Everyone had better start thinking about something else to write/complain about from here on out, because the Michigan presidential primary is finally OVER. There's all sorts of stuff to chew on in this extra special primary edition of Coffee Talk. Enjoy your cup-o-links...
Primary Coverage
NPR: Romney Wins Michigan's GOP Primary. "It's a victory of optimism over Washington-style pessimism," Romney said during his victory speech, with his hair dangling down uncharacteristically onto his forehead.
Freep: Mitt Romney Takes Michigan. "Now, he can fight on, being one of three candidates to have scored major victories in the primary season. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee won the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3 and McCain, who won Michigan eight years ago, took New Hampshire's primaries last week."
Freep: Michigan GOP mistakenly sends release praising McCain for victory. Nice work from Saul Anuzis' crack team over at the MI-GOP. Those guys really know what they're doing.
Stephen Henderson: A big win for Romney and Clinton. This does not bode well for camp Hillary, despite her win: "Clinton got clobbered among African Americans (by nearly a 70-26 margin) and lost handily among independent voters." More in this editorial.
DetNews: Tough economy is top issue for Michigan primary voters. "Fully 60 percent of those taking part in the Democratic presidential primary cited the economy as the most important issue as did 55 percent of those who cast ballots on the Republican side of the ledger, according to a National Election Exit Poll conducted at key precincts across the state Tuesday by Edison/Mitofsky."
CNN: Primary Results. Vote totals for the Republican and Democratic primaries, with lots of colorful charts and graphs.
Michigan Messenger: Live coverage of polling results - Michigan's presidential primary. Self-explanatory.
Far Left Field: Victory Without a Fight! A nice post from the Left Fielder about the Lansing-area UAW efforts to fight back against RTW.
BFM: Bennington Twp Violating Election Laws. Christine chronicles photo ID abuses in Shiawassee County. More here.
Upper Hand: Live from the MI AFL-CIO Headquarters. In case you missed it, here's Julielyn's liveblog from yesterday. More here, here, and here.
Local, State, National Politics
Stephen Henderson: The next president must pay attention to our problems. "Michigan needs a president who'll take real action against the currency manipulation, unfair labor standards and protectionist trade policies that give foreign companies a ridiculous and largely unearned advantage over their American counterparts."
BFM: God Bless The Unions. Christine thanks the Michigan unions for their efforts to beat back the RTW campaign before it ever got off the ground.
Rep. Miller: Florida Will Catapult Giuliani to Feb. 5. Yep, Rudy got half as many votes as Ron Paul last night. He's got the rest of the field right where he wants 'em.
State Government/Legislation
AP: Comcast plans temporarily blocked. Need another reason to hate Comcast? "The cable company planned today to move PEG - public, educational and governmental access channels - across the state into the 900-level digital range, requiring subscribers with analog televisions to buy digital cable-ready televisions or rent or buy a digital converter box for each set."
Freep Editorial: State surplus can help build a better budget. "Some taxpayers may have felt deceived when the surplus showed up after the crisis atmosphere that persisted in Lansing through 2007. But people really should be pleased that several state departments made thrift a priority. With that penny-pinching model, the state now must press forward on changes and reforms that have long-lasting impact."
Jackson Cit-Pat: Lawmakers going to bat for SmartZone. Schauer, Griffin and Simpson are all pushing for the state to create three new SmartZones, which they hope Jackson will compete for.
Energy, Environment and the Economy
Freep: Granholm to support Ficano's smaller Cobo expansion plan. "Last week, Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano offered a scaled-down plan to expand Cobo by 120,000 square feet, a plan that he said included $150 million from the State of Michigan." More on Ficano's plan here.
DetNews: Taylor program buys houses for $1, repairs and resells them. "This should provide an opportunity for citizens to possibly get out of the rental mode and become homeowners, stay in the community and become more stable. It's a win-win."
Rudy, Mitt, Fred, Ron, Mike and Grover Norquist, all the people that we love to hate, will be in Livonia, Michigan on Saturday, January 12.
WHEN: 1/12/08 9 A.M.
WHERE: 39000 SCHOOLCRAFT, LIVONIA
The national media will more than likely cover this event with so many presidential candidates in one place, so I'm hoping that you can show America that the Republicans do not represent American values any more. Torture, warrantless wiretapping, media consolidation, loss of civil liberties, are not on the progressive Democratic agenda.
Please show up and bring a friend and show your support for the America we remember where we take care of our brothers and sisters in need.
Michigan Messenger: New DHS director faces some uncomfortable questions but passes confirmation hearing. Michigan's wannabe Ann Coulter tried to give Ismael Ahmed some grief yesterday, but the Senate's Families and Human Services Committee voted unanimously to support his appointment after hearing 30 speakers offer testimony in support of the new DHS Director.
