Mike Smigiel's thoughts on Hogan

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  • SCV/SAR Patriot

    UNRECONSTRUCTED
    For many years and election cycles I fell for the fear-mongering put forth by the Republican party. Every election was the election of our lifetimes, and there would be dire consequences if I didn’t vote for their candidate.


    And after I helped elect those candidates to office, I watched our national debt skyrocket, watched the erosion of freedoms and essential liberties, saw new beaureacratic agencies created, saw them take us wars not of neccesity, but of choice, saw the tentacles of big, nanny state government further intrude into American’s lives, and watched as they took the very same actions they told me the other, evil party was going to do.

    I realized that there isn’t a damn bit of difference between the two corrupt, major parties. Further, that the shell game they play can’t exist without the other party acting as strawman. And we eat that shit like candy.

    I have unshackeled myself from this enslavement. I no longer buy into their fear-mongering, and I vote the candidate that best
    reflects my values and beliefs, regardless of party. It may be an R, it may be a L, and even occasionally it’s a D.

    I don’t vote for candidates that infringe on essential liberties, and certainly not for ones that leverage that liberty for political gain, and then disregard it when a new political expediency is needed.

    These type of people stand for nothing other than their own political power. They are traitors to the Constitution they took an oath to support and defend.

    I have watched Hogan happily sign gun control bills into law surrounded by the gun-grabbers, stood by as he has not used techniques at his disposal that would ease burdens on 2A, has now stated that he would refuse an NRA endorsement, and has written an opinion piece touting his desire for deeper, and further infringements on the 2A.

    I don’t know exactly who I’ll be voting for, but pretty sure I’ve ruled out a couple of candidates so far.

    Very well stated :thumbsup:
     

    Jim12

    Let Freedom Ring
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 30, 2013
    33,861
    In light of this "Hogan" thread's hat tip to Mike Smigiel:

    Consider the source. It might be salient to point out that Hogan ran and won in a statewide gubernatorial election in a state where liberals and Democrats vastly outnumber conservatives and Republicans, compared to thread hero Smigiel who lost in his 2014 Republican district primary, finishing 4th in his own district that is solidly Republican and also pro-2A. What happened, Mike?

    Smigiel then ran in a Republican primary for the U.S. House of Representatives against incumbent Andy Harris and was solidly crushed, by a margin of about 76% to 10%. What happened, Mike?

    While Smigiel is a 2A folk hero among some here, most Marylanders, including Republicans on the Eastern Shore, apparently aren't impressed and want more, despite his pro-2A stance.

    Voting for unimpressive candidates, just because of their well-advertised pro-2A stance, is not a winning strategy. In Maryland, even in Republican territory, it's a loser.
     

    TexDefender

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 28, 2017
    1,572
    In light of this "Hogan" thread's hat tip to Mike Smigiel:

    Consider the source. It might be salient to point out that Hogan ran and won in a statewide gubernatorial election in a state where liberals and Democrats vastly outnumber conservatives and Republicans, compared to thread hero Smigiel who lost in his 2014 Republican district primary, finishing 4th in his own district that is solidly Republican and also pro-2A. What happened, Mike?

    Smigiel then ran in a Republican primary for the U.S. House of Representatives against incumbent Andy Harris and was solidly crushed, by a margin of about 76% to 10%. What happened, Mike?

    While Smigiel is a 2A folk hero among some here, most Marylanders, including Republicans on the Eastern Shore, apparently aren't impressed and want more, despite his pro-2A stance.

    Voting for unimpressive candidates, just because of their well-advertised pro-2A stance, is not a winning strategy. In Maryland, even in Republican territory, it's a loser.

