How dare Larry Hogan favor the rule of law | STAFF COMMENTARY

Just when we thought we’d seen and heard everything, Maryland’s Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate — a candidate who could make the difference in the GOP gaining control of that chamber — is roundly condemned on national television by the co-chair of the Republican National Committee. And what did former Gov. Larry Hogan say that caused Lara Trump to call his remarks “ridiculous” and to raise the possibility that the party will not support his candidacy?

He posted on social media that any verdict in the Donald Trump hush money trial should be respected no matter how it plays out. “We must reaffirm what has made this nation great: the rule of law,” Hogan posted in X  shortly before the jury produced its 34 guilty convictions.

Now, in Normal World, saying that the courts should be respected is a lot like suggesting one should stop at red lights, eat a balanced diet and not storm the U.S. Capitol seeking to overturn the results of an election. It leans into obvious. But apparently in the increasingly cult-like atmosphere of the GOP, describing Donald Trump-related legal proceedings without words like “rigged” or “communist” or “banana republic” is regarded as an act of disloyalty punishable by disenfranchisement. Lara Trump on CNN was hardly an outlier. GOP political strategist Chris LaCivita who works with Trump replied to Hogan’s post that “You just ended your campaign.”

The voted-off-the-island reaction against Hogan has been so outrageous that some Democrats, including supporters of Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks who is running for the Senate seat against Hogan, assume it’s fakery. After all, Trump isn’t especially popular in Maryland, a state that surely won’t be in play in the presidential race this fall. And Hogan is running ads pitching himself as someone who won’t follow the GOP lockstep. His decision not to attend the Republican National Convention next month and earlier announcement that he won’t vote for Trump in November fit the double-reverse narrative.

Hogan’s attendance at the Annapolis Pride Parade and Festival over the weekend left quite a few people scratching their heads on social media, as well. As governor, an LGBTQ+ protections bill approved by the General Assembly became law in 2015 without Hogan’s signature, staking out a skepticism of Pride issues early in his first term. Reversal or pander or a bit of both? It’s easy to become confused.

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