State News: Group seeks to extend term limits for state legislators. Term limits appear to be the hot topic since last week's budget deal went through.
Rudy Giuliani: Michigan needs fiscal discipline. Rudy says the answer to Michigan's problems are more tax cuts. Boy, thanks for those pearls of wisdom.
Senate Dems: Senate Democrats, Business Leaders Urge Support for Clean Energy Development. There's still more work to be done on the budget, but it's time to take up important bills on renewable energy and energy efficiency. The Bay City Times has a short post about this renewed legislative push here, and Kevin has a related post up about the BlueGreen Alliance over on Michigan Messenger.
Department of History, Arts and Libraries: Great Lakes Arts, Culture, and Heritage Survey Results Give Michigan a Powerful Tool in Leveraging a Key Economic Sector. Okay, so that lengthy headline is pretty self-explanatory. Check out the release for more info.
Michigan's Economy
AP: Go Solar program turns power users into power savers. "I view it as prepaying for utilities," said Skinner, 56. "We're bargaining over time that it'll be worth it because one day, we'll get free energy."
DFP: Chrysler, UAW push the deadline. A nice update on the status of the negotiations. We'll know what happens by 11 a.m.
State News: Adjunct physics professor at MSU wins Nobel Prize. "This year?s Nobel Prize for physics winners Albert Fert and Peter Grunberg?s research could potentially allow for more songs on an MP3 player or more memory on a laptop. Fert, an MSU adjunct professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, along with Grunberg, discovered and pioneered a giant magnetoresistance field in 1988."
I just caught "Off the Record" on wkar and wanted to send a quick congrats to Joan and Marcy for their performance. Always great to see fresh perspectives on that show.
The one thing that really made me laugh was the Republican bloggers insistance that "taxpayer funded abortion" would be their hallmark issue to win in Michigan in 2008. Marcy was great pointing out the hypocrisy of saying Giuliani was the favorite for the Republican candidacy on one hand and then trumpeting this issue on the other. Even with Marcy taking them to task, the Republican bloggers were smug about their "taxpayer funded" distinction as their silver bullet. Well, all I gotta say is stop being so smug:
I guess its time to try and find another silver bullet.
And on a side note, I think its pretty reasonable to think that economic status should not impede a woman's right to decide what to do with her body. I am glad Giuliani thinks (or used to think) so too.
BFM: Michigan Kids, Legislature Both Need to Shape Up. Sen. Deb Cherry launches the first post in a series of the Top Ten issues being ignored while the Senate sits on the budget (see story below). In this post, Cherry writes about her legislation that would mandate physical fitness in elementary schools. With classes starting in a month time is running short, but her bills have yet to receive an up or down vote. Keep an eye on BFM next week for more updates from the Senate Dems.
Conservative Media: Numbers prove this is the laziest state Senate in more than a decade. "Schauer told Gongwer this is fewest total roll call votes held so far in a decade and no budget bills having passed the chamber under chief obstructionist Mike Bishop. The Senate earned the reputation as the place where bills go to die in the last session even when Republicans controlled the House, and Bishop is only enhancing that reputation."
Current & Pending Legislation
Toledo Blade: Smoking ban progress. The Blade comes out in favor of the workplace smoking ban: "In the long run, a smoke-free state should pay healthy dividends, both in reduced medical costs and the improved well-being of all residents." Like they said, if Illinois can do it, so can Michigan.
Cit-Pat: 'NO-REASON' ABSENTEES Make voting easy. "The guiding principle should be that our society will benefit from making it easier to vote. It's encouraging that so many of us put up with long lines to elect our leaders, but it's also pointlessly archaic. Why should people have to slot their vote for president during a 13-hour window? We hope the Legislature gives this idea the green light soon." Amen to that.
Republic of M: Anti-Gay, Anti-Black, Anti-Human. Dawn Wolfe of the Triangle Foundation tells the story of Anthony and Bruce, two disabled roommates who have become the target of racist and anti-gay vandalism and threats. As Dawn explains, "I'm glad that Anthony and Bruce may see some justice because the haters were too stupid to realize that, while attacking someone for their real or perceived sexual orientation is not a crime in this country (or in Michigan), attacking them because of their race is." This is another example of why we need hate crime laws here in Michigan.
MI Class Notes: Michigan's Congressional Republicans Vote Against Children's Health Insurance. Joel has another great post up about the Republicans in our Congressional delegation who voted against healthcare for poor kids this Wednesday. Check it out.
Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood: Mike Rogers Votes Against Rest for U.S. Troops Serving in Iraq. Yesterday Rep. Rogers voted against a bill that would "ensure that our brave men and women in uniform have the tools and training they need to do their jobs and return safely home." They say there's no rest for the weary, and thanks to Mike Rogers, that statement still applies to our American troops who have bravely served in the war he voted for.
Elections
Capitol Journal: Ward 1: Leeman and the longshots. Hop on over to CJ to get Derek's take on Lansing's City Council Elections, and his prediction for the two candidates who will win on Tuesday.
MDP: MI Democrats Announce Unprecedented Election Protection Program. Anything that makes it easier for folks to vote is a good thing.
Cit-Pat Opinion: Recall Walberg? Wait for election. Rep. Walberg has a well-documented history as a loon, but I am forced to agree with this statement: "The congressman's critics will get their chance to give him the boot soon enough. There's no need to rush into things with an expensive recall, financed by taxpayer dollars."
Stone Soup Musings: Giuliani's (Non) Health Care Plan. Want the details on Rudy's (Non-)Plan for Healthcare? As Ezra Klein points out, "Rudy Giuliani's health care 'plan' is less a good-faith reform proposal than a cudgel with which to bash liberals." Gee, that's swell.
Odds & Ends
LSJ Editorial: Legislature: Limit session days, not pay, to improve lawmakers' work. The LSJ argues that a part-time legislature is a bad idea, but then they go on to say this: "In a reformed Legislature, lawmakers would work year-round on constituent service, take testimony on public problems and watch the executive branch. But they would have only a limited number of days - say, 90 - to actually enact legislation." Wait... huh?
BFM: International Engineering Firm Expands In Wixom. Christine has another Michigan success story.
Did I forget anything? Drop your links in the comments section...
Let’s have a big TV-Land welcome for everyone’s favorite ad buying billionaire, Hollywood Dick Devos! It’s time to meet our celebrity guests. If you don’t have time to click the links, you are encouraged to mouse over them. Also, please don’t wonder why almost everyone who is speaking for Dick DeVos is either from out of Michigan or is in his family - it’s bad manners!
As Michigan voters consider the new association between Dick DeVos (R-Amway) and the former Mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani (RINO-PhRMA), it is important that they consider the Giuliani track record in making endorsements. The record is not good.
Take for example the Director of the Department of Homeland Security. That's one of the most important positions in the federal government, responsible for securing our borders and protecting Americans from terrorist attacks.
Back in 2004, Rudy Giuliani urged President George W. Bush to appoint his friend and former driver, Bernard Kerik as Director of the Department of Homeland Security. Bush appointed Kerik.
Michigan voters beware. This morning the Saginaw News warns voters to expect dismissive treatment from any DeVos administration and slams the Republican candidate for governor for his failure to answer questions regarding Michigan's Freedom of Information Act:
How poor of a communicator is Dick DeVos? How cavalier is the gubernatorial candidate toward the public's right to know?
Michigan newspapers gained an insight recently when the Michigan Press Association asked Gov. Granholm and the Republican challenger to respond to four questions regarding open government.
Now that the World Series is over and the 2006 baseball season is done for our beloved Detroit Tigers, rather than trying to win the election on his own, who does Dick DeVos (R-Amway) turn to to save his failing campaign? A New York Yankee.
That's right--less than 24 hours after the Detroit Tigers were eliminated from the World Series, Dick DeVos has employed a big New York Yankee fan in his latest advertisement.
Apparently Dick DeVos can't speak for himself. When was the last time the Amway Guy actually looked into the camera and spoke to Michigan voters in one of his million dollar ad buys?
If Dick DeVos won't stand up and speak for himself, how can Michigan voters trust him to stand up and speak for Michigan?
After the Survey St Louis "March Madness" tournament which was a hit among national GOP bloggers, The Republican Michigander has decided to start a new tournment of 32 with a twist - half of the possible 2008 candidates listed are democrats. I invite Michigan Liberal's readership to join in on the democratic bracket of our tournament. We would like to see which candidates are favored by grassroots activists in both parties primarily in the state of Michigan, where the readership of both our websites is based. While I prefer Republicans voting in republican polls and democrats voting in democrat polls, there is no rule against cross party voting.
The format is an NCAA tournament style format. All matchups are one on one with the first seed matches up with a 16th seed, etc.
Today starts part 2 of round one. The first round for the democrats start today. Polls will be open until Tuesday, when Round two will begin.
Until the final round, democrats will be facing democrats and republicans will be facing republicans. The championship matchup will be of the winning republican vs the winning democrat vs common third parties who are on Michigan's ballot.
