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 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...