With a Cherry on Top

by: Harris

Thu Sep 03, 2009 at 23:37:09 PM EDT

Tuesday's fundraiser from the Michigan GOP would be funny enough on its own, were it not so earnest.  Party chair Rich Weiser outdoes himself (or at least he at least got his money's worth).  The Atlantic has the goods.  And as they say, it opens with a bang:

Some Democrats in Congress, including members from Michigan, are trying to pass laws to cancel your private health insurance and put your family on Medicare.

This is not a scare tactic; it's the truth.

 Well, say this, at least we now know where Twitter Pete got his "now I know.." ideas from.  The "horrors" in the letter keep on coming, not least this:

Michigan's Lieutenant Governor John Cherry recently said in a townhall meeting state government should provide a system of health care for all. Cherry also encouraged a group of leftwing activists earlier this year to hit the streets promoting his vision of a government take-over of family health care.

This is fevered. Yes, in fairness one can hypothesize that Weiser is referring to Conyer's proposal for national single-payer coverage, but Weiser goes to amp it up one last notch:

My Op-Ed and More on the Dillon Plan

by: John Freeman

Mon Jul 27, 2009 at 14:31:43 PM EDT

Cross-posted at JohnFreeman.org

This morning, my op-ed on Andy Dillon’s health care proposal appeared in the LSJ. I’ve pasted it below. But I would like to add a few things.

There’s a reason that you see some Republicans, like Mike Cox and Mike Bishop, supporting Dillon’s plan. The plan is a retread of a proposal by Michigan Senate Republicans in 2005. The Free Press points out that Senate Democrats were vocally opposed to it. They were right to do so. The plan was bad for Michigan then, and it’s bad for Michigan now.

MichLib's Eric B. is point-on when he says this plan is “building a future based on making things worse for people.” A future constructed by winning a race to the bottom is no future at all. This is true not only of benefits for teachers, but for the economy in general. There are some who say that in order to compete for business, we’ve got to slash benefits, cut back on environmental protections, reduce wages, and scale back regulations. That’s an outdated way of thinking.

The number one thing businesses look for is a high quality-of-life -- that means world-class schools with great teachers, a 21st century infrastructure, pristine natural resources, and affordable high-quality healthcare. If we really want to transform Michigan, making sure we have a high quality of life is the way to do it. The Dillon plan will do nothing to make it happen.

Here’s my editorial from the LSJ:
 

Cherry and the Senate Dems get Creative (and Geeky!) in Fighting for Higher Ed Funding

by: LiberalLucy

Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 09:34:15 AM EDT

In the small chance you've been off the Tubes of the Internets for the last 48 hours, chances are you've heard a whole lot of noise about how the Senate Republicans slashed the state's Higher Education budget yesterday, which included the Michigan's Promise, the $4000 scholarship for Michigan students, which 96,000 students in our state receive and depend on.

As a geek, I love the online organizing tools -- but as a citizen, this is a great way to send a message that we won't stand for breaking Michigan's promise.

From subscription-only MIRS

Minutes before the vote on many of amendments that attempted to restore the Michigan Promise Scholarship, Lt. Gov. John CHERRY, who was presiding over the Senate was sending out messages on Twitter telling his followers to use an online tool to write local newspapers to stress why cutting the scholarship was wrong.

Not too long after I saw the tweets from the Lt. Governor, I clicked on one and was taken to the website from A Whole Lot of People Supporting Cherry, his exploration committee, asking me to make sure our state is 'Keeping Our Promises' by visiting an entire section of his website to take action on this one singular issue. 

Now that might not seem to extraordinary, but if you visit the page, you're apt to be a little more impressed. The page includes a You-Tube video, a petition to sign directed at the Senate Republicans, a link to the Facebook group for the issue, a link to a tool that allows you to automatically send a letter-to-the-editor about this particular issue (with suggested text), a "tell-a-friend" tool, and lastly a link to the news page with all of Cherry's press releases. From an online organizing/get-out-the-vote (GOTV) perspective, that's pretty sweet. 

To be fair, the Senate Democrats have done an impressive job of also using some of these very same online tools to keep folks informed and engaged through their website, blog and Twitter, and Facebook accounts, and have one of the most active and updated YouTube channels, with over 75 videos to date. 

