If Ignorance is Bliss, Pete Hoekstra's One Happy Dude

by: seaborn

Wed Jul 27, 2011 at 00:09:28 AM EDT

So Pete Hoekstra, who earlier wasn’t running for Senate but now is, today aptly showed why he has no business joining what’s been called “the world’s greatest deliberative body.”

In throwing his support behind the House GOP plan that has no chance of passage and would destroy the economy if it did (aka “The Who Needs Recession When Depression is Possible Act of 2011”), Hoekstra offered the following (according to subscription-only MIRS):

"No deal is better than a really bad deal," Hoekstra said. ". . . A three-day or four-day shutdown would be extremely painful, but good things could come out of it."

Here’s the thing. We’re not talking about a shutdown. We’re talking about an historic, first-time-ever default. We’re talking about a situation where, for the first time ever, the world’s largest economy defaults on its loan obligations, potentially forfeiting our status as the currency-of-record as a result. A situation that would cost every homeowner, credit card holder, student loan holder, investor, and consumer more as a result of higher interest rates. As bad as a government shutdown is (and Pete should know, as a member of the House GOP caucus that shut down the government in 1995), it’s impact is of a different scale than the potential default Hoekstra and his GOP buddies in Washington seem intent on.

Finally! A West Michigan Health Care Town Hall

by: lakeshoremmm

Sat Aug 29, 2009 at 21:09:52 PM EDT

Congressman Pete Hoekstra has finally scheduled town hall meetings about health care reform. 

The meeting in Holland is Monday August 31 at 7:00 pm at Evergreen Commons, corner of Michigan Ave and State Street. 

Many websites have tips on how to organize for such an event.  For a good example, see this one.

We need to have progressive voices heard at this meeting!  PLEASE PLAN TO ATTEND, AND BRING YOUR FRIENDS!

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...

UPDATE: Pete's Pilgrimage - A Return to More of the Same from the Mackinac Center's Man

by: Hector Solon

Wed May 13, 2009 at 17:44:28 PM EDT

UPDATE: Hoekstra's Tuesday "Interview" of David Littmann on the Auto Crisis at the Mackinac Center during his day as policy pupil there now posted.

GOP: We won't/can't win in 2010

by: LiberalLucy

Tue Apr 21, 2009 at 12:39:42 PM EDT

Encouraging and interesting news comes to the state courtesy of a new white-paper from an interesting group of Republican strategists - the GOP just can't win in 2010. The article from MIRS (subscription only) is quite revealing. For instance -

A new white paper by MDJ&R Strategy Consultants takes a look at why the GOP went from controlling the governor's mansion and both houses of the Legislature before the last redistricting in 2000 to having a Democratic governor and House today. Their study of election data trends predicts neither will change hands in the 2010 election and Republicans will drop to a 20-18 majority in the Senate.

"The numbers aren't there to be successful in 2010," said Dennis DARNOI, former chief of staff for Senate Majority Leader Mike BISHOP (R-Rochester). "It's clear that the message the top-of-the-ticket candidates have been using isn't resonating. It hasn't been successful for six years."

Darnoi said the GOP has lost suburban and independent voters, particularly from the five biggest counties -- Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Kent and Grand Traverse. Only 32 percent of Michigan voters identify as Republicans, even though 40 percent say they're conservative. Republicans need an 83-county strategy, he said.

Hmm, an 83-county strategy, eh? Sounds a little familiar, kind of like a 50-state strategy implemented by the Democratic National Party in 2008? You betcha! (wink)

Oh, but there's much, much more...

McCotter Caught in National Spotlight

by: Harris

Thu Jan 15, 2009 at 23:49:16 PM EST

If not the national spotlight then at least over at The Washington Monthly, where Steve Bennen outs the rhetoric, then the switched vote on S-CHIP. 

Obviously the lessons of Walberg and Knollenberg were not lost on the Livonia rep.  That, and the census reality of a lost seat for Michigan in 2010:  the target is on his back (nice little district you got there, Thad.  Shame if something ever happened to it).  Still, whateer the reason, we'll take his vote.

Sadly, McCotter is probably one of the more (ahem) open Republicans.  Certainly Peter Hoekstra's vote seems odd, given his putative gubernatorial ambitions.

Update! (E.B.) ... Here is McCotter's original comment on SCHIP, in his usual over-the-top style.

If our Republican Party is daunted by the politics of S-CHIP and shrinks from reaffirming its defining principles, social welfare programs will never help poor Americans escape governmental dependence. Instead, the Democrats will continue their push to shackle Americans with a bureaucrat-centered health care system and other insidious forms of governmental dependence; and our Republican Party -- the party of the Great Emancipator -- will not only lose the next election.

