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Mike Rogers 
Sun Oct 03, 2010 at 12:27:42 PM EDT
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(From the diaries! - promoted by Eric B.)
A few days ago, I posted a diary in support of Lance Enderle's campaign in which, along with several other key points, I pointed out his opponent, 5-term incumbent Republican Mike Rogers' extreme position on reproductive rights for women:
4. MIKE ROGERS WANTS RAPE VICTIMS FORCED TO CARRY RAPISTS' OFFSPRING: The whole nation is abuzz about Alan Grayson's opponent, "Taliban Dan" Webster. Well, guess what? Republican Mike Rogers is also so extreme on abortion that he wants women who are the victims of rape to be forced to give birth to their rapist's offspring. I can't imagine the injustice of police detaining & supervising rape victims for 9 months until their rapists' spawn are born. Yet that is the necessary consequence of Mike Rogers' position.
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Sat Oct 02, 2010 at 12:50:05 PM EDT
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Note: I'm republishing a column by Lance, with his permission, which was published by the Lansing CityPulse newsweekly on 9/22/10.
Cross-posted at dKos; please Rec it up there as well!
Who will put Michigan back to work? This is the number one question we have to ask ourselves at the polls this November. Finding the answer is as easy as looking at whose policies guided us into our current unemployment mess to begin with.
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Sun Sep 26, 2010 at 22:17:03 PM EDT
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Cross-posted at DailyKos; please Rec it up over there as well, thanks!! Progressive, pro-choice Democrat and Lance Enderle has had a long, strange journey to get on the ballot this November (longer and stranger than just about any other candidate this year), but he's there now and isn't going to let Republican incumbent Mike "Let's Drill in the Great Lakes" Rogers win a 6th term without a fight. Today, I'm pleased to announce that the Lance Enderle for Congress campaign has uploaded the first video ad. I'm calling it a video ad instead of a TV ad because, frankly, the campaign doesn't (yet) have enough money to buy broadcast time--but, thanks to the beauty of YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and, of course, the progressive blogosphere, we're hoping that you guys will do everything possible to give it (and Lance) as much exposure as possible.
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Fri Sep 10, 2010 at 22:02:01 PM EDT
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(cross-posted at Daily Kos; please Rec it up there if you can!)
OK, I don't know if everyone will agree that this is a "must-see" clip. However, considering that the campaign to unseat Mike "Drill for oil in the Great Lakes!" Rogers only actually became official 62 days before the election, I'd say that it's a pretty damned good start for Mr. Enderle.
(Note: For those of you who haven't been following the MI-08 saga and don't understand why there was no Democratic candidate until a week ago, see this timeline for the backstory.)
In any event, this campaign speech (about 10 minutes long), given to the Michigan State University student Democrats last night, should give you a taste of what Lance's campaign and style are all about.
Watch it and I think you'll begin to see why The Political Carnival compared Lance to Alan Grayson with Darth Vader's voice:
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Thu Aug 26, 2010 at 18:45:09 PM EDT
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(The Lansing State Journal has an editorial this morning lamenting that Michigan elections are run by partisan officials. (http://tiny.cc/0jyi9) - promoted by Eric B.)
IMPORTANT UPDATE!!
The Michigan Secretary of State's office has confirmed that Kande Ngalamulume is finally OFF the MI-08 ballot!! Read the details--as well as the explanation for the delay on the part of the SoS office.
In any event, it's official: Kande is now off the ballot, and the path has been cleared for Lance Enderle to replace him.
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Wed Aug 04, 2010 at 13:10:20 PM EDT
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Lance Enderle fought a good write-in fight yesterday! I'm proud of him for stepping up to run when Kande Ngalamulume quit the race. Actually, Kande quit the race after the deadline to remove his name from the ballot had passed. There were a few ways to get Kande off the ballot, none of which received his cooperation. Brainwrap has already covered this story... Over the past few weeks, most of us have focused on helping Lance as he slogged across the district, knocking on doors and talking to everyone. Kande's behavior was frustrating, but it was more important to get the word out about Lance's write-in campaign. Now Todd Heywood at Michigan Messenger is reporting that Kande has popped up again, "80 percent sure" that he will get BACK into the race. Say no to delusional behavior. Tell the MDP that you want them to back Lance Enderle and help get him on the ballot for November.
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Tue Jul 13, 2010 at 09:14:16 AM EDT
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Winston Churchill once said, "If you're going through hell, keep going." Well, progressives in MI-08 have taken Churchill's advice to heart and we can see some light at the end of the tunnel. That light is named Lance Enderle and he's stepped up to run as a write-in for the August 3rd Democratic primary. Long story short, the original candidate decided to drop out of the race after the deadline to remove his name from the August primary ballot. So with a non-candidate on the Dems ballot, incumbent party hack and ginormous fundraiser five-term incumbent Mike Rogers would have no opposition in November. Aside from the basic unfairness of it all, this would also free Rogers up to spend his $1 million-plus campaign war chest on closely contested races in MI-07 and MI-09.
Enter Lance Enderle, a straight-shooting teacher who believes that money is pushing ordinary people out of political discourse.
