Oh, for the love of Goddess… With the election of Bridget McCormack on November 6th, Democrats in Michigan picked up a precious seat on the state’s highest court. These seats are hard-won and, in McCormack’s case, it took the effort of a crack campaign staff coupled with volunteers across the state working their tails off to make it happen. Now […]

They love you until you’re born

It’s getting pretty tough for Michigan Republicans to surprise me anymore but, dammit, they went ahead and did it anyway. This week, they introduced legislation that establishes a tax credit for unborn fetuses.

I’m not kidding.

“Nice guy”, my ass When we moved to Dexter about seven years ago, our State House Representative was the amazing House Speaker Pro Tempore Pam Byrnes. She was term limited out of office and, in the crashing tea party wave of 2010, this historically Democratic seat was lost to “Nice Guy” Republican Mark Ouimet. As I have reported in the […]

Betting on the American worker is ALWAYS a good bet

The Big 3 are doing pretty damn good right now. This week get reports that Ford and Chrysler experienced increased sales in October and GM’s stock price shot up after its third quarter report.

The Obama administration literally saved the domestic vehicle manufacturers and they would like to remind you of that. Video after the jump.

The choice is clear

Back in August, I published a piece about Fake Democrats running in Michigan. One of those Fake Democrats is the appropriately-named Jim Fink who not only admits to being a Republican but whose biggest campaign donor is, in fact, the Republican Party. If you go to Republican Party headquarters/offices in Washtenaw County, there you will find Jim Fink signs. He has made many donations to Republican candidates, is anti-Choice and against marriage equality and civil rights for the LGBT community.

Despite this, Jim Fink has vigorously sought the endorsement of the Washtenaw County Democratic Party (full disclosure: I am on the Executive Board of the WCDP as co-Vice Chair for Precinct Organizing.) He attended our conventions and meetings. He parked his car, covered with his campaign magnets, at the entrance to the parking lot at our events to make it look as if we supported him. He asked us to put his literature and yard signs at our campaign office in Ypsilanti. In short, this confirmed, right wing Republican did everything he could do to get the Democratic Party to use their resources to support him.

We did not.

What we DID do is endorse his opponent, Carol Kuhnke. In contrast to Fink’s dishonesty and questionable character, Kuhnke is a fantastic candidate. Smart, fair-minded and a true Democrat, Carol Kuhnke is the ideal choice for the 22nd District Court in Washtenaw County.

My interview with Carol Kuhnke after the jump.

On so many levels…

Back in 2010, I documented the obscene campaign run against Democrat Christine Green in Michigan’s 52nd State House District. While Michigan Republicans ran no less than five hideous robocalls against her, sent out mailings with her home phone number on them and generally ran a smear campaign against one of the most upstanding citizens in the Ann Arbor area, Mark Ouimet sat back and allowed it to happen. And, all the while, said he was going to bring peace and civility to the House and work across the aisle with Democrats in our state legislature.

This turned out to be completely false and was just one more in a long list of deceptions from Ouimet over the past two years.

My take on why Mark Ouimet does not deserve to represent the 52nd District after the jump.

That’s the way it’s done, kids

In downtown Ann Arbor, tucked into Braun Court in Kerrytown, sits one of two offices for the Obama campaign. We’re right across from the Farmer’s Market and surrounded by some of the coolest stores and eateries in the city so we get a lot of foot traffic going by while we do our work to get out the vote (GOTV) for President Obama, Democrats in general and the variety of ballot proposals that Michiganders have to vote on this year.

The Kerrytown office is one of several GOTV staging locations in Washtenaw County and we are surpassing our goals on all fronts. See what that looks like after the jump.

It’s a complicated ballot this year. Here’s some help!

I’m going to pin this to the top of the blog today to make sure everyone sees it before they head to the polls to vote. In this post is a link to a printable Voters Guide for the non-partisan parts of the Michigan statewide ballot. There are two on each page — one for you and one for a friend. Please share with others.

The 2012 ballot in Michigan is a complicated one, particularly the non-partisan section where we will vote for the Supreme Court seats and the various statewide ballot proposals. In order to help you sort through this part of the ballot, we have put together a Voters Guide. You can download it HERE (pdf). We’ve put two on each page so you can have an extra one for yourself or to give away to friends, family and coworkers.

Obviously, I am recommending that you vote a straight Democratic Party ticket. We have been assured by our County Clerk that you can fill in the spot for your favorite Democrat (like President Obama, for example) and still fill in the straight party spot without spoiling your ballot.

Aside from that, after the jump are the Eclectablog choices for the statewide non-partisan candidates and ballot proposals along with links to interviews with the Michigan Supreme Court candidates and my posts on the six ballot proposals.

“I’m doing it the hard way but I’m doing it the RIGHT way…”

I first met Democratic candidate Democratic candidate Betsy Coffia at the Vagina Monologues rally at the state Capitol last summer. Even in the cacophony of hundreds of fired up women dressed in bright pink, Coffia stood out with her energy and fire. It’s a passion for making positive change that she’s bringing to her unique campaign in Michigan’s 104th State House district, a traditionally Republican area that includes Traverse City that she’s trying to turn blue.

Coffia is running her campaign, as she did her primary, without taking any money from PACs, Super PACs or from out of state. Read my interview with Coffia and find out more about her exciting campaign after the jump.

The following guest post is by Chad Cyrowski and my good pals at Progress Michigan. They have done the research and put together a fine voters guide for some of the ballot initiatives on the Michigan 2012 ballot along with a new website to help you get informed. I endorse their selections.

– Chris

31 myths in 41 minutes.

That’s how many times Mitt Romney lied, stretched, and fabricated his own truth in the last debate. He even lied about his infamous “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt” prescription for Michigan’s auto industry.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. In Michigan, well-heeled special interests backed by large corporations and wealthy individuals will spend millions of dollars on slick TV ads to get your support. So the Michigan League of Responsible Voters is taking their case directly to Michigan’s voters with a no-nonsense ballot proposal guide. Be responsible. Get informed. Check it out at LeagueOfResponsibleVoters.org.

Much more after the jump.

“I’m a participant in life.”

Fred Upton has been in Congress since 1987 representing the parts of southwestern Michigan. During that time, the Whirlpool heir has distinguished himself as a far-right conservative Republican on nearly every issue you could name.

Mike O’Brien, a former Marine and Missouri farmer, is challenging Fred Upton in Michigan’s 6th Congressional District. The gridlock imposed on Congress by Republicans unable and unwilling to compromise to affect change combined with Upton’s anti-environment, anti-women, anti-senior votes over the past several years, O’Brien felt there was both a need for change and a real possibility of victory. According to recent polling done by his campaign, he’s absolutely right.

My interview with Mike O’Brien after the jump.