Hogan Says No

Finally, ending years of speculation on whether he will run for President, today, former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced he will not run. He made this statement on National TV in a taped interview with Bob Costas on Face the Nation. Acknowledging that he is a Republican in the Ronald Reagan conservative model, Hogan claims that although many in his party share these views, not enough do.Additionally, he said that stepping back from running was a tough decision, but he did not want to enable a victory by the former president in the Republican primaries. The former governor noted that DJT and DeSantis appear to be the front runners, with all the other candidates far behind, and believed that if the primaries had many candidates as in 2016, DJT would emerge victorious, which was a result he did not want to see. He would like to see the Republican Party return to the party that he rose up in when he first ran for governor in Maryland. But last year, the MD primary rejected his supported candidate for Governor, Kelly Schultz, and instead chose a far-right “wing-nut”, as some described him, to run for that post. The voters in MD rejected this candidate almost two to one as the Democratic nominee emerged victorious in the general election.

Hogan further discussed the facts that the Republicans have lost the popular vote in several recent elections and need to change if they expect to win over voters. If this change does not occur, he sees years of continued defeats for his party. He repeated the significance of the last Presidential election where his party lost the House, the Senate, and the White House, and warned that this could continue if the Party does not seek other candidates with different views. About 30% of his party still supports the former president, and they don’t want to change. Hogan stated he is a truth-teller, and the party needs more of those. Obviously, he thinks little of those who claim the previous election was stolen and continue to repeat those lies.

When asked in the interview if he would support former VP Mike Pence, Hogan stated yes. Pence has boxed himself in, it seems, by claiming Congressional immunity from answering a subpoena or testifying to the Grand Jury in the investigation being run by special counsel Jack Smith. Since he has already written and published a book addressing the events surrounding January sixth, few pundits understand his reluctance. Many believe his argument is reaching for straws and do not understand his reluctance to speak before the Grand Jury. Possibly, writing something down differs significantly from testifying under oath, who knows? If this proceeds to the Supreme Court, few expect his argument will hold, since Senator Graham, with a better argument of being an actual Senator, did not prevail in his quest to not have to testify in the Georgia vote tampering case.

The Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) is in town this week, or rather down at National Harbor for its annual CPAC Convention. This used to be referred to as the conservative prom where all the presidential hopefuls came to play and show off. However, this year there were many no-shows as DeSantis, Senator Tim Scott, Senator Ted Cruz, Governor Sununu, and several others were at the other conservative powerhouse event being held by the Club for Growth on the West Coast. The former president was not invited, so reports say. Governor Youngkin and former Secretary Pompeo could not attend but were also invited. At least, this time, the CPAC group did not hear from the totalitarian leader, Viktor Orban of Hungary.

CPAC has had some problems this year as its’ leader, Matt Schlapp, is facing charges of sexual harassment by a Walker campaign volunteer who was assigned to drive him around during the Georgia Senate campaign. Vanity Fair reports on this and other concerns for the group in the link above. But, CPAC had Don Jr, Matt Gaetz, Mike Lindell, (the pillow guy), Marjorie Taylor Greene, Jim Jordan, Mike Pompeo, and the former president, so what more could anyone want? Former UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, also spoke in a pandering speech but was not well received by the audience. According to CNN, DJT gave a rambling 90-minute speech where they documented at least 33 inaccuracies or lies. The New York Times mentioned the same, noting he wildly inflated the murder and crime rates in New York City. He also claimed that even if he were to be indicted, he would still stay in the race for president. Still, he won a candidate straw poll vote from meeting attendees with 66% of the vote. This was his crowd, and even though the attendance was significantly lower than in previous years, the fervent and faithful showed up.

What should we make of all of this? Well, it is early days yet, primaries will not happen for another year and a lot can happen in a year. With any luck, DJT will be behind bars by then. (Hey, I can dream, can’t I?) Many say that DeSantis has yet to be tested on a national stage and, given his notoriously thin skin, may flame out when challenged. Others note he is acting imperiously as he ventures out of state and is trying to outdo the former president with his inflammatory statements. Can this last; I doubt it, but time will tell. He claims it is time to have the nation follow Florida’s’ example, but few voters really know how extreme he has become in his actions there. Although this nation was founded on principles of religious tolerance, some believe he is trying to make Florida a Christian state. Not only is he attacking trans youth and LBGTQ residents, but he also went after Disney for opposing him and supporting their Disney World employees. I think he is also trying to create a totalitarian state. One of his legislators was even trying to outlaw the Democratic Party as a viable entity in Florida, supposedly because “once upon a time” Florida Democrats supported slavery. And that differs from DeSantis outlawing the teaching of slavery and the civil rights movement, how? Continue to monitor DeSantis; he cannot be allowed to get away with these antics.

Today, to commemorate the anniversary of the March across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama by Civil Rights activists, President Biden spoke at the site. He advocated for voting rights and the passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights legislation, which was defeated by a Senate filibuster last year. If you remember, the police beat John Lewis severely at that bridge and he suffered a fractured skull. Biden noted how many states had restricted voting rights in recent years but lamented the fact that with this House there was little chance to pass legislation now.

Heather Cox Richardson wrote an excellent piece about this in her column tonight. She spoke of the history surrounding that day, where after several marches and attempts to vote, citizens were arrested, beaten, or given literacy tests that none passed. Several civil rights groups organized a march that would start at the bridge. The violence of that day led eventually to the passage of the 1965 Voting rights act after a passionate speech and support by President Johnson.

Richardson notes: “But less than 50 years later, in 2013, the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act. The Shelby County v. Holder decision opened the door, once again, for voter suppression. Since then, states have made it harder to vote. In the wake of the 2020 election, in which voters handed control of the government to Democrats, Republican-dominated legislatures in at least 19 states passed 34 laws restricting access to voting. In July 2021, in the Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee decision, the Supreme Court ruled that election laws that disproportionately affected minority voters were not unconstitutional, so long as they were not intended to be racially discriminatory. 

When the Democrats took power in 2021, they vowed to strengthen voting rights. They immediately introduced the For the People Act, which expanded voting rights, limited the influence of money in politics, banned partisan gerrymandering, and created new ethics rules for federal officeholders. Republicans in the Senate blocked the measure with a filibuster. Democrats then introduced the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would have restored portions of the Voting Rights Act, and the Freedom to Vote Act, a lighter version of the For the People Act. Republicans blocked both of those acts, too. 

And so, in 2023, the right to vote is increasingly precarious.

As Biden told marchers today, “The right to vote—the right to vote and to have your vote counted is the threshold of democracy and liberty. With it, anything is possible. Without it—without that right, nothing is possible. And this fundamental right remains under assault.”

So, as I conclude, please remember that many Republicans believe it is correct to decide who should vote and how and will continue to make laws to decrease the right to vote. Brnovitch, as noted above, specifically targets Native Americans who used to send in their votes through third parties since they live far from traditional polls. This Supreme Court has been actively agreeing with restrictive laws against the people and for the states.

So, on that note, I will conclude my remarks tonight.

“Til next week-Peace!