Closet Democrats, Catholic Voters and Northern Michigan Democrats ...

I have met several “closet Democrats” here in Alcona County recently. I’m sure everyone knows or suspects who, among your friends or acquaintances, they