Be there or be conservative

The premier progressive event of the year in Michigan is Progress Michigan‘s Michigan Summit. This impressive conference offers a chance to network, learn and become inspired in your work as a progressive organizer and activist in our state.

This year’s Michigan Summit takes place this Saturday, June 8, 2013 beginning at 8 a.m. at Brody Hall in East Lansing, MI.

The keynote speakers this year are UAW President Bob King and Partnership for Working Families Executive Director Leslie Moody.

Click through for details and links.

“Chalk one up for the good guys”

Last week, I posted a piece titled “Lee Fang exposes the State Policy Network & corporate domination of public policy”. In that piece, I wrote about The Nation journalist and investigative reporter Lee Fang’s work to show how the State Policy Network (SPN) was waging a multi-pronged war to influence legislation, policy and public opinion at the state level across the country. One of the things that Fang reveals is that SPN affiliates have started their own wire services to bring their skewed version of the news to readers all over America. Here in Michigan, SPN affiliate Mackinac Center for Public Policy has done just that.

Thanks to my pals at Progress Michigan, however, today SPN and Mackinac Center lost a round in the battle to sway public opinion and government policy.

Progress Michigan staff are our state’s leading progressive warriors against Republican overreach

I haven’t written about Michigan Republican National Committee Chair Dave Agema’s offensive, lie-filled Facebook post a few weeks ago primarily because (a) I didn’t want to give him any more attention than he already has gotten and (b) others have done it well already. You’re probably aware of Agema’s latest foray into the land of anti-LGBT bigotry but, if not, he put up a post that he claims is by a “doctor” who says that, among other odious things, gays are for half the murders in large cities, 39-59% of homosexuals are infected with intestinal parasites like worms, flukes and amoebae and that part of the homosexual agenda is to turn people from Christianity. It was truly hideous. Agema has since doubled and tripled down on his outrageous post.

One group that has been on the forefront pushing back against this hateful rhetoric is Progress Michigan. Click through for details on how you can help them fight this very good fight now and into the future.

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.

Progress for Michigan

Last night, the most effective progressive action group, Progress Michigan, held their September fundraiser at the Majestic Theater in Detroit. Supporting this essential organization is critical for maintaining a positive force for political action in the state of Michigan. The progressive community knows this and their leaders showed up to demonstrate that support both financially and in person.

Photos and report after the jump.

Get real, Pete Hoekstra

Progress Michigan has a new ad out this morning that hammers Republican candidate for Senator Pete Hoekstra for his efforts to end Medicare and privatize Social Security while benefiting financially for being a corporate lobbyist.

It’s a great ad. Check it out (and more) after the jump.

Shameless shilling for their corporate benefactors

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has been around for 37 years. They are listed as a charitable organization, a 501(c)(3), and yet their entire goal in life is help pass laws around the country that favor corporations and wealthy individuals while harming their political enemies. Their model legislative bills are aimed at destroying unions, expanding voter suppression, restricting women’s access to abortion services, imposing harsh anti-immigrant rules, weakening gun control and expanding “stand your ground” laws, and limiting corporate liability when people are harmed by a product or in their workplace.

Across the country, ALEC is having an impact. Their model legislation is being passed into law at an alarming rate, aided and abetted by the influx of tea party lawmakers. Conservative and dogmatic, they are easy targets for ALEC’s cookie cutter laws. They simply make a few changes (or not, in some cases) and sponsor the bill. No need to write the law themselves; all of the hard work has been done for them.

This week, Progress Michigan published a 73-page report on ALEC in Michigan.

Let’s take a closer look at this, shall we?

By now, most Michiganders know about the revelation that Michigan House Speaker Jase Bolger engaged in monumental election fraud. Although the Republicans are hoping beyond hope that the voters in this state will forget all about the fraud and that the issue will die before they return to work in mid-August, many of us are determined to ensure that this decidedly does NOT happen. An assortment of outlets including Eclectablog and Tony Trupiano of the First Shift with Tony Trupiano radio show are keeping the issue very much alive.

Joining that effort is Progress Michigan and We Are The People Michigan. This week, they filed a Freedom of Information Act request for more information on the investigation of Bolger and Rep. Roy Schmidt conducted by the Michigan State Police.

INOKIYAR – It’s NOT okay if you’re a Republican

Yesterday I posted a piece talking about Michigan Republicans circling their wagons to protect election fraudster House Speaker Jase Bolger. I also revealed that Rep. Mark Ouimet used his House email account to campaign , slamming his “opponent” for being a big spender.

Today, Progress Michigan announced that they are filing a complaint against Ouimet based on the email he sent to me.

We’re still watching and we still vote

As I wrote yesterday, Planned Parenthood of Michigan brought nearly 500 protestors to the state Capitol yesterday to protest a package of bills that will make Michigan the most anti-choice, forced-birth state in the country. Photos and video from the rally can be found HERE.

In the face of the noisy protest, a scheduled vote was postponed in the full House and is likely to be voted on tomorrow.

Details and a link to an online petition after the jump.

Energizing. Engaging. Winning. Every year, Progress Michigan and a Who’s Who coalition of progressive organizations from around the state host an event called “The Michigan Summit”. (You can have a look at my liveblog of the 2011 Michigan Summit HERE.) This year, the event takes place THIS SATURDAY, May 12, 2012, starting at 8:00 a.m. at the Kellogg Center in […]