Dayhoff Soundtrack: The Sun might have it close to correct.... Hogan's fringe flank

Monday, January 12, 2015

The Sun might have it close to correct.... Hogan's fringe flank

Go to the website for the complete editorial… http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bs-ed-gop-extreme-20150112-story.html

January 12, 2015 Monday - - This week the New York Times held up Gov.-elect Larry Hogan as an exemplar of Republicans turning away from the ideologically-driven tea party politics of 2010 and toward pragmatism. The Times identified a new breed of governors in that mold, not just in blue states like Maryland and Illinois but in solidly red ones like Tennessee as well. Mr. Hogan is quoted in the article saying his victory "had nothing to do with partisan politics" and that he did not plan "to push [Maryland] in a conservative direction." At least initially, it seemed like he would have some room to maneuver in a state Republican Party that also saw victories by a trio of socially moderate, fiscally conservative county executives in Anne Arundel, Harford and Howard counties.

But the divisive wing of the state GOP is, apparently, not quite ready to hold its tongue.

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http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bs-ed-gop-extreme-20150112-story.html

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And finally, we have the case of Robin Frazier, the former Carroll County commissioner. She lost her re-election bid last year but saw her political career resurrected when the county's Republican Central Committee picked her for the state Senate seat being vacated by Joe Getty, who is taking a post in the Hogan administration. Should Mr. Hogan confirm the committee's choice, as governors almost always do, he will see an even-keeled and articulate spokesman for his agenda in the Senate replaced by someone whose claim to fame is her pledge to go to jail rather than omit the word "Jesus" from a prayer at the start of a commission meeting. What makes the choice all the more inexplicable is that the committee members passed over the well qualified and eminently reasonable Del. Justin Ready. It's almost as if they don't want the governor to succeed.

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http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bs-ed-gop-extreme-20150112-story.html

Mr. Hogan won election by avoiding divisive social issues and focusing on a centrist agenda of fiscal conservatism and economic growth. But apparently that memo hasn't trickled down to all corners of the state GOP just yet. The governor-elect has a golden opportunity to build a competitive Maryland Republican Party, so long as his fellow Republicans don't get in the way.

Go to the website for the complete editorial…

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bs-ed-gop-extreme-20150112-story.html

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