The Folly of Writers in Bubbles
Ignorant Characterizations of Politicians of Years Past Taint Credibility of Writers Obsessed with Modern Bubbles, and Curt Mills calling Larry Hogan, Sr. a "liberal" is but one example
Too often writers of all political stripes tend to let biases cloud their judgment of historical politicians and historical leaders. Once again, a conservative outlet has become the vessel for such revisionist history.
In a piece for The American Conservative, writer Curt Mills critiques the presidential bid of Governor Larry Hogan by…..accusing his father, Lawrence Hogan, Sr. of being a liberal:
“Hogan too is the progeny of power, Old Line State-style anyway. Lawrence Hogan, Sr. was a Maryland Congressman and later executive of Prince George’s County. Hogan, Sr., in a foreshadowing of his son’s own choices, was the first GOP member of the House Judiciary Committee, to demand the impeachment of Richard Nixon; Hogan would back the same approach four decades later, for Trump….
…Hogan’s pedigree is from a time when Republicans sported actual liberals, like his father.”
There will be plenty of time to debate the merits of a Gov. Hogan presidential bid over the next few years. But Mills here shows a stunning ignorance and a thorough lack of knowledge about the elder Hogan.
Mills is probably not aware that Hogan, Sr. was the first member of Congress to introduce the Human Life Amendment to the Constitution. In 1973. The week after the horrible decision in Roe v. Wade. The amendment read:
Section 1. Neither the United States nor any State shall deprive any human being, from the moment of conception, of life without due process of law; nor deny to any human being, from the moment of conception, within its jurisdiction, the equal protection of the laws.
Section 2. Neither the United States nor any State shall deprive any human being of life on account of illness, age, or incapacity.
Section 3. Congress and the several States shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Sound like the doing of a liberal?
Congressman Hogan, in addition to being staunchly pro-life, was also opposed to school busing. The Baltimore Sun wrote this about Hogan’s first campaign in 1968;
By 1968, he ran again and won on a platform of supporting "the forgotten man," a voter he described as "the hardworking, taxpaying, law-abiding citizen who goes on year after year financially supporting his government and is generally ignored."
He went on to be elected Prince George’s County Executive in 1978 and served one term in that office. In his obituary, The Washington Post wrote this about Hogan’s one-term:
"Mr. Hogan capitalized on that trend, making lower taxes and fiscal restraint the central themes of his campaign. Brandishing a report on how he could cut the county budget by $43 million, he castigated county leaders for lavish spending on schools, social programs and personnel. He was elected by a 3-to-2 margin over incumbent Winfield M. Kelly Jr.
As county executive, Mr. Hogan eliminated more than 3,000 jobs, including those of more than 500 teachers. He slashed the budgets for libraries and schools, and infrastructure spending fell to a bare minimum."
Hogan also won 60% of the vote. As a Republican. In Prince George’s County.
He spent a good deal of his term taking on everybody in the Prince George’s County establishment; county employees, the teacher’s union, the police union, the County Council. He eliminated 2,400 county jobs. He cut property taxes by 20%
So no, Lawrence Hogan, Sr. cannot be classified as a “liberal” by even the most modern of metrics.
Do you know why Mills and others like to classify the elder Hogan as a liberal? Because of this:
Mills tags Hogan, Sr. as a liberal because he thought Richard Nixon should be impeached. That’s it. Mind you, Congressman Hogan was thoroughly vindicated in supporting Nixon’s impeachment when 1. Nixon resigned; 2. Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon; and 3. All the information we learned about Nixon and Watergate after Nixon left often.
In the mind of Mills, supporting the impeachment of a Republican President makes Congressman Hogan a liberal even if the President has committed impeachable offenses. Much like how, in the minds of Trump supporters like Mills, Governor Hogan is a liberal because he opposed President Donald Trump’s election and re-election.
It’s ideologically inconsistent insanity.
Curt Mills has every right to critique Governor Hogan’s record and his decision to support or oppose President Trump. But characterizing his dad, Lawrence Hogan, Sr., as a liberal solely because he thought Nixon should (rightfully) be impeached shows a lack of intellectual curiosity and an ideological inconsistent that taints the credibility of his critiques of Governor Hogan. Mills position in the pro-Trump bubble (none dare call it conservative) shows the danger in living in an ideological bubble of bobbleheads who base everything on myopic modern glasses.
The Folly of Writers in Bubbles
WOW. The videos show a man who felt betrayed by the leader of his party. You can hear the emotion in his voice during his committee testimony. How politicians have changed over the years. Thanks for digging those up Brian.