— The crush of Democratic candidates is motivated in part by Republican President Donald Trump and the policies of the GOP-controlled Congress. — Three of the 19 women running for the U.S. House in Michigan are Republicans . . . A majority of Michigan’s 200 female state candidates are also Democrats. — “I’ve had so many …
May 29, 2018
Skubick: New poll finds gap in voter motivation 13 percent more Democratic women are eager to vote than their counterparts in the Republican Party. And the same holds true along party lines as 63 percent of the Democrats are eager to vote while 53 percent of the Republicans say the same thing, a ten-point gap. …
May 29, 2018
Michigan House OKs plan to let industry officials help oversee environmental rules Environmentalists have likened the proposal to the proverbial “fox guarding the henhouse,” but GOP lawmakers and business groups contend it would add oversight to decisions made by unelected bureaucrats. . . . “Corporations are people, too,” said Rep. Tommy Brann, R-Wyoming, speaking in support …
May 23, 2018
Benson discusses voting rights, secretary of state campaign in Holland From her beginnings at the Southern Poverty Law Center, Jocelyn Benson has always been committed to addressing voting rights issues and protecting democracy. . . . “I was instilled with this deep commitment to address voting rights and democracy work in our country,” Benson said. “There has …
May 23, 2018
Experts hired to help defend state DEQ workers bill taxpayers $108K so far The invoices for experts are in addition to more than $87,000 billed to state taxpayers by experts retained by two top executives for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services who have also been charged with crimes related to the water …
May 22, 2018
Gov. Snyder: How Michigan became ‘comeback state’: With Calley’s leadership, we implemented a simple, fair and efficient tax system that didn’t pick winners and losers. We made Michigan into one of the most competitive places to do business in the nation. Scrapping the MBT and instituting this new tax system put Michigan on the path to …
May 21, 2018
Kesto targets Epstein: An opponent in the 11th Congressional District Republican primary is criticizing businesswoman Lena Epstein for missing 87 percent of quarterly board meetings of the Michigan Children’s Trust Fund since 2012. “Epstein had a chance to work on the most important cause you can think of, protecting children from abuse, but she wouldn’t do the …
May 21, 2018
In fact, this legislation will cost a fiscally irresponsible estimated $30 million annually to implement. When the majority of able-bodied Medicaid recipients are already working, why would we spend taxpayer money to punish them if they don’t? Perhaps worst of all, this legislation demonstrates its sponsors are willfully ignorant of the conditions Republican policies have …
May 21, 2018
Trump’s Trade Moves Put U.S. Carmakers in a Jam at Home and Abroad — Mr. Trump’s efforts to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, to impose tariffs on imported aluminum and steel and to reduce America’s trade deficit with China could limit the reach of companies that produce cars in the United States and …
May 11, 2018
Coming to a TV screen near you soon: Democratic commercials attacking President Trump and Betsy DeVos to convince voters to support Democratic House candidates. “I think Betsy DeVos and Trump are people who are activating our base of supporters,” said Rep. Kristy Pagan. “And motivating our voters to come out to support our Democrats who are …
May 8, 2018
Flashpoint 5/6/18: Gubernatorial candidate Colbeck defends Muslim comments about El-Sayed (WDIV)
May 6, 2018
The $23 million — enough money to supply Flint with bottled water until all lead and galvanized service lines have been removed and replaced — does not include updated costs for attorneys provided to three former emergency managers, an expense neither the city nor the state have agreed to fully pay and which remains a point of …
May 4, 2018
Jack Lessenberry: “Knowing they are unlikely to prevail at the polls, Republicans are trying to beat Voters Not Politicians in the courts. A GOP front group called Citizens Protecting Michigan’s Constitution has asked the Michigan Court of Appeals to keep it off the ballot. . . . If those in favor of rigging the system are …
May 4, 2018
Worried about having a proposal on the November ballot that would legalize recreational use of marijuana, Republicans in the state Senate are working on a plan to vote on the citizen petition and tie it to a cut in the state income tax. . . . Keeping the initiative off the November ballot would be a plus for Republicans …
May 4, 2018
“Stop telling people two different things,” [Senate Democratic Leader Jim Ananich, D-Flint] said Thursday, noting the Snyder administration has struggled to rebuild trust in Flint, where residents were told tainted water was safe to drink after the city temporarily switched to Flint River water in April 2014. “It may be meeting some federal standard that the …
May 4, 2018
“The politicians that have been in office can’t win the general election. . . . They won’t win the general election because I believe that the Democrats will eat them alive over Flint water and a number of other issues where it’s obvious that the politics of the situation came before the people,” [Jim] Hines …
May 4, 2018
Nancy Kaffer: “Live in Detroit? You’re out of luck. . . . The same is true in Flint and the state’s other struggling cities. Get that? Rural residents of up-north counties with high unemployment are protected; urban Michiganders who live in high-unemployment cities in more prosperous counties are left to twist. . . . “Every one of …
May 3, 2018
Nolan Finley: “If there was any doubt about who owns today’s Republican Party, new polling confirms the Grand Old Party is firmly in the hands of Donald Trump. . . . A poll of Michigan Republican voters finds a solid majority of party regulars say their loyalties rest with Trump and not with the party …
May 3, 2018
“The Michigan Democratic Party mirrors our population as a state and reflects our values as a people in a way that puts our opponents to shame. But we must do more than strive to be better than what we oppose. We have to raise the bar so high that our truth becomes their reality. If we’re going …
May 3, 2018
Colbeck: “The first and most impactful accomplishment to date was leading the effort to restore the freedom of assembly to rank and file workers throughout our state and make Michigan the 24th Right to Work state in the nation.” (Colderwater Daily Reporter) NOTE: All four of the Republicans pictured support Right To Work For Less
May 1, 2018