If I had one hyphenated word to describe my take on MD
Governor, Larry Hogan, it would be: Hyper-cautious.
If I had one hyphenated word to describe President-Elect,
Donald Trump, it would be: Hyper-Aggressive.
And, in between sits the Maryland Republican Party. Whose Party IS the MDGOP? In some ways it is
Hogan’s and in others, it is Trump’s. This uneasy marriage of these two
conflicting sides won’t last long and its general dissolution won’t be pretty,
even if it doesn’t make the news.
Why do I call the marriage one of “conflicting sides?” Well,
because they ARE conflicting sides, that’s why.
I mean, seriously, although
Larry Hogan never (as far as I know, anyway) literally called himself a
“Never-Trump” guy, he did vote for his father by literally writing him in for
President in the recently concluded election rather than vote for the
President-Elect. Vote for whomever you
want, of course, but when you’re the Governor of a state and you go around
talking about how you didn’t vote for the guy who won – when he’s of the same
party as you – is sheer lunacy. If you
simply can’t bring yourself to vote for the party standard bearer against a
corrupt witch, vote the way you want, in that instance, and then shut the
Hell up.
And, now, the President-Elect will soon control the flow of
Federal dollars to Maryland – that is the President-Elect you as Maryland
Governor, just royally dissed. Another
dissing, for the record? How about this one…
According to a multitude of sources, MDGOP National
Committeeman, David Bossie, (formerly the Head of Citizens United – and, most
recently, Donald Trump’s Deputy Campaign Manager) earlier this year held a
fundraiser for Larry Hogan and gave the Governor a check in the neighborhood of
$20,000. A few days to a few weeks
later, The Hogan Administration “thanked” Bossie for his largesse in the oddest way imaginable - by having/allowing Lt. Governor, Boyd
Rutherford, give the nominating speech on behalf of Bossie's opponent, former-MDGOP National
Committeeman, Louis Pope, when Bossie challenged Pope at the Spring GOP
Convention (and kicked Pope's bulbous ass).
Common courtesy, not to mention political etiquette, states
you do not turn on a benefactor like that.
It can’t be a good thing when you are a Governor and you have both the
President-Elect and his Deputy Campaign Manager who is also the MDGOP National
Committeeman, likely pissed off at you. Maybe I was wrong at the beginning of
this piece when I said that Hogan was hyper-cautious. Maybe it would be closer to the truth to say
he is OCCASIONALLY a hyper-dunderhead.
Don’t get me wrong – Larry Hogan is a smart guy. It’s just that when he screws up, Damn! His
screw-ups could be the stuff of legend.
Anyway, back to my question of whose party IS the MDGOP?
Well, although it IS both Trump’s and Hogan’s, for right now
I’d have to say it leans a bit towards Hogan.
This perception has been aided by the fact that Hogan Campaign
Counsel Dirk Haire was elected Chairman of the MDGOP at the Party's Fall Convention a few days ago to
replace outgoing Chair, Diana Waterman.
The only thing I know about Dirk Haire is that I was told he was
handpicked by Larry Hogan to be the new Chair – and, of course, that Haire ran for the position and won.
Yeah, but in this instance – with the rowdiness of certain
segments of the MDGOP, and that segment was rowdy well BEFORE the Trump forces entered – that and
a dollar will get you a coffee at some place or another.
There is another reason I say that “for right now” the MGOP
leans a bit towards Hogan is the fact that the regulars – dare I say most of
the “establishment” of the MDGOP – basically act as a country club. Not everyone, mind you, but a majority of
them definitely do. Acting as a “country
club” is certainly something the MDGOP Trump faction does not do. And, were I a betting man, I’d take the
aggressive force to destroy the country clubbers every time. A case in point:
The anti-establishment forces made its first real move four
years ago, beginning with MDGOP National Committeewoman, Nicolee Ambrose’s,
defeat of MDGOP Establishment War Horse, Audrey Scott, for the position and
then cruising to re-election by acclamation earlier this year - and continuing up through the
aforementioned defeat of Establishment Waste of Time, Louis Pope, by MDGOP National
Committeeman, the guy who would then go on to be the President-Elect’s Deputy
Campaign Manager, David Bossie. Indeed, the old line MDGOP Establishment has
taken a couple of really sound beatings over the past few years.
Yeah, so with the state party currently leaning very
slightly Hogan’s way, I think it’s only a matter of time before the Trump
forces advance and obliterate the MDGOP establishment and make the MDGOP
Trump’s party - regardless of who sits on the MDGOP Executive Board.
And, once that happens, all bets are off.
All bets. Off.