    But according to some individuals all we have to do is vote for some obscure individual that no one has ever heard of and all will be alright. Because we will be sending a message. The fact is to turn this state round, it will be a long and hard road. It will take a lot of lobbying, discussion, letter writing, etc. We will have to groom individuals to be the candidate we desire. But the immediate concern is not to lose our 2A rights all at once.
     

    teratos

    My hair is amazing
    MDS Supporter
    Patriot Picket
    Jan 22, 2009
    59,775
    Bel Air
    But according to some individuals all we have to do is vote for some obscure individual that no one has ever heard of and all will be alright. Because we will be sending a message. The fact is to turn this state round, it will be a long and hard road. It will take a lot of lobbying, discussion, letter writing, etc. We will have to groom individuals to be the candidate we desire. But the immediate concern is not to lose our 2A rights all at once.
    The message sent by voting for an obscure candidate is, in itself, perplexing.

    2A Voter: Hey, GOP! You need to run a very Red Republican, one who doesn't have a snowball's chance of winning in this State or you will lose my support!

    GOP: So basically, we lose with or without you?
     

    CrazySanMan

    2013'er
    Mar 4, 2013
    11,390
    Colorful Colorado
    In light of this "Hogan" thread's hat tip to Mike Smigiel:

    Consider the source. It might be salient to point out that Hogan ran and won in a statewide gubernatorial election in a state where liberals and Democrats vastly outnumber conservatives and Republicans, compared to thread hero Smigiel who lost in his 2014 Republican district primary, finishing 4th in his own district that is solidly Republican and also pro-2A. What happened, Mike?

    Smigiel then ran in a Republican primary for the U.S. House of Representatives against incumbent Andy Harris and was solidly crushed, by a margin of about 76% to 10%. What happened, Mike?

    While Smigiel is a 2A folk hero among some here, most Marylanders, including Republicans on the Eastern Shore, apparently aren't impressed and want more, despite his pro-2A stance.

    Voting for unimpressive candidates, just because of their well-advertised pro-2A stance, is not a winning strategy. In Maryland, even in Republican territory, it's a loser.

    Smigiel had a lot of other problems. He was targeted by the left because he always called out the Obama administration on social media. He was too libertarian for Ceciltucky, probably would have done better in Baltimore or even Harford County.
     

    CrazySanMan

    2013'er
    Mar 4, 2013
    11,390
    Colorful Colorado
    The message sent by voting for an obscure candidate is, in itself, perplexing.

    2A Voter: Hey, GOP! You need to run a very Red Republican, one who doesn't have a snowball's chance of winning in this State or you will lose my support!

    GOP: So basically, we lose with or without you?

    The GOP is expecting every single republican in Maryland to vote Hogan. So if suddenly 2,000 registered republicans write in "NO GUN GRABBERS", they'll get the message. 2,000 votes will not swing the election one way or the other, but it will be enough to get the point across to the MDGOP.
     

    TexDefender

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 28, 2017
    1,572
    The GOP is expecting every single republican in Maryland to vote Hogan. So if suddenly 2,000 registered republicans write in "NO GUN GRABBERS", they'll get the message. 2,000 votes will not swing the election one way or the other, but it will be enough to get the point across to the MDGOP.

    Except if Hogan is short 1999 votes. Then we lose are rights because Jealous will take them. The time for that demonstration was well before this election, and will be more appropriate after it. Maybe a demonstration (in the PP style or something similar), in front of Maryland Headquarters would be more effective? Maybe a large letter writing campaign by all on here and all the gun clubs in Maryland would better serve us?
     

    Occam

    Not Even ONE Indictment
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 24, 2018
    20,239
    Montgomery County
    The irony is that a Jealous term or two will lead to more conservative republican candidates.

    So, just to be clear:

    1) You think that this very deep blue state's GOP will, when faced with their quite centrist candidate losing to an actual socialist, decide that the thing this majority liberal state would prefer over the socialist that won would be an even harder right candidate from the GOP than the one that lost.

    2) You think that the voters in this very deep blue state, having rejected a popular and moderate centrist Republican governor in favor of a socialist, will suddenly - in the millions - wake up and, instead of favoring the lefty politics they've embraced for decades and the sensibilities that made them choose as a candidate and then elect generally a socialist... vote instead for a GOP candidate well to the right of the person they rejected for a second term.