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Tue Jun 29, 2010 at 22:06:27 PM EDT
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OK, first off, this is a very strange situation, so please bear with me. More importantly, please *rec this diary up*; we need as much exposure as possible, as quickly as possible.
Michigan's 8th District has been "represented" (if you can call it that) by a Republican named Mike Rogers since 2000, when he won a squeaker of a race by just 111 votes to fill the U.S. House seat vacated by Debbie Stabenow when she was elected to the U.S. Senate.
You might be thinking that, given the closeness of the race, that MI-08 should be a district that the Dems could take back if they put their minds to it. Unfortunately, up until now, that hasn't happened. He won 68/31 in 2002, 61/37 in 2004, 55/43 in 2006 and 56/40 in 2008.
The closest anyone has gotten to him was Jim Marcinkowski in 2006, a former CIA agent and Naval Operations Specialist--and that was in an extremely Dem-friendly year (Marcinkowski, a former Republican, actually ran for Congress mostly because he was furious about the outing of Valerie Plame, who was a friend of his from his CIA days). |
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Wed May 05, 2010 at 10:02:27 AM EDT
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Mr. Rogers was in full bloviation mode this week, pontificating about the "failure" of the Obama administration to have prevented the Times Square bomber before he acted.
Thought police, anyone?
If Mr. Rogers ever bothered to talk to people in his district (other than the ones who pay for the privilege), I would love to ask him a few questions:
1.) Apparently, the 53 hours and 20 minutes that elapsed from incident to arrest in this case was not good enough for FBI Guy Mike Rogers. Remind me, Mr. Rogers, where Osama bin Laden is being held in custody? Oh, wait -- he still hasn't been captured, nearly a decade after 9/11. Hmm... you've been serving on the House Intel Committee since you first went to Washington a decade ago. Coincidence?
2.) In that MSNBC interview, you referred to a "pattern" of "successful" bombing attempts by Faizal Shahzad (Times Square Bomber) and Umar Abdulmutallab (Underwear Bomber). Why would you define as "successful" two bombers who failed to set off their bombs? No deaths or injuries resulted from their failed attempts; both men were apprehended, taken into custody and provided significant amounts of actionable intelligence after interrogation. I personally think this is outstanding; it's not clear why you are so critical of the efforts of professional law enforcement personnel.
<blockquote>Politically motivated criticism and unfounded fear-mongering only serve the goals of al-Qaeda. Terrorists are not 100 feet tall. Nor do they deserve the abject fear they seek to instill. They will, however, be dismantled and destroyed, by our military, our intelligence services and our law enforcement community. And the notion that America's counter-terrorism professionals and America's system of justice are unable to handle these murderous miscreants is absurd.</blockquote> What have you done for us lately, Mr. Rogers?
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Fri Jan 22, 2010 at 11:36:23 AM EST
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How gerrymandered is MI-08, you ask? It's sooooo gerrymandered that U.S. Representative Mike Rogers, in Congress since 2000, thinks that South Lyon is part of his district.
 doodle.png on Aviary.
Thad McCotter, of MI-11 fame, lists South Lyon as part of his district. How to resolve this question? The idea of a steel cage death match, while not entirely without merit, probably wouldn't work. The alternative -- a quick check of Michigan.gov -- is easier, and clearly shows that Mr. Rogers does not represent South Lyon.
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Wed Jan 13, 2010 at 21:04:56 PM EST
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House Intel BrainTrustPalz™ Mike Rogers and Pete Hoekstra have issued their latest pronouncement:
"There is no evidence that Detroit was targeted," said Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Brighton, who was in a classified briefing on the House Intelligence Committee.
"It was just one of several options the bomber suspect had," Rogers added.
Rep. Pete Hoekstra of Holland, the ranking Republican on the committee, confirmed Detroit wasn't targeted.
Well alrighty then, if Detroit wasn't targeted I guess that makes it all okay!
Both Rogers and Hoekstra have spent quite a bit of time jumping in front of every reporter they can find to thunder about the awfulness of Scary Underpants Bomber GuyAbdulmutallab's arraignment in civilian court.
Oh, and don't forget Hoekstra's attempt to cash in on said Underpants Bomber.
It would have been great if the Detroit News reporter had asked Mike & Pete what exactly was the significance of Detroit not being the bomber's target. Was that really the most salient point of the "closed door" House Intel session?
We all know how Rogers and Hoekstra love to talk about their intel cred... hey, Hoekstra even Twitters about it!
They need to stop the grandstanding and actually do some work to keep our country -- not just Michigan -- safe.
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Tue Jan 05, 2010 at 19:56:10 PM EST
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Cross-posted at Eclectablog.
 My former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers stopped by the offices of the Livingston Press & Argus in Howell, Mich. yesterday to throw some poop on health care reform. Not only did he throw poop, he told several bald-faced lies including this one:
He said a government-appointed panel's conclusion that women need fewer mammograms at certain ages would be incorporated in the bills.
Rogers, himself a cancer survivor, said the government shouldn't dictate who has access to mammograms.
"I said, 'Oh, my gosh. They just sentenced to death 36,000 American women.'"
And that's not the only whopper he told.
