One Trick Pony

Great work (4.00 / 1)

Justice Robert P. Young gutted the Michigan Environmental Protection Act, and has sided with insurance companies, drug companies and other mega-funders of the GOP and what gets promoted on MichLib? A post that jabs at a video and inferences that Mark Brewer is responsible for tea party shenanigans.

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by: LiberalBubba @ Thu Oct 14, 2010 at 02:20:33 AM UTC

Yes (4.00 / 3)

And being caught red-handed lying about what was captured on video tape is a great way to unseat a Supreme Court Justice.

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by: boehmianrhapsody @ Thu Oct 14, 2010 at 11:11:42 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I was going to post something on this yesterday... (4.00 / 3)

You're getting criticized in the same way that posts here were criticized following the fake Tea Party debacle.

Criticizing Democratic Party officials for dirty tricks that routinely blow up in embarrassing fashion isn't giving cover to Republicans who do awful things. It's asking that Democratic Party officials stop doing things that routinely blow up in embarrassing fashion.

Among the Trees

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by: Eric B. @ Thu Oct 14, 2010 at 15:32:46 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Not sure... (4.00 / 1)

I don't get what the point of this post is.  Is this the time to be inciting infighting and attacking the Party chair?  These types of posts and discussions seem counter-productive.

It is easy to be snarky when blogging.  Providing solutions may be a more useful exercise.

Steve Pontoni

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by: spontoni @ Thu Oct 14, 2010 at 04:33:31 AM UTC

We can walk (4.00 / 1)

and chew gum at the same time.

Also, I am sure what gets posted on MichLib will have ramifications for the general election that are catastrophic!

Brewer's an asshat and needed to go four year ago. Party activists are who read this site.

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by: Nazgul35 @ Thu Oct 14, 2010 at 13:51:28 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I never criticize Mark Brewer. (4.00 / 1)

And that's not because he gets even - because he doesn't.  It's because there are no grounds for criticism.  Absolutely none.

"He is the very model of a modern major general," as W.S. Gilbert would have said, had he been privileged to live to meet him.

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by: Grebner @ Thu Oct 14, 2010 at 04:49:42 AM UTC

Huh? (4.00 / 1)

Brewer is one of the most successful state Party chairs in the country. Highlights of Brewer's record as Chair:

• 4-for-4 in Presidential races
• 5-for-5 in US Senate races
• 2-for-3 in Gubernatorial races
• We now have a 67-43 majority (minus vacancies) in the State House despite a major Republican gerrymander
• We're just a few seats from taking back the Senate for the first time since long hair was in style - and I think we just might do it this year
• We knocked off the sitting Chief Justice, something that has never happened before (and only one other justice has even been defeated!)

Interesting that you say "The sleeping judge[s]" followed shortly thereafter by "Seriously, enough already." Enough already? Of what? Enough of the use of successful tactics like the one that softened Taylor's support (though Hathaway won because of more than just one commercial)?

Not saying Mark Brewer's perfect - or eny other national, state, or local Democratic Party official either (heck, even Howard Dean had a misstep or two) - but if you're going to criticize Brewer (or anyone else, for that matter), at least criticize him for doing what doesn't work (i.e. the primary debacle), not for doing what does work (i.e. helping to orchestrate a seemingly impossible ouster of the state's top judge).

And especially, don't blame him for what even you acknowledge is not his fault!

Great Lakes, Great Times, Great Scott

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by: ScottyUrb @ Thu Oct 14, 2010 at 05:31:38 AM UTC

Actually, Your List Proves my Point (0.00 / 0)

Of all those victories you list, how many were because of stupid tricks? One -- and if the Hathaway campaign hadn't ridden the coattails of the Obama wave it might have easily been zero.

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by: boehmianrhapsody @ Thu Oct 14, 2010 at 11:10:15 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Stupid tricks? Hathaway? Explain. (0.00 / 0)

Great Lakes, Great Times, Great Scott

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by: ScottyUrb @ Sun Oct 17, 2010 at 04:09:54 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

House Democrats (4.00 / 3)

The House Democrats have been worthless. They've caved into the Republican-controlled Senate far too often the past three-four years. Time after time, when there was an opportunity to stand with Granholm and put Bishop and company on the defensive, they've sided with Bishop.

I don't know if you'd call a Democrat-controlled House these past few years significant, since they pretty much adopted the agenda put forward by Senate Republicans nearly every time.

I don't call that success. Success isn't just electing members of your party. It's also about getting your agenda implemented.

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by: rich @ Thu Oct 14, 2010 at 13:24:49 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

That's beside the point. (0.00 / 0)

You're talking about policy - what is made by those who are elected.

I'm talking about elections themselves, when the policymakers themselves are elected. The fact is, we have a majority when we shouldn't have one.

Great Lakes, Great Times, Great Scott

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by: ScottyUrb @ Sun Oct 17, 2010 at 03:59:16 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Thank God (0.00 / 0)

we had Mark Brewer to save us from losing all those races!

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by: Nazgul35 @ Thu Oct 14, 2010 at 13:52:39 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

taking back the senate? (0.00 / 0)

Ha! we will be lucky to have 13 seats when this is all over.

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by: beenrolling2long @ Thu Oct 14, 2010 at 14:39:36 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Let's see: (0.00 / 0)

SD-20? Dem-leaning district.

SD-29? Dem-leaning.

SDs 7, 34? Tossups.

SDs 12, 13? Longer shots, but possible. As are a few others too, probably.

Last time, Republicans had mostly incumbents running, like the popular Bill Hardiman in the 29th. Incumbency carries with it a bigger advantage at the legislative level than it does for, say, President or Governor.

Without those incumbents, Republicans are in trouble.

Now you tell me which seats we're going to lose. (Yeah, we have a couple vulnerable ones, but good candidates in each.)

Even if we did lose quite a few Senate seats, do you agree with the general gist of my post (since you only took one thing and made a big deal out of that one thing)?

Great Lakes, Great Times, Great Scott

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by: ScottyUrb @ Sun Oct 17, 2010 at 04:08:44 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

An Alternative (4.00 / 3)

Wow, I didn't think I really needed to spell out an alternative to stupid tricks, but very well. Instead of wasting effort and resources on gimmicks, why not focus more on recruiting good candidates?

Exhibit A: Andy Dillon. How many times have people complained on this site about how the Dillon House wasn't standing up to the Senate? Would things have been different if we had more Democrats with a backbone? Perhaps -- but we'll never know now will we?

Exhibit B: Kande Ngalamulume. Granted, it's probably difficult to find someone willing to run against Mike Rogers, but that kind of debacle didn't exactly help our chances of defeating him.

The bottom line is that candidates win or lose elections. Stupid tricks just make the Democrats look desperate and sleazy.

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by: boehmianrhapsody @ Thu Oct 14, 2010 at 11:25:31 AM UTC

How are these stupid tricks? (0.00 / 0)

You haven't answered that yet.

Great Lakes, Great Times, Great Scott

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by: ScottyUrb @ Mon Oct 18, 2010 at 20:44:14 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

And of course (4.00 / 1)

Young is telling the truth, right? What do you expect him to say?

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by: happy camper @ Thu Oct 14, 2010 at 15:58:24 PM UTC

Who wouldn't trust a sleepy Wisconsinite to stay on Michigan's highest court? (0.00 / 0)

Bob Young is absolutely part of the problem, and needs to go. But despite all the money sloshing around, I just am not seeing voters overcoming the incumbent designations for both Young AND Alton Thomas Davis.

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by: helzapoppn @ Thu Oct 14, 2010 at 20:17:24 PM UTC

[ Parent ]