    Here's the reality: the vastly larger number of liberals and their particularly vocal front line hard-left activists will not wake up one morning and vote for your purity-test-passed conservative. Some GOP primary voters may indeed decide to have a tantrum and choose an unelectable conservative as their candidate - which seems to be all you, as a non-resident, want as you play the Maryland Politics Video Game from afar. But you continue to gloss over the central flaw in your game plan. You've never mentioned the mechanism by which MD's large majority of voters will somehow completely change everything they stand for.

    What are you proposing will change the entire value system of most of the voters in the state? Be specific. This reminds me of that ol' dot-com boom era meme where everyone has a vague plan to woo witless investors:

    1) Buy a domain name.
    2) Build a glossy looking web site.
    3) ???
    4) Profit!

    But instead, you're applying that same hand-wavy strategy to changing the entire world view of liberal voters with your plan:

    1) Work to make sure the socialist wins and governs for two terms.
    2) Destroy the state's economy, hugely raise taxes, drive productive people and businesses out of the state, harbor international criminals, wreck the state's gun industry, and crush everything possible that's 2A-related.
    3) ???
    4) Millions of life-long liberals will suddenly support conservative politics (and joyously embrace the gun rights they spent their lives hating!) and restore everything Jealous spent eight years destroying. All of that damage will be undone! Families' estates will be restored, bankrupted businesses will brought back from the grave. Someone who died because they weren't allowed to defend themselves under the "you can't have a shotgun" Jealous regime will be resurrected to enjoy the rest of their happy life. It will be a new dawn in red Maryland, with the huge majority of die-hard liberals realizing the error of their ways, and instead of simply voting for a less insane Democrat next time, it will elect conservative Republicans from there on out and start going to the range on weekends.

    That about cover it?
     

    Not_an_outlaw

    Ultimate Member
    Patriot Picket
    Jan 26, 2013
    4,679
    Prince Frederick, MD
    What are you proposing will change the entire value system of most of the voters in the state? Be specific. This reminds me of that ol' dot-com boom era meme where everyone has a vague plan to woo witless investors:

    1) Buy a domain name.
    2) Build a glossy looking web site.
    3) ???
    4) Profit!

    But instead, you're applying that same hand-wavy strategy to changing the entire world view of liberal voters with your plan:

    1) Work to make sure the socialist wins and governs for two terms.
    2) Destroy the state's economy, hugely raise taxes, drive productive people and businesses out of the state, harbor international criminals, wreck the state's gun industry, and crush everything possible that's 2A-related.
    3) ???
    4) Millions of life-long liberals will suddenly support conservative politics (and joyously embrace the gun rights they spent their lives hating!) and restore everything Jealous spent eight years destroying. All of that damage will be undone! Families' estates will be restored, bankrupted businesses will brought back from the grave. Someone who died because they weren't allowed to defend themselves under the "you can't have a shotgun" Jealous regime will be resurrected to enjoy the rest of their happy life. It will be a new dawn in red Maryland, with the huge majority of die-hard liberals realizing the error of their ways, and instead of simply voting for a less insane Democrat next time, it will elect conservative Republicans from there on out and start going to the range on weekends.

    That about cover it?

    If taxes go up the required amount to match the desires of BJ, you bet there will be many more conservative democrats. I live I Southern Maryland. Those democrats are pretty conservative by the big 3 standard (Baltimore, PG, Montgomery)
     

    fred55

    Senior
    Aug 24, 2016
    1,772
    Spotsylvania Co. VA
    Except if Hogan is short 1999 votes. Then we lose are rights because Jealous will take them. The time for that demonstration was well before this election, and will be more appropriate after it. Maybe a demonstration (in the PP style or something similar), in front of Maryland Headquarters would be more effective? Maybe a large letter writing campaign by all on here and all the gun clubs in Maryland would better serve us?