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Thu Oct 01, 2009 at 20:43:14 PM EDT
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Mike Rogers (MI-08), never one to let facts get in the way of a good story, has been getting quite a lot of views for his impassioned YouTube defense of the current health care system.
Over in the Neighborhood, we review just how awesomely the current health care system is working out for Mr. Rogers.
With all that taxpayer dough covering his very sweet health care package, it seems a bit uncharitable for him to criticize health care reform as "socialism."
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Tue Sep 29, 2009 at 12:24:43 PM EDT
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Mike Rogers' latest YouTube video is a masterpiece of mangled American historical facts and emotional ranting. Kicking off with the statement that "before the Constitution, before the Revolutionary War" Benjamin Franklin was the "finance chair of the Pennsylvania state legislature," Rogers goes on to say that the Great Depression was solved by plucky individuals: So you think about it, the Great Depression, over 30% unemployment for years, the poverty level in the United States was staggering, but we didn't give up. We didn't say, "you know what, it's too hard, the federal government should do it for us." We didn't do that. For details, drop by Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.
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Fri Sep 04, 2009 at 12:39:45 PM EDT
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Just when we thought Mr. Rogers had totally bailed on talking with his constituents over the August break, we find that he only partially bailed -- he held a "tele-townhall" limited to "randomly" selected residents of the 8th Congressional District.
This isn't the first time Rogers has chosen a controlled environment to avoid tough questions.
According to the Press & Argus, Mr. Rogers told his listeners that they will lose their private health care or Medicare benefits if proposed health-care reforms become law. [skip] Rogers said the bill would dash Medicare Advantage plans that can include prescription drug coverage, among other options. Statements like this really can't be called anything but deliberate deception.
Note that Mr. Rogers is awfully attached to Medicare Advantage (MA), the private plan that covers roughly 18% of Medicare beneficiaries -- yet costs taxpayers an average of 12% more than traditional Medicare. For the retirees who choose a Medicare Advantage private fee for service plan (PFFS), the cost is 19% higher.
Who thinks MA is a good idea? Probably the insurers and pharmaceutical companies which have seen their "government-sponsored medical programs" profits increase dramatically over the past few years, more than making up for losses in the employer-based insurance market.
America's Affordable Health Choices Act would provide significant benefits in the 8th Congressional District of Michigan: up to 15,100 small businesses could receive tax credits to provide coverage to their employees; 7,600 seniors would avoid the donut hole in Medicare Part D; 1,700 families could escape bankruptcy each year due to unaffordable health care costs; health care providers would receive payment for $53 million in uncompensated care each year; and 49,000 uninsured individuals would gain access to high-quality, affordable health insurance. instead of the industries that fund your political activities.
(cross-posted at Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood) |
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Thu Sep 03, 2009 at 23:37:09 PM EDT
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(A fine, fine diary. - promoted by Eric B.)
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: more...
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Wed Aug 05, 2009 at 07:07:00 AM EDT
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Mr. Rogers has certainly earned his month-long (paid) summer vacation! He was running full-tilt on the D.C. hamster wheel, squeaking about health care, fiscal responsibility and Wall Street compensation.
A few weeks ago, Mr. Rogers wasn't sure he'd even bother offering an amendment to the health care bill in the Energy and Commerce Committee. He persevered, though, and managed to stick a snake-oil provision into the final version of the E&C bill (Hey, he doesn't use evidence to make decisions, so why should doctors?). Then he voted against the bill -- even though it would have helped families, seniors and thousands of small businesses in the 8th Congressional District.
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Fri Jul 31, 2009 at 09:06:47 AM EDT
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I sometimes wonder what Mike Rogers was like as a kid. Did he have the same talent for twisting facts? When he flat-out lied, did his parents just chuckle and shake their heads 'cause he was so darned cute?
Whatever happened back then, today Rogers is all grown up and manipulating on a major scale.
Over the past week, Mr. Rogers has been shopping the story of his bladder cancer.
Well, I would not have fit the profile for what a mandated government plan, compensation plan pays for. In other words, if it fits outside of the normal, which is a very cold calculation, some things will not be covered under a government plan and we see that in Canada and the United Kingdom. And the reason is, the only way the government can control costs is by denying you things, rationing care. [skip] Had they not call it early, and they did when I was 19, by the time that thing had spread to my body, they could have found it later on, 22, 23, 24, it probably would have been too late. That's certainly what my doctors told me.
Yesterday, he topped this slice of emotional anecdote with a few scoops of political agenda:
Another controversial Republican amendment passed by voice vote, over Waxman's objections. Backed by Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., it would bar the federal government from using research comparing medical treatments' effectiveness to deny or ration care.
and a sprinkle of drama queen:
With the government plan, said Representative Mike Rogers, Republican of Michigan, "you will have to call a bureaucrat and hope to God his calculator is more compassionate and smarter than your doctor."
"Cold calculations?" "deny or ration care?" Sounds scary, doesn't it?
Using research to compare treatments and make decisions is called evidence-based medicine (EBM). It's been around for quite a while, and it saves lives. It's supported by doctors, nurses and even the insurance industry. In fact, components of EBM are being used right here in Michigan.
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