While one person's vote in Maryland will certainly not impact the outcome of the upcoming presidential election, the bigger principle behind Governor Hogan's decision to write-in Ronald Reagan as his choice for president deserves some scrutiny.  Considerable resources are spent in this country to promote "getting out the vote" or educating individuals on the importance of voting.  IMO, it is bad enough to have third party candidates on the ballot who have no legitimate chance of winning the election.  Nevertheless, anyone who qualifies to have their name on the ballots of all 50 states should be included, unlike someone like Kanye West whose name will only appear in a handful of states and whose name recognition could potentially skew results in those states.  This to me is indefensible.  Your name should appear on every ballot or none of them.  Period.

Back to Hogan, the Republican governor obviously could not align his vote with President Trump nor could he bring himself to vote for Vice President Biden.  Had he written in Ronald Reagan and not told a soul about it, we would not have known about any behavior to scrutinize.  Which by the way, would have been fine with me since I've long considered voting a private matter. 

Instead, Hogan wanted to make a statement by letting people know that it's cool to throw your vote away.  Or, was he just trying to be funny, nothing more, nothing less?  No matter the rationale, what Hogan did wasn't funny and it wasn't cool.  And publicizing his move was just plain stupid.

 

GWRising, flushing your vote down the toilet is not what I feel a role model ought to be doing.  I get it..you can't stand one guy and can't stand the policies of the other.  If it's the lesser of two evils, I'd have had far more respect for Hogan had he picked one.  Or, if he had picked one of the two additional choices on the ballot, which at least is more credible than writing in the name of a deceased president.  And, he could have written in Reagan and never publicly told anyone, which really would have been the best solution for him.  Instead, he decided to draw attention to how he voted.  As a governor, he needs to be a leader by example.  Maybe the next time I'm faced with acting in accord with one of his policies that I don't agree with, I'll just protest it instead.  While I'm being arrested, I can always point out that I'm echoing the spirit of Governor Hogan who didn't like his choices for president so he chose to ignore them.  

Apparently, Hogan is being looked upon as a national joke for doing this according to a Washington Post article that came out today.  The Baltimore Sun also wrote a scathing editorial at Hogan's expense.

I'm not the best person to ask about Biden (to support your argument) due to a personal connection I have to someone who knows him extremely well.  When the cameras are not rolling, I have heard nothing but the fact that he is a very honorable, caring, decent man.  He values family above all else, which had a lot to do with why he didn't run in 2016.  He is neither evil nor malicious despite anything you may have heard on Fox News or OAN.  About the worst I can say about him is that he has demonstrated an inability during his public like to always know when to stop talking, thereby making an erroneous or regrettable remark on occasion.  That said, erroneous or regrettable on occasion comes nowhere close to dishonest, deceptive, angry, and unempathetic every single day of the year.

GWmayhem - I guess you did not realize that Rudy's interactions with a known Russian agent was in the best interests of the US.   Just like the US Secret Service paying the Trump family full rates for golf carts and hotel rooms while protecting the Con-man-in-Chief is in the best interests of the US's financial well-being.  It's not like there's something wrong with two Trump kids getting top salaries in the WH, of the rest of his family, family girlfriends and family bodyguard all getting $15K per month from his campaign committee.  GWmayhem I just don't understand how you could be so mislead .

Comparing Trump's corruptness to Biden's  is like comparing Vlad the Impaler's saintliness to Mother Teresa's.  

Last edited by BC (10/20/2020 7:57 pm)

Milbank link:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/10/20/case-against-trump-600-all-caps-words-35-exclamation-points/

GWRising, the Biden family crime spree?  You mean the one that the New York Post published, the same one that the reporter opted not to include his or her own name on?  The same one that social media decided to limit on its news feeds?  Am not sure where you are from but speaking as a New Yorker, allow me to point out what's been obvious to most of us for over a century:  feel free to get your sports news from the NY Post, but not your actual news.

I recognize that this isn't your Post of choice but you might want to read David Ignatius's outstanding column that appeared in the Washington Post several days ago.  To summarize, Hunter Biden absolutely made an error in judgment and his father failed to fully understand the political ramifications of his son's decision.  That said, absolutely no crimes were committed (and if you have proof of a crime, do speak up).  Or Ignatius, a universally respected journalist who isn't afraid to sign his name to his work points out, just because there's smoke does not automatically mean there's a fire.

OK, you'll let me know when things get worse for Biden.

