Posted on 11/18/2014 6:13:06 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
ANNAPOLIS — Preparing to launch a Republican administration in deep-blue Maryland, Gov.-elect Larry Hogan on Monday introduced a transition team that included some familiar Democratic faces as he moved to avoid some of the partisan confrontations that stymied the state’s last Republican governor.
Mr. Hogan repeatedly promised to lead a bipartisan executive branch that would be staffed with experts, not partisans, to work with the heavily Democratic General Assembly to tackle the state’s severe budget and economic problems.
“We have an enormous challenge ahead of us,” Mr. Hogan told reporters as he introduced six members of his transition team. “I’m looking for the smartest, most capable, most experienced, most talented people we can find, whether they are Democrat or Republican, whether they have business experience or government experience, whether they come from Maryland or from somewhere else.”
The transition team was the latest signal from Mr. Hogan to the Democratic leadership of the General Assembly that he wanted to avoid the bitter partisan feud that engulfed Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., who was elected in 2002 as the state’s first Republican governor in 33 years and served one term before being defeated by Democrat Martin O'Malley.
Mr. Ehrlich weathered lawsuits for firing longtime Democratic appointees and suffered criticism for hiring Republicans with questionable credentials, including professional ice dancer Gregory Maddalone for a top job at the Maryland Department of Transportation.
Mr. Hogan won an upset victory over Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, a Democrat who, after serving eight years with Mr. O'Malley, expected to coast to an easy win in a state where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-to-1.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Maryland “Freak State” PING!
So in other words, Maryland still has a Democrat administration.
state’s severe budget and economic problems.
Wait,,,,I thought they were a socialist dream state...the bluest of blue right after Kalifornica NewYawk and Illynoise! There are not problems like that! Electing dumblecrats was supposed to be the answer!
Oh worra worra...shattered faith is what I got.
LOL
So the pubbie gov takes advice from the ones who got them into the mess to begin with.
Ought to turn out real well.
Another spineless RINO @$$ho.. that just doesn’t get it.
In all fairness, he has GOP people on his transition team, too, and the Rat members don’t appear to include evil people like Brian Frosh.
This will poison his administration.
Outreach to democrats to foster bi-partisanship never works.
Demoocrats are dishonorable and cannot be trusted.
Look back at history.
George “Dubya” Bush reached out to democrats as soon as he took office in 2001.
The democrats took his peace offerings then immediately crapped on him and never stopped for the next eight years.
Enjoy your walk across the aisle. ..because you'll be limping back.
The Stupid Party Strikes Again.
The naïveté is astounding.
Has the man not heard of Governors Walker, Kasich and Scott? They are adherents to “lead, follow or get out of the way”.
In defense of Hogan, there are only three other Republicans in the state of Maryland.
Well that didn’t take long for him to be subverted...
Whoops. The governor is setting himself up for failure already.
He’s a one-termer.
This reminds me of the National Cathedral inviting mohammedans to do their bowing to Mecca thingy. It is always a one way street. I have more respect for mohammedans and Democrats than their spineless counterparts who stand for nothing, believe in nothing and will fight for nothing.
Unfortunately, this is Maryland, where the GOP is inherently VERY weak. Hogan will have to play ball with the Dems to get an agenda through a hostile legislature. Picking off some reasonable Dems he can work with is his best approach.
He can’t do things the same way as Walker, Kasich or Scott, all of whom are fortunate to have GOP legislative majorities. If he tries an exclusively “Republican” approach, he might as well spend the next 4 years going to supermarket openings, because nothing will get done and he’ll be just as swiftly voted out.
One Coin. Two Sides.
Believe it or not, there are a few vocal democrats in MD that have been concerned about the spending in the state. I was shocked when I heard them on WMAL. But another take on this is that there are not enough Republicans left in the state to fill his positions.
Dems control House 91-50 Senate 33-14 Lets be partisan and see where that gets us.
If you aren’t from MD please don’t comment on this because you have no idea how hard it is to get a Republican elected in MD and how hard it is for them to get anything accomplished if they shut the dems out.
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