Governor Hogan delivered remarks at The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute on the future of the GOP and the country.
Watch Governor Hogan’s Speech Here
Governor Hogan Pens USA Today Op-ed on Future of GOP: “Look Outside of Washington”
Governor Hogan penned an op-ed on the future of the Republican party in USA Today, arguing the GOP should reject the “false choice” between returning back to the way things were before 2016 and proceeding “as if this election never happened” and instead “look outside of Washington.”
Read Governor Hogan’s USA Today op-ed here and below.
Where should the Republican party go from here? As in 1980, look outside of Washington
After this chaotic election, it's time for the Republican Party to move forward and rebuild by looking outside of Washington at what Americans really need.
Governor Larry Hogan
It has been decades since an incumbent Republican President was defeated at the ballot box. But our party has been here before.
After the stain of Watergate, Republicans were wiped out in the 1976 elections. The New York Times even declared the Republican Party as close to “extinction.”
As governor of California, Ronald Reagan offered a clean break from the country club Republicanism of the Washington establishment. He worked to move past the scandals, the taint, and the navel-gazing — and set a bold and optimistic vision of America that was focused on the everyday concerns of working people.
Just four years later, he was elected to the presidency in a landslide, creating a movement that endured for a generation.
The Republican Party can once again come back stronger than ever before. But, just like in 1980, we need to look outside of Washington to do it.
Outside the Beltway, Republican leaders are delivering results every day, working across party lines to rebuild our infrastructure, reduce the cost of living for working families, and grow the economy. And that’s what Americans overwhelmingly want — regardless of their party affiliation, race, gender or ethnicity.
But in Washington, both parties have been more concerned with winning arguments than actually solving problems.
COVID-19 has shown this problem in stark relief: For months, workers, families and small businesses have been hurting and in need of an immediate lifeline. Instead of working until they reach a solution, Congress took vacations. While some of Washington worked to find a compromise, their efforts were treated as just a distraction from the campaign.
Compare that to how our state and local leaders responded to this crisis. As COVID-19 struck our shores, I was proud to be leading the nation’s governors as chair of the National Governors Association. Republicans and Democratic governors came together to help each other, share best practices and push for action in Washington.We understood that in times of crisis, politics has to be put aside.
Our economy has been crushed by the COVID-19 pandemic, but our nation’s infrastructure has been crumbling for decades.
The cost of housing, healthcare and a good education are out of control and out of reach for everyday Americans. One party in Washington wants to impose radical solutions that would create more problems than they would solve. And the other party in Washington, too often, offers no solutions at all.
In Maryland, we’ve shown that it’s actually possible to make bipartisan progress on these issues. We’ve worked together to reduce health care insurance premiums over 30% and to move forward on nearly all of the highest priority transportation projects in every single jurisdiction all across our state. Without raising taxes.
Many Republicans in Washington want to return to the way things were before 2016, while others want to proceed as if this election never happened. This is a false choice.
The answer is not to return to a party that frequently only spoke for the Washington establishment. For decades, too many in our party appealed to the memory of Reaganism while forgetting it’s true spirit.
We dogmatically applied obsolete policies without recognizing how the world had changed or questioning old assumptions, as President Reagan did.
We used past successes as an excuse for obstinance, forgetting President Reagan’s call to “begin the world over again.”
We let conservatism become the language of the country club, Washington think tanks, and the Senate cloakroom instead of speaking to the working men and women who powered the movement in the first place.
That’s not what our party needs.
But we also don’t need and can’t afford any more of the division and toxic politics we’ve seen these last four years.
Much of Washington has bought into the fiction that the way you vote is pre-determined by where you were born, where you live, the color of your skin, who you love or where you worship.
Even in this divisive election, Republicans made modest gains with Black and Hispanic voters, many of whom are turned off by a toxic brew of elitism and political correctness run amok on the far-left.
We’ve already proven in Maryland that Republicans can win support from majorities of African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, suburban women, and young people. But Republicans can’t keep missing opportunity after opportunity to expand our tent nationally by failing to embrace a unifying message.
Over two-thirds of Americans — what’s been dubbed the “Exhausted Majority” — are simply fed up with the angry politics. And they feel completely ignored by Washington.
Ultimately, the overwhelming majority of Americans want the same things.
