Vindication
We told you this was going to happen.
Last year, the editors of Red Maryland endorsed Larry Hogan for Governor. At the time we said:
The Maryland Gubernatorial race next year is likely to come down to one thing; economic issues. After eight years of the profligate spending, and tax-hiking O’Malley Administration, many Marylanders have had enough and are looking for a change. The Democratic nominee, whether it be Anthony Brown, Doug Gansler, Heather Mizeur, or Dutch Ruppersburger are unlikely to stop that trend.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the Forum; Doug Gansler, in his comments while seeking the Democratic nomination, peeled back the curtain to show an uncomfortable truth about the last eight years of Democratic governance. Even rank and file Democrats are tired of the taxing and the spending by their own party. Why else would Gansler attack the O’Malley-Brown Administration record on those very issues during a Democratic primary?
There is blood in the water. And we could very well elect a Republican Governor next year.
We were right. We also said:
In a time where we are trying to determine who best to take the message of fiscal restraint to the people of Maryland, how could we possibly turn away somebody who is already doing it successfully. Through Change Maryland, Larry Hogan is already taking this message to all Marylanders. It is a message that is tested, is proven, and we know can be successful in an electoral environment. Through Change Maryland, Hogan has proven that he has what it takes to mount an organized, disciplined campaign.
We were right.
For the last eight years, we at Red Maryland have been talking about branding the Republican Party, and that through a focus on a message of smaller government, lower taxes and fiscal responsibility, that we could make great gains and strides here in the state of Maryland.
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We were right.
As you know, we were with the Hogan campaign from before day one. We were criticized by many corners. We saw others ponderously proclaim that Hogan had no chance. Others supported Hogan but turned their backs on him during the primary process. But we believed.
And we were right.
Red Maryland was launched on July 11, 2007. That was 2,674 days ago. We’ve been doing this quite a long time. And all the work that we’ve done, the issues that we’ve talked about, the arrows we have taken from Democrats and Republicans alike for our steadfastness to conservatism have led us to this moment. A moment where Larry Hogan is Governor-Elect of Maryland, we made tremendous gains in the House of Delegates and the Senate, and made gains in County Government. There is now a movement to grow the Republican Party in this state, and Larry Hogan has a mandate to lower taxes, cut spending, and reduce the size of Government. It has been the effort of a lot of great people in the Hogan Campaign, the Republican Party, and in the community to work together and work hard toward a message of conservative, limited government.
Joe Cluster, Executive Director, of the Maryland Republican Party, said it best:
Joe Cluster, the GOP’s Maryland director, remembered when Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller said years ago that state Democrats would bury the Republican Party for 40 years.
“The Republican Party is stronger than ever,” Cluster said. “We are no longer the party that can be ignored in Annapolis. The state got very purple tonight.”
Indeed.
We must continue to build upon last night’s victories. We must build a strong and permanent Republican Party here in the State of Maryland. We must continue to ensure that those on both sides of the aisle, Republicans and Democrats, are held to account for policies that go against the basic common sense principles of lower taxes, reduced spending, and smaller government. We must continue to work and fight hard to hold the gains that we have made.
But we’ll always have the victory last night. And the Vindication that tastes so sweet.
WE DID IT!!!!!!!!!! #mdpolitics #mdgov
— RedMaryland (@RedMaryland) November 5, 2014