    So if Hogan/GOP does not care how pro 2A voters regard him before the election, why do you think Hogan/GOP will care about them after the election? Hogan cannot run for governor a third term. fred55
     
    Last edited:

    44man

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 19, 2013
    10,129
    southern md
    gone are the days when you would have a good old epidemic or giant tri liberal county wide cholera outbreak where hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people drop dead really quick
     

    Occam

    Not Even ONE Indictment
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 24, 2018
    20,239
    Montgomery County
    If taxes go up the required amount to match the desires of BJ, you bet there will be many more conservative democrats. I live I Southern Maryland. Those democrats are pretty conservative by the big 3 standard (Baltimore, PG, Montgomery)

    I'm sure you're right. But those counties (and whatever margin of them shift their loyalties a bit) will still be dwarfed by the rich liberals in MoCo, and the large number of essentially-pay-no-taxes types that populate PG and Voldemort City. For every person in St. Mary's who slides conservative, there's going to be a person in Baltimore who loves their new Free Everything paid for by other people.
     

    TexDefender

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 28, 2017
    1,572
    So if Hogan/GOP does not care how pro 2A voters regard him before the election, why do you think Hogan/GOP will care about them after the election? Hogan cannot run for governor a third term. fred55

    So, then there is no point in voting period? No point in telling the committee as an organized group or block of our displeasure? Hogan running for a third term isn't point.
     

    CrazySanMan

    2013'er
    Mar 4, 2013
    11,390
    Colorful Colorado
    You can't keep voting for the ever-leftward-sliding lesser of two evils and expect positive change. It's not going to happen.

    If Jealous gets in and does all his socialist craziness people will have enough of it and he'll drive voters to the right.

    How do you think Hogan won? People were sick of 8 years of Owe Mao Li's far left BS and taxes and wanted something different.

    Hogan the candidate was a lot more conservative than Hogan the governor, and he still won by 80,000 votes.
     

    Occam

    Not Even ONE Indictment
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 24, 2018
    20,239
    Montgomery County
    Hogan the candidate was a lot more conservative than Hogan the governor, and he still won by 80,000 votes.

    Not because 80,000 liberals suddenly became conservatives. It was because 80,000 complacent liberals out of thei vast majority sat it out over a lackluster crown prince who botched the local Obamacare roll-out. The state didn’t get more conservative, it took a nap.
     

    CrazySanMan

    2013'er
    Mar 4, 2013
    11,390
    Colorful Colorado
    Not because 80,000 liberals suddenly became conservatives. It was because 80,000 complacent liberals out of thei vast majority sat it out over a lackluster crown prince who botched the local Obamacare roll-out. The state didn’t get more conservative, it took a nap.

    In the 2014 elections Brown had 818,890 votes, Frosh had 935,846 votes. Voters didn't sit home. 117,000 D's and I's switched sides to vote for Hogan.
     

    Patent Guy

    Rifleman
    Sep 1, 2010
    63
    AA County
    This is easy...

    I keep hearing a couple reasons being repeated why conservatives must vote to re-elect Governor Hogan and why Governor Hogan cannot possibly lose the election. I would like to honestly and dispassionately address some of the reasons being repeated out there and invite your thoughts on these issues. We are being told that if conservatives do not vote for Hogan then that non-vote is effectively a vote for Ben Jealous. Under this logic when Hogan refused to vote for Trump and wrote in his father's name, as he has stated he did, How is that not a vote for Hillary? .....I welcome your thoughts on the matter.

    Much to unpack here, and in this thread, but isn't the real issue Much Simpler? For anyone supporting 2A who can vote in Maryland's election, there are really only two options, namely, vote for Governor Hogan or don't. Nothing is guaranteed, so if we fail to turn out for the Governor, we essentially support Ben Jealous...Period. Whether the Governor takes an NRA pledge or not does not matter to most Marylanders at this point, and doing so would cost him votes IMO. I believe Governor Hogan is the best candidate and will vote for him, for 2A reasons and other reasons. I believe Ben Jealous is a much less desirable candidate (for 2A reasons and for other reasons) so I won't vote for him. See how easy? No rending of cloth needed.
     

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