Maryland Republican Gov. Larry Hogan came the defense of 31 GOP lawmakers Wednesday who were targeted by former President Donald Trump for helping Democrats’ colossal infrastructure spending package across the finish line.
“Trump cancel culture needs to end,” Hogan wrote on Twitter. “Strong candidates like [Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., John Katko, R-N.Y., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Penn.] helped close the gap in Congress by winning Biden/Hillary districts while Trump lost the White House. They deserve our thanks, not attacks from a few fringe whackos.”
Trump cancel culture needs to end. Strong candidates like @DonJBacon, @RepJohnKatko, and @BrianFitzUSA helped close the gap in Congress by winning Biden/Hillary districts while Trump lost the White House. They deserve our thanks, not attacks from a few fringe whackos.
— Larry Hogan (@LarryHogan) November 16, 2021
Biden signed the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package on Monday after 13 House Republicans made up the difference for six Democrats voting no earlier this month. The Senate had already approved the bill in August with the blessing of another 18 Republicans, making the president’s desk the next and final step.
“All Republicans who voted for Democrat longevity should be ashamed of themselves,” Trump wrote in a statement on the heels of passage in the lower chamber.
Hogan’s unsolicited criticism of Trumpian “cancel culture” once again showcases the Marylander’s fundamental misunderstanding of cancel culture.
Cancel culture is the deliberate de-platforming or ultimate unemployment of an individual for views fraudulently held to be outside an increasingly turbulent public square, which often features past statements dug up in bad faith to deploy online mobs against the dissident. It is wielded as a tool to penalize people for things that could otherwise be a justifiable position or an apology-level offense, and excommunicate the guilty culprit from the public square.
The chief communications officer of Boeing forced to resign over a 33-year-old claim that only men deserve to be in combat is cancel culture. Criticism of elected officials for major decisions they make in office is called democratic accountability.
This week isn’t the first Hogan has conflated due criticism with the toxicity of cancel culture.
In May, Hogan condemned House Republicans for engaging in cancel culture when they prepared to kick Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney from her number three role in GOP leadership as conference chair.
“Republican leaders are rightly opposed to cancel culture on the left,” Hogan wrote. “They should not be using it against their own members.”
Republican leaders are rightly opposed to cancel culture on the left. They should not be using it against their own members.
After losing the House, the Senate, and the White House, our party desperately needs a bigger tent, not a smaller one. https://t.co/ksvuFedwCk
— Larry Hogan (@LarryHogan) May 4, 2021