On top of all of that, Cherry started using a new online petition tool, http://act.ly, the Twitter Petition, that just launched within the last 72 hours, to also drive the subject. 

Obviously the Obama campaign set the bar pretty high last year for similar online action, but this early in the 2010 game it's pretty impressive. 

As someone who makes monthly student loan payments equivalent to what some pay for a mortgage, I appreciate the fight that the leadership of Cherry and the Senate Democrats are taking on with this issue. As a giant geek, I think it's great to see public officials really grabbing this online technology by the horns and using it for a very worthy cause. 

Cherry wins endorsement from the home of Reagan Democrats

by: LiberalLucy

Sun Jun 14, 2009 at 13:43:15 PM EDT

On Thursday, Lt. Gov. John Cherry picked up another slew of endorsements from every county-wide elected official in Macomb County, just north of Detroit. While it's another notch on a growing list of endorsements that are coming in from around the state, well over a year before the actual election itself, the most impressive thing is that it came from Macomb County.

Some might not realize it, but Macomb is where the now famous phrase "Reagan Democrats" was coined. Since then, it's been the bellwether spot for the state. From the conservative National Review -

The locals have a history of picking winners on Election Day. Yet Macomb County is more than just another battleground in the Midwest--it's the iconic home of Reagan Democrats, the breed of voter whose defection to the GOP in the 1970s and 1980s signaled the end of liberalism's high tide and the emergence of conservatism as a national force.

Ever since, the county's white, middleclass residents have taken on a symbolism that far outweighs their numerical clout. Stories about voting behavior in Macomb County have become a quadrennial staple of political journalism, as reporters from everywhere beat a path to these suburbs just north of Detroit. An Irish television crew recently dropped in, to the amazement of absolutely nobody. These media pilgrims pay homage to a resilient piece of conventional wisdom. In Macomb County, more than Michigan's 17 electoral votes may be on the line. It might be said that the way Macomb County goes, so goes the nation.

The endorsements are the first for Cherry as an entire slate of county-wide officials in the Metro Detroit area, and even more notable because Sheriff Mark Hackle is counted among them. Hackel was also the top Macomb countywide vote getter last election -- the only countywide candidate on the ballot in Macomb County to win over 300,000 votes, so his endorsement carries some sway.

You might recall last December that Hackel announced his intent to run for governor to the Macomb Daily, causing a bit of a stir. Most insiders had chalked that up to pure interest but lacked real intent.

So as the Cherry bandwagon picks up steam and supporters, still with more than a year left, it will be more than interesting to see where this is headed, particularly given that there has been little to no news from the other rumored contenders, both declared and not. 

Gubernatorial News: Republicans Who?

by: LiberalLucy

Thu May 28, 2009 at 22:59:23 PM EDT

Apparently a Republican-written white paper spelling out their demise over the next couple years wasn't bad enough, but the snowball just keeps rolling down the hill, and growing in size.

WXYZ TV (Channel 7 out of Detroit) just released the results of a poll about potential gubernatorial candidates, and continues to reinforce what Democrats, Republicans, and the public all know - Republicans are weak, really weak.

Among Democrats, in an open-ended question without hearing the list of Democratic candidates, if the primary election were held today, the leading candidate would be Lieutenant Governor John Cherry, who is polling at 9%. The second most popular candidate is US Senator Debbie Stabenow, who polls at 5%, followed by Governor Jennifer Granholm at 3%. However, Governor Granholm is term-limited, and cannot run again.

This is great news for Cherry, as Stabenow has already announced that she is not running in the 2010 gubernatorial race, giving Cherry the definitive lead. He also does better than anyone of any of the announced or even remotely likely Democratic candidates for Governor, and is either winning or within the margin of error with all the Republicans he's matched up with.

And what about those Republicans, you ask? Well, besides duking it out amongst themselves with very little flair or notability, there's also some telling items, namely that Rick Snyder, who may be seen as some as the dark horse in the race, didn't even garner enough points to pull a single percentage point.

Again with the usual caveat - it's only May of 2009. There's a lot of time between now and November of 2010, but it's doubtful that the Republicans can make up that much ground with their entire field between now and then.