They want humble, tolerant, respectful and effective leaders who work together to find commonsense solutions.
They want us to appreciate that no one of us has all the answers or all the power.
They want a free and open discourse that tolerates contrary views among a diverse citizenry, not a cancel culture that turns political adversaries into enemies or doubts their patriotism.
They want a government that protects the vulnerable, but doesn’t dictate how we live our lives.
They want a strong America that stands for its allies, freedom and human dignity around the world, but doesn’t take for granted the sacrifices required for it.
They want to stand with their neighbors and feel proud of their country.
I still believe, as President Reagan did, that America is the last best hope of man on earth. And the best hope of our nation is a Republican Party that once again looks outside of Washington for answers.
What They Are Saying: In Reagan Foundation Speech, Governor Hogan “Appeals To The Exhausted Majority”
Here’s they’re saying about Governor Hogan’s speech:
Yahoo News: “On Monday, Larry Hogan, the Republican governor of Maryland, arrived in Washington with a simple message: There is another way. Arguing in a speech before the Ronald Reagan Institute that this is a nation of ‘civility and pragmatism,’ he observed that ‘most of us are sick and tired of all the drama.”
Washington Examiner: “Hogan expressed concern about the future of the GOP after Trump lost to President-elect Joe Biden, and he plans to be active in charting its course post-Trump...Hogan won two landslide elections in deep-blue Maryland, running as a pragmatic, Reagan Republican who eschewed the party’s turn toward combative populism.”
Politico: “During a Monday speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, Hogan offered a direct rebuke of Trump’s Republican Party, warning that ‘divisive rhetoric and toxic politics is alienating large parts of the country’...Hogan added: ‘Some Republicans simply want to return to the way things were before 2016 while others want to continue in the same direction as if this election never happened.”
CNN: “The Maryland governor knocked the ‘political virtue signaling or preaching to the choir’ that happens on the right, adding that his party is at a time for choosing, a nod to the speech Reagan gave on behalf of Republican candidate Barry Goldwater in 1964...Hogan had plenty of criticism for Democrats, as well. He described the party as one that ‘wants to impose radical solutions’ and is just as much to blame for the heated rhetoric in Washington.”
The Jerusalem Post: “Speaking at the Ronald Reagan Foundation, he added that the president ‘wasn't effective,’ and called for a GOP recalibration that will combine Trump's outsider persona with bipartisan outreach.”
Newsweek: “Hogan said he also thinks Trump's focus should be on tackling the coronavirus pandemic that is surging in states across the country and the economic fallout that has been linked to it.”
ABC News: “The self-described ‘Reagan Republican’ also underscored the urgency of a smooth transition between the two administrations particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, which he compared to a war.”
Governor Hogan Announces New COVID-19 Actions To Save Lives
As COVID surges across the country, Governor Hogan is taking new actions to save lives and to prevent the overburdening of Maryland's healthcare system like is now being seen in other states.
At a press conference, Governor Hogan announced a new statewide curfew on bars and restaurants, reduced capacity at retail establishments and religious facilities, new limitations on nursing homes visitations, and increased mandatory testing at nursing homes.
With Maryland taking action on the front lines of the crisis, Governor Hogan is continuing to advocate for the federal government to follow suit, writing Maryland’s congressional delegation yesterday to urge “them to set aside partisan politics and work with their leaders to deliver additional COVID-19 stimulus relief.”
Watch Governor Hogan’s Press Conference Here
Governor Hogan Discusses National COVID Response on Fox News, CNBC, CNN, and MSNBC
Governor Hogan appeared on Fox News, CNBC, CNN, and MSNBC to discuss his recent virtual meetings with President-elect Biden and Vice President Pence. In both meetings, Governor Hogan urged the outgoing and incoming administrations to finally reach a compromise on the stimulus package, to renew federal Title 32 funding for state national guards, and to continue close coordination in the development and distribution of a vaccine.
With COVID-19 rising to unprecedented levels throughout the nation, Governor Hogan is emphasizing that we cannot afford to “drop the ball” by needlessly delaying the transition or failing to coordinate the national response.
Watch Governor Hogan on CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box’ Here
Watch Governor Hogan on Fox News’ ‘America’s Newsroom’ Here
Watch Governor Hogan on CNN’s ‘The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer’ Here
Watch Governor Hogan on MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’ Here
