Tag Archives | Michigan Republicans

Michigan House Republicans 2013-14 “Action Plan” released today. LOLs ensue.

By on January 30, 2013 in Michigan Republicans

Why do I get the feeling there’s a LOT they aren’t telling us?

The Michigan House Republicans released their “2013-14 House Republican Action Plan” (pdf) today and, while there’s much I still need to digest, there were enough glaring LOLs in it to warrant pointing them out.

The 21-page plan, titled “Brighter Days Ahead”, is almost half “Executive Summary” and is full of photos of happy, smiling white people. Reading the Executive Summary is an odd experience. If you didn’t know better, you’d think it was either a Democratic proposal or something a bipartisan group put out. You honestly would never know that this is the party that focused so intensely over the past two years to crush unions, demonize teachers and other public employees and that led the way in the Republican War on Women.

Details after the jump.


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Michigan Court of Appeals smacks down Republicans

By on March 8, 2012 in Michigan Republicans, Republican-Fail

Nice try, jerks

Last month I wrote about how my favorite judge, William Collette, had found Republican redistricting in Oakland County to be unconstitutional:

An Ingham County judge on Wednesday struck down a controversial state law that changed the way Oakland County’s commissioner districts are drawn.

Judge William Collette said the law was unconstitutional.

Plaintiffs hailed the striking down of what they described as a “Republican power grab.” Lawyers for Gov. Rick Snyder, a defendant, said an appeal is likely.

Collette ruled the law, Public Act 280, should have received a two-thirds majority vote because it dealt with a local matter; violated the Headlee Amendment against unfunded mandates, and impinged on the rights of county voters to petition for judicial review of their reapportionment plan.

…


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Michigan AFL-CIO holding rallies to urge members of Congress to extend jobless benefits due to expire

By on February 9, 2012 in Michigan Republicans

Here we go again

With the impending expiration of federal unemployment benefits for many Americans, the AFL-CIO is holding rallies in front of the offices of key Republican members of Congress in Michigan tomorrow (Friday, February 10, 2012). See their press release below for details.

Workers and Community Members to Rally at Michigan Congressional Offices as Jobless Benefits Approach Expiration
Benefits could run out within weeks if Congress doesn’t act, cutting lifeline for thousands in Michigan

LANSING – As federal unemployment benefits approach expiration, workers and community members will gather at the offices of eight members of Congress this Friday to call for an extension of this critical lifeline for Michigan families.…

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Are Republicans setting State Government union employees up to take blame for use of budget surplus?

By on February 9, 2012 in Education, Michigan Republicans

This doesn’t smell right

Yesterday I reported that the state government employees were not going to be forced to take unpaid furlough days due to the state budget surplus.

Later that afternoon, I received this press release from the House Democratic Caucus:

House Dems Champion Restoration of School Funding
Expect funds to be added in supplemental, next year’s budget

LANSING – The House Democratic Caucus today praised the small steps that appear to be leading to a restoration of school funds in an appropriations bill and the governor’s upcoming budget proposal on Thursday.

“I am thankful that the governor and House Republicans have finally seen the light and recognized the harm their school cuts were causing in our communities,” said House Democratic Leader Richard E.

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The tax timebomb that explodes in Michigan in 2012 is MUCH worse than you thought

By on February 3, 2012 in Emergency Managers, Michigan Republicans

The GOP finally finds a good tax: on the poor

As bad as things are right now in Michigan, they are about to get so much worse that I fear there is a genuine risk of the types of riots we haven’t seen since the 60s & 70s in my state. If you think we have too many failing schools and too many failing cities now, if you think the disenfranchisement of our citizens through the imposition of Emergency Managers was at a shocking level in 2011, wait until you take a peek at what’s to come in 2012.

This is corporatocracy and war on the 99% writ large and writ bold.…


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Michigan Republican has solution to Michigan’s financial crisis: cut the state income tax

By on January 25, 2012 in Michigan Republicans

Out of touch and out to lunch

Republican state Senator Jack Brandenburg has an idea with what to do with the budget surplus created by taxing seniors’ pensions, cutting funding to cities and stripping $1 billion from schools: lower Michigan’s income tax.

I’m not kidding.

A proposal at the state Capitol would cut the Michigan income tax rate to 3.9 percent over the next five years. Right now the rate is 4.35 percent.

Republican state Senator Jack Brandenburg sponsored the measure. He said people in Michigan were promised the reduction during messy budget and tax deals made in 2007. Brandenburg said he told his Republican colleagues about his plan earlier this month.

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Sometimes “relentless positive action” doesn’t work – a photographer’s attempt to photograph the State of the State address

By on January 20, 2012 in Michigan Republicans

My wife, Anne C. Savage accompanied me and Christine Barry, owner of Blogging for Michigan, to the State of the State address on Wednesday. She was there, as were we, with media passes. However, her effort to actually do any photographing of the event was completely shut down by overly-aggressive security and what seems to be a clear effort by Republicans to limit our access.


Click the image above for more photos

From her post about her experience:

We went to our assigned room and I asked the gentleman in charge of the press area about the wait list for photographers.…

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Michigan Republicans move to make illegal strikes illegal(er)

By on January 18, 2012 in Labor, Michigan Republicans, Republican-Fail, unions

It’s a good thing we don’t have any real problems in the state of Michigan. The fantastic shape we’re in and the abundance of jobs gives Republicans the opportunity to work on things like THIS.

A package of Republican bills in the state Legislature would boost penalties for public workers who go on strike. The legislation would also let employers sue striking workers who get in the way of their businesses, and make it more complicated for unions to get dues deducted from employee paychecks.

The state House Oversight, Reform, and Ethics Committee opened hearings on the package today.

“It’s just to give clarity,” said Rep.

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MI GOP Sen calls PR Exec a “hooker”, Gretchen Whitmer responds & GOP strategist calls her a “govt hooker”

By on January 9, 2012 in Michigan Republicans

Last week, Senator and serial sexist Rick Jones from Lansing called public relations executive Kelly Rossman-McKinney a “hooker”. Brian Dickerson of the Detroit Free Press describes the situation:

[Senator Jones] likened longtime Lansing public relations executive Kelly Rossman-McKinney to “a hooker” in the Michigan Information and Research Services’ widely read Capital Capsule, a daily report on state government news.

Rossman-McKinney, a self-described “tough old broad” who has worked in both houses of the Legislature and three executive branch departments, has been a fixture in the state capital for decades. She’s about as thin-skinned as a Bradley Fighting Vehicle, and she says she figured Jones would swing back after she named him one of Lansing’s Biggest Losers of 2011 in an another MIRS interview.

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Detroit News: Michigan Republicans think Michigan Republicans are awesome

By on December 30, 2011 in Michigan Republicans

Gotta love this headline in the Detroit News this morning:

Michigan Legislature praised for reform bills

Sounds good, right? Here’s the thing: the only people “praising” the Michigan Republicans in the article are Michigan Republicans. But Michigan Republicans, I must say, think Michigan Republicans are totally freaking awesome.

The closest you get to praise are these to bits:

The Senate leader said the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post have noted improvements in Michigan’s economic climate. Bloomberg rated Michigan one of the top two states poised for economic recovery, he added. Fitch moved Michigan’s financial rating from stable to favorable.

Nothing about “reform bills” there.…


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