Monday, April 1, 2019
howeenterprise.com
Local Girl Scouts care to share
Local Girl Scouts visit the Howe Fire Department.
Page #16
A challenge on the right? “…I’m very concerned about where we are, where the Republican Party is, and where the country is…,” Maryland Governor Larry Hogan told The Washington Post last December. Perhaps Samuel Moore- motivated in part Sobel by this sentiment, Hogan is reportedly mulling a primary challenge to the sitting President.
than those espoused by the eventual Democratic nominee in 2020. Hogan is markedly different from the typical national candidate, as he has won two terms as governor in one of the most liberal states in America. His noted brand of “centrism” is a marked change from the typical campaigns waged in a primary. Instead of catering to the party’s base, he seems intent on appealing to a broader, bipartisan coalition. A strategy that could prove to be a much-needed antidote to the partisanship currently raging within our nation. Such stark odds present an interesting question. What is behind the power of incumbency? Certainly, the sitting President has built-in advantages when it comes to party infrastructure and support. Yet is it the backdrop of the White House when the President speaks that allures potential primary voters or the built-in advantage in media coverage? There must be some reason why when it comes to primaries, the house nearly always wins.
If he indeed decides to run for President, he would join former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld in the race for the Republican nomination. Other challengers could emerge in the coming months. In the meantime, the charismatic Hogan seems to be readying his pitch to voters, despite his insistence that he is focused on his current role. “I appeal to Republicans because my message is: I haven’t abandoned my principles. I’ve just said let’s deal in the art of the possible,” he recently As Hogan weighs his options amid growing speculation of a possible told The Washington Post. presidential bid, an opportunity emerges for us to examine our own Any primary challenge to an incumbent President is fraught. The political landscape. Is the twoparty system providing Americans last sitting President to lose his party’s nomination was Chester A. with the most qualified and Arthur in 1884. Not exactly the kind inspiring candidates? In the past, some have chosen to run for of historical precedent a potential President in order to bring more candidate can find solace in when attention to a pet issue, or advocate plotting out the nuances of a for a cause not often broached in primary challenge. the national discourse. Should candidates with good ideas that Despite this lack of historical success, primary challengers often could be adopted whether they win or lose be discouraged from play the role of spoiler, at least in running in a primary simply the modern era. In 1992, George because such a bid could erode H.W. Bush’s support within his party unity? party was weakened by a stronger than expected challenge posed by For now, Hogan seems to be Pat Buchanan. This was the beginning of his eventual defeat at playing coy. “Of course you the hands of Bill Clinton in 1992. In couldn’t win a Republican primary 1980, President Jimmy Carter faced challenge today,” he told The Washington Post. “But I also have a stiff challenge from Senator Ted been around long enough to know Kennedy, eroding his support that things can change very among members of his own party. Carter would eventually be defeated rapidly…” If anything is true about politics, it’s the fact that things can in a landslide by Ronald Reagan. change at a moment’s notice. For the opposing party, the idea of a Hogan seems to be intent upon primary challenge is therefore quite waiting, surveying the landscape until he sees an opening. Perhaps appealing. Such intra-party disagreement can lead to a victory his time will come. After all, in the Howe Police Sergeant Keith Milks and Officer Oscar Martinez were for the other side come November. words of Otto von Bismarck, visited by the local Girl Scouts on Monday. Troop 3698 presented Despite the fact that this is likely not “Politics is the art of the possible.” the officers with cookies in appreciation for the officers' work. the intent of the challenger. No Samuel Moore-Sobel is a freelance While they were at the police department, the troop visited with K-9 matter the level of disagreement, writer. To read more of his work, Loki. Courtesy photo. any potential Republican primary visit opponent will likely be more aligned with the President’s policies www.holdingontohopetoday.com The Howe Girl Scouts worked hard recently to get boxes of cookies to donate through the "Care to Share" program. They donated boxes of cookies to the
Howe Fire Department and the Howe Police Department to show their appreciation of all of their hard work that they give our community.
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