That being said, none of the Democratic candidates should be resting on their laurels, nor should their supporters, but the poll certainly is encouraging.

Gubernatorial Scuttlebutt: The Good, the Bad (but fashionable!) and the Torturers

by: LiberalLucy

Fri May 15, 2009 at 12:05:47 PM EDT

It may only be May of 2009, but in the wonderful world of politics, it's never too early to talk election scuttlebutt!

On the Dem side, Lt. Gov. John Cherry continues to pick up steam. He's just announced that 17 Democratic County and District Chairs have endorsed him. If that sounds impressive, add that to the 14 others that previously endorsed, bring it to a whopping 31. Our great state only has 83 counties and 15 congressional districts, so one can only guess where he'll be by July or August!

The rumored possible/maybe (can we get any more vague?) run of Macomb County Sherrif Mark Hackel appears to be over, quite possibly even before it got started. For this, we go to our trusty Senior Capitol Correspondent and Off the Record host, Tim Skubick -

Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel is making noises that running for governor maybe ain't such a hot idea after all. Apparently in addition to his law enforcement chores, he is also a math major and the numbers don't add up on the democratic ledger.

Sure he is from vote rich Macomb County and anybody running for governor would love to have that as a base, and sure he has great name ID and voters like him, but his chances of wrestling the nomination from Lt. Gov. John Cherry are slim and none.

While Hackel has spent the last six months thinking about running, the aforementioned Mr. Cherry has actually been running and rather successfully as he methodically puts his machine together.And then, my personal favorite continual comedic fodder, the ever bumbling and grandiose Republicans...

And then there's my favorite source of continual comedic fodder, the bumbling and arrogant Republican field. Remember, the very same party whose own people published a white paper saying they didn't even have a bat's chance in hell of winning...

WSJ names Granholm as 'leading candidate' for Energy Secretary

by: LiberalLucy

Wed Dec 10, 2008 at 15:24:40 PM EST

From the Wall Street Journal:

Meanwhile, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm is a leading candidate for energy secretary, though no decision has been made.

Mr. Obama is expected to also soon name a special energy and climate change advisor post and Energy Secretary. Two other people close to the situation, said former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Carol Browner was to be tapped as the special energy czar and Gov. Granholm was the front-runner for the secretary position. No final decision had been made, the senior Democratic aides said.

The AP on the other hand, doesn't even mention Granholm in their latest story about possible candidates, proof that this is all just a huge guessing game from Lansing to DC. 

As I said earlier, this is the latest in a long line of speculation about Governor Granholm's future role in the new Obama Administration. Previously discussed Cabinet positions have included Labor, Attorney General, and Transportation.

Of course, any move by Granholm will make things very interesting for Lt. Gov. John Cherry, who would become an incumbent if he were to run in 2010 for the gubernatorial race. I say if, because even though it's assumed he will run, no official paperwork has been filed, despite many insiders betting their money on him as the front-runner.

Till now, we continue to wait and see, and hope that no one's holding their breath, because it could be another week or two before any other decisions are reached.

Nancy Cassis to MI's Poor: Screw You

by: LiberalLucy

Mon Jul 30, 2007 at 17:07:47 PM EDT

Michigan's poor.

Republican Senator Nancy Cassis (R- Crazy) a.k.a. the Wicked Witch of the West, has spent too much time living in the lap of luxurious Novi with Amway Guy and other Republican Millionaires to the point where she's forgotten how most of the world lives.

Cassis' has introduced Senate Bill 662, which would suspend help towards Michigan's poor through the Earned Income Tax Credit, until the state budget has a surplus of $250 Million.

The EITC was signed into law by Governor Granholm after being passed as a bipartisan measure. From Lt. Gov. John Cherry -

The EITC is a refundable federal tax credit that helps working people achieve economic stability and security.

-snip-

With the current economic downturn, the EITC is more important than ever for Michigan's working families. Estimates are that $12.3 to $49 million can be brought directly into the wallets of Michigan's working poor families through a successful outreach effort.

That's a difference of $1.65 Billion, and unless Dick DeVos decides to become a real servant of the people and donate his entire worth to the state (don't hold your breath on that one), that's not going to happen anytime soon.