum on the floor of the 2022 Republican Party Convention.
Schifanelli, like Ed Hale, abandoned the GOP when it no longer suited their political needs. The fact that two-ex Republicans are talking about this topic is categorically insane, especially considering Gordana Schifanelli is practically a fascist.
A major portion of the show focuses on the opinion of these two former Republicans as to why the Republican Party struggles to gain traction here
Schifanelli argues that the Maryland GOP is fundamentally broken and severely divided, with factions fighting each other just as viciously as they fight Democrats, e heavily criticizes the state party’s establishment and leadership, claiming it is “infested” with politicians who prioritize their own status over actually developing winning strategies or expanding the voter base, and claims the party establishment intentionally created chaos at the convention and prevented her from even getting on the ballot or taking the microphone to address the delegates without mentioning the fact that she was disqualified from the race.
Schifanelli, without a hint of irony, stressed that Republicans need to stop dividing themselves into "moderate" and "extreme" camps and instead unite around the core conservative principles of minimizing government intervention, lowering taxes, and reducing regulations so families and businesses can thrive.
The irony of course is that Schifanelli and the loyal cadre of jabronis who still cling to her are the people who love breaking people into camps, calling people RINOs, and refusing to unite around the core conservative principles of minimizing government intervention, lowering taxes, and reducing regulations so families and businesses can thrive by instituting purity tests regarding facemasks, book bans, conspiracy theories, and loyalty to Donald Trump. The idea that Schifanelli (or Hale, for that matter, after his lifetime status as a Democrat) would have the audacity to talk about the need for unity in the GOP when she abandoned it and acted like a complete assclown in nearly every political interaction she has ever had is beyond farcical.
And you want to know the real reason that Hale, Keys, and Schifanelli are so bitter at Larry Hogan? He won and they didn’t. Plain and simple.
Ed Hale is not the first failed politician to try and become and podcaster, and he won’t be the last. But don’t let him and his team trick you into thinking this is some sort of intellectual pursuit. This is the Ed Hale Bitterness revenge tour. He’s willing to give a platform to any sort of dumbfuckery that is willing to to help avenge his vendetta against the party that soundly rejected him in the Republican primary. While he is entitled to produce whatever podcast he wants, don’t let him pretend he has Maryland’s interests at heart.