Am glad you used the words "in his day" to describe Giuliani's legal prowess.  Sounds like even you know how far off the deep end this guy has gone.  It's sad really to see someone so enamored with the spotlight try to hang on despite his mental faculties being called into question.  I may not have felt this way about anyone since Willie Mays tried to play centerfield for the Mets.

Am not sure that I'd rather be Trump than Biden right now, but I will say that 2016 has taught me the lesson of not trusting polls when Trump is involved.  I think that segment of the population who will vote for Trump but will deny this beforehand in a poll is considerable.  I have heard countless reports about how Biden's poll margins are greater than Hillary's and frankly, I haven't bought into this in 2020.  He stole one election and he's certainly capable of stealing another.  Every US intelligence department has acknowledged Russian interference in the 2016 election and Trump has done nothing over four years to make sure that this doesn't happen again.

I guess the election couldn't be make or break for the Republicans since the party is already badly broken.  I don't need to see or hear about this from the media since I have enough Republican friends who feel this way.  What I think you misinterpret in all of this is that I do not begrudge the Republican party for having a belief and value system that's different than my own.  I did not hold enraged opinions about Reagan or either Bush (though I was quick to point out that W, while undoubtedly a very nice guy, wasn't a bright enough bulb to serve as our President).  A Republican does not at all make for a bad person.  Yet, I do feel differently about a Trump supporter.  To me that person condones racism, bigotry, hatred, incompetence, and dishonesty.  You yourself have written more than once that you don't have to like the guy in order to like his policies.  Well, we're past that.  Not liking the guy, not liking how he has purposefully divided this country, not liking how classless and rude he is on a daily basis, not liking how he would be arrested by now if he was anyone other than the President...all of this ought to be enough to vote him out of office.  At some point, your endorsement of him becomes a reflection of you.  Just my opinion.

By the way, speaking of Rudy as we were earlier, enjoy the new Borat movie. 

 

Last edited by Gwmayhem (10/21/2020 1:46 pm)

GWRising, yesterday you wrote that DNI and FBI both say no Russian disinformation. This is why it's very difficult not to take anything you are saying with a grain of salt.  About 8 hours after you wrote "DNI and FBI both say no Russian disinformation", a press conference is held where the FBI announces that Russia is interfering again (along with Iran).  Last I checked, the FBI is a bi-partisan Federal agency and not the liberal think tank you're likely about to make them out to be.  As for John Ratcliffe, I'm not sure what he's on.  He produces an email, originating from Iran and "From" the Proud Boys, with a subject line that says Vote Trump, and then goes on to claim that among Iran's objectives is to damage Trump?  With a subject line that says Vote Trump?  We should all be so damaged.

Reminds me of the old shell game.  Now you see it, now you don't.  If you play long enough, you'll suffer from eye strain, I guess.
 

Last edited by Gwmayhem (10/22/2020 10:52 am)

Ahh Russian myopia is in full effect. Gwmayhem, I never said there wasn't Russian disinformation, I said the FBI and DNI confirmed that the Hunter Biden revelations weren't Russian disinformation. They obviously have Hunter Biden's laptop and I would imagine computer forensics. Plus, they now have the statements, text messages and emails of at least two long-time business associates of Hunter Biden (predating Trump). You'd have to believe in some next level conspiracy shit if you think the Russians planned this before Donald Trump was President just in case Joe Biden ran in 2020.  As I told you ,it will get worse for your boy and it is getting worse whether you choose to ignore it or not. Even if Biden wins, there is now a possibility he will face criminal investigation and possible impeachment. Maybe this was not the Russians but Kamala lol. Her husband thinks she is going to be President (maybe that was a slip).

Of course there is all sorts of disinformation out there. Do you think that 2016 was the first time Russia or anyone else tried to interfere in our elections? Why you choose to focus on one country and not the others shows your myopia. All foreign actors should be out of our politics not just the ones that favor Trump.

BC, you should write comedy because you obviously prefer comedy to facts. Wray is playing it straight? How does the FBI lose all sorts of records supporting the FISA warrants and their investigation of Flynn? How does Wray have no explanation for same. If this was Nixon's FBI you would be apoplectic. Barr worse than Hoover? Just wow is all that needs to be said.

Finally, Gwmayhem, as for the Proud Boys email, you probably believe that people would purposely sign their names to mass threatening emails that would bring criminal charges. Surprised that they didn't put a phone number and email address on there as well. The thing was so amateur and such a set-up that only the Iranians could have done it. LOL. It was easy to figure out.