It will lose its soul.

A thing of beauty is a joy forever.

Huizenga to run for Hoekstra's Congressional seat in 2010

by: LiberalLucy

Tue Dec 16, 2008 at 14:23:13 PM EST

And you thought the campaign season just ended. Ha. Just Kidding!

From the AP:

State Rep. Bill Huizenga ran three successful re-election campaigns for U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra.

Now Huizenga himself is campaigning for Congress.

The 39-year-old Zeeland Republican planned to officially announce today at an event in his hometown that he will run in 2010 for the 2nd Congressional District seat now held by Hoekstra. He also was to launch a campaign Web site.

Huizenga is chairman of the district for the Michigan Republican Party and was Hoekstra's director of public policy for six years.

-snip-

Huizenga is serving his third term in the state House and represents the 90th District through the end of this year. Term limits prohibited him from seeking a fourth term.

During his second term, he was chairman of the House Commerce Committee. In his final term, the GOP lost its majority in the House, which cost him his chairmanship.

It's obviously very soon to be officially announcing a 2010 candidacy for elected office, Huizenga said.

"Clearly, this is early, but like I said, I've had a lot of people asking me," he said.

No rest for the wicked or the weary, indeed.

What Have You Done For Us Lately?

by: kelster

Sat May 03, 2008 at 07:02:39 AM EDT

Many of you will be relieved to hear that four of the nine members of the MI GOP delegation have been rated "Congressional Insiders" by the National Republican Congressional Committee:

Pete Hoekstra, Candice Miller, Mike Rogers and Fred Upton.

Well, gosh!  With all that insider-y clout and connections, you'd think that these four would be leading the way to help our state... or maybe not get in the way of helping our state...  or at the outside, not let their support of partisan national agendas actively damage our state.

Silly me.

Video Highlights from the Muskegon Community Solidarity Candidate Forum

by: FredJohnsonForCongress

Thu Jan 24, 2008 at 15:00:02 PM EST

Last saturday, Fred Johnson participated in a candidate forum sponsored by Muskegon Community Solidarity.  Fred Johnson responded to questions from the audience on a variety of topics, including the economy, health care, and fighting for progressive causes in the 2nd District. 

Video highlights of the forum have been posted on our website. 

http://www.fredjohnsonforcongress.com/coverage3.html

Will Hoekstra get Teamster endorsement for Gov in 2010?

by: swaidely

Fri Dec 21, 2007 at 09:25:45 AM EST

Erik Prince and Blackwater and Hoekstra Oh My!

by: AikoAdam

Thu Oct 04, 2007 at 20:42:40 PM EDT

* Blackwater has been involved in 195 "escalation of force" incidents since 2005, an average of 1.4 shooting incidents per week. From January 2005 to April 2007, Blackwater employees used their weapons 168 times, compared to 102 times for rival DynCorp and 36 for rival Triple Canopy during that same time frame.

According to the majority staff, Blackwater operatives fired the first shot in 80 percent of those cases, though its contract with the State Department only permits the use of "defensive" force.

* A single Blackwater security contractor costs the government $1,222 every day to guard U.S. civilian personnel, or $445,000 per year. That's six times the cost of getting a U.S. Army soldier to perform the same function. As P.W. Singer observed last week, private security companies increasingly exist to free up tasks for U.S. troops, ensuring a sort of dependence on contracting occurs for a military coping with the strain of deployments for two wars.

* The State Department's attitude to Blackwater shootings is most often a directive to compensate the victim's family, "rather than to insist upon accountability or to investigate Blackwater personnel for potential criminal liability."

* Blackwater's initial contract to protect U.S. diplomats in Iraq, in 2003, was a no-bid contract. So was its 2004 successor. On that one, Blackwater stood to earn a maximum of $338 million, but actually received $488 million from State between June 2004 and June 2006. In total, Blackwater has earned upwards of $1 billion in government contracts since 2001.

  Today the House passed HR 2740, MEJA expansion and Enforcement Act, a bill that would make contractors in combat zones subject to prosecution in US courts. The bill passed overwhelmingly, damn near could have had a voice vote 389-30. Hoekstra voted NO. One of only 30 members of Congress to vote against the bill. Oh but there's more.

Hoekstra votes against funding for Northwest Michigan

by: AikoAdam

Sun Jul 29, 2007 at 13:12:50 PM EDT