Here we go again… Since Democratic House Rep Jim Ananich was elected to the state senate in a special election, his House seat in the 49th district has been a hot commodity. There are several Democratic candidates who will face off in the August 6th primary but one of them sticks out like a bit of a sore thumb. Karyn […]

I do believe the Democrats were told to go Cheney themselves In the dead of night last night, Michigan House Republicans passed a bill that would allow the state government to dissolve small school districts facing financial crises. The bills, House Bills 4813 (and a companion bill 4815), was originally introduced in a bipartisan fashion by Democrat David Rutledge of […]

I’ve never been more optimistic. Keep up the activism. UPDATED with links to a new action tool and a petition to be delivered directly to the Senate. See below. I was hopeful, then I was nervous and now I’m genuinely surprised — in the best possible way. I’m thrilled by the number of Michigan Representatives who voted in favor of […]

The House GOP is dropping demands for a 48-month cap on Medicaid coverage for able-bodied adults. The Michigan Tea Party can’t be happy about this. There are signs of Republican willingness to compromise on Medicaid expansion, a big step forward in making it a reality in Michigan. Yesterday, a story in Crain’s Detroit Business reported that House Republicans were abandoning […]

There are new signs of hope. Let your legislators know voters overwhelmingly support doing what’s right for everyone. When it comes to accepting Medicaid expansion, there are no losers. Everyone wins. And it’s possible that the Michigan legislature may be coming around to that idea. A Democratic source in the House told Eclectablog there’s still hope for Medicaid expansion. Some […]

One term nerd, indeed

Public Policy Polling has the first Michigan gubernatorial poll out since Mark Schauer declared his candidacy and the news is very, very bad for incumbent governor Rick Snyder. According to PPP, Mark Schauer leads Snyder by four points, a huge margin for someone who is relatively unknown outside of the 7th Congressional District where he once served as Congressman.

More after the jump.

A champion of the people

This Friday, Congressman John Dingell will break Senator Robert Byrd’s record for the longest serving member of Congress having served 57 years and 177 days. He is already the Dean of the House, the longest continuously serving member of the House of Representatives. Although I am in the Congressional district next Congressman Dingell’s, I have gotten to know him well through my community organizing activities with the Washtenaw County Democratic Party. I’m proud to call him and his wife Debbie friends.

In his 57 years in Congress, Congressman Dingell has cast tens of thousands of votes and has been associated with some of the most historical legislation in our country’s history. Every session, he has carried on the tradition first set by his father of introducing legislation to create a single-payer, universal health care system in the United States of America.

Click through for a list of some of the other legislation that bear his mark and much, much more.

Rick Snyder, your days as “leader’ of Michigan are numbered

This morning former Congressman Mark Schauer filed paperwork to run for governor of Michigan. In his announcement, he said, “We need a governor who will protect the middle class and invest in education to create good jobs for Michigan workers. Rick Snyder has taken our state in the wrong direction. Snyder’s school cuts and higher taxes on seniors and working families are hurting Michigan’s economy. Today I’m taking the first steps to form a campaign for governor. I’m ready to run, I’m ready to work, and I’m ready to win in 2014. It’s time to build an economy that works for everyone, not just the special interests.”

More after the jump.

This is good. This is VERY good

Two Democrats first elected to Congress together in 2008 are rapidly becoming the unrivaled choices of the Michigan Democrats. This bodes well for uncontested primaries for both of them which will help them use their campaign treasuries for beating their Republican opponents and avoiding bruising primary races.

Details on this exciting news after the jump.

More than 550 people signed the petition opposing SB 136. This week, opponents of Senate Bill 136 — the “Religious Liberty & Conscience Protection Act” — met with State Senator Rebekah Warren (D-Ann Arbor). I was at the meeting, where we presented a petition for delivery to the Michigan Senate and learned even more about this troubling legislation from Sen. […]

Actions speak louder than words

As Michigan Republicans continue their corporatist agenda of eviscerating the middle class, destroying unions, harming public employees and taking women’s rights back to the middle of the last century, Michigan Democrats are proposing important pieces of legislation that solve actual problems.

The first comes from Representatives Jim Townsend, Vicki Barnett, and Andy Schor. They are introducing a package of legislation designed to reduce gun violence in our state and to increase public safety. A separate package of bills will be introduced by State Representatives Gretchen Driskell, Jeff Irwin, Adam Zemke and state Senator Rebekah Warren that will reverse some of the restrictions Republicans have put on women’s health care, educate women about health care options, support rape survivors and address health care inequities women face.

Details after the jump.