Maryland’s Hogan a RINO

OPINION:

What do you call a Republican governor’s veto when the state legislature has a Democratic supermajority in both houses? A nothing burger (“Hogan’s criticism of Trump is misdirected,” Web, Dec. 21). When that governor is also a RINO (“Republican in Name Only”), such vetoes are merely a way of gaining ’street cred’ within the party without actually accomplishing anything. That’s a win-win situation for a RINO.

The Times’ editorial board finds it “perplexing to see Mr. Hogan regularly taking gratuitous potshots at former President Donald Trump, a fellow Republican, rather than at Democrats in the Maryland legislature, or at President Biden.” The writer continues that “it would be neither fair, nor accurate to characterize two-term Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan as a RINO,” noting that Hogan “has vetoed scores of bad bills passed by the Democrat-dominated Maryland General Assembly.” Yet in the very next breath the writer notes, “Regrettably, most of those vetoed bills have become law anyway, because liberal Democrats have supermajorities in both houses of the legislature and vote in lockstep to override the vetoes.”

A true Republican governor would be taking the fight back to his Democratic adversaries after each lost battle. Hogan instead cashes in on his vetoes, making gullible Maryland Republicans feel like he’s on their side.

Larry Hogan is, in fact, a RINO and worse still he is a RINO with a full-blown case of Trump Derangement Syndrome. Put another way, you can’t change the spots on a leopard.

PATRICK MCGINN

U.S. Marine Corps (retired)

California, Md.