Some Michigan pointers for Senator Obama

by: Hazen Pingree

Thu May 15, 2008 at 00:41:06 AM EDT

• Make up for lost time
  Because of the primary snafu, we need to make up for lost time...pronto. Good call on starting off the general election campaign here. But Michigan needs to see you some more...and not just in October. We need you to be so familar around here that the papers will finally get bored mentioning how we were overlooked in the primary process, etc.  If you're going to move forward in Michigan, that storyline needs to be put to bed now (the Edwards endorsement certainly did help with this). 
  
• West Michigan is fertile ground
  Also nice call on your choices of venue today...particularly Grand Rapids. You're not going to win Kent County, but there are a whole lot of good folks over there in West Michigan who are too often ignored and who might be amenable to your message. People take their faith extra serious in West Michigan, and you have demonstrated a strong ability to talk sincerely and openly about the role of faith in your life (unlike John Sidney McCain). So talk about Jesus. Talk about him a lot.
  
  BTW, did you know that over in Holland (the reddest part of the state), they actually have an institution called Hope College? How's that for campaign synchronicity? Just for kicks, it might be worth a quick visit sometime. 
  
  
• More Oakland; less Macomb
  As it has for the past 30 years, the national press will continue to repeat over and over and over about how critical it is that you win back the "Reagan Democrats" in Macomb County. This is massively overblown. Don't get me wrong, Macomb is important and you do need to hold onto as much support there as you can (fortunately, you have a classy guy in David Bonior to help with that). But Oakland County, with it's more affluent and educated base will be much friendlier to you. It's been trending more Democratic every year. Case in point: in 2002, Jennifer Granholm became governor by winning Oakland - and while losing Macomb. Another factoid: in 2006 the ballot proposal banning affirmative action passed in Oakland with 57% of the vote - slightly less than the state tally of 58%. In Macomb, the total was 68%.
  
  Spending more time in Oakland County will also enable you to help Gary Peters, who is one of our best prospects for taking a U.S. House seat this year.
  
  

• Go "Up North"
  Next time you need to take a family break from the campaign trail, take a vacation in the Traverse City/Petoskey area. As you probably already know, lots of people from Chicago go there to relax. And even if you don't make a single public campaign appearance, just letting it be known that you've spent time vacationing in Michigan can help. No matter where they live, people here are really proud of our scenic Great Lakes coastline - and knowing that you appreciate it too scores you points.
  
  Over the next month or two, I'd suggest doing a couple of quick fly-ins in Traverse City and Marquette. These areas usually get so little attention, just showing up will make a big difference. Stop in the U.P. again closer to the election to seal the deal. Or if the Secret Service will let you, maybe even try to do the Labor Day Mackinac bridge walk.
  
  
• Michigan is the victim of an economic hurricane
  If you've ever driven around Flint, Detroit or Saginaw, you'll find devastation in those cities not unlike what you'll see in the wake of a major natural disaster or war. Unlike Katrina, however, this devastation didn't happen in a day. It happened in slow motion - over decades. But the devastation wrought by closing auto plants and faltering urban centers is every bit as real and every bit as urgent. Lofty speeches about fixing trade agreements and creating new industries are all fine and good. But we've heard that for decades. Right now, a lot of people have some much more immediate needs...like how are they going to get through next week? These immediate needs should be first and foremost in your message here.
  
• Health Care
  Just like everywhere else, health care is a major deal here...but even more so. For one thing, there will be a proposal creating a right to health care right below your name on this November's ballot. For another, it's well understood that a major contributor to the decline of our manufacturing sector is the high price of health care. For another, Governor Granholm's "Michigan First" proposal to make health insurance more affordable has been trapped in George Bush bueracratic hell for a couple of years now. Message: if the federal government is too spineless to act, then the LEAST they can do is get the hell out of the way and let states give it a shot.
  
• Protecting manufacturing isn't just about jobs...it's about national security
  How secure will America be if we have to rely on other countries for all of our manufactured goods? Obviously, that sort of approach hasn't worked very well with oil. A few years ago, I recall your colleague, Senator Dick Durbin, has had some very eloquent things to say on this point. It had to do with the Rock Island arsenal not being able to properly equip army Humvees with armor plating due to a lack of a certain type of steel. It's a good twofer argument that isn't used nearly enough.
  
  
• If you see this man, run for your life!!!
  
  
  
  I don't have to tell you what a bad thing it would be to be seen anywhere in the vicinity of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick right now. Fortunately, if your past support among African-Americans is any indication, you're probably going to do just fine in Detroit without even having to spend much time there. And hopefully Kwame will either quit or get booted out one of these days. But until then, it may just be best to stay away from Detroit unless you happen to hear that hizzoner is out of town. Take it from me: there's nothing in this world the Michigan Republicans would like better than to get some footage of you side-by-side with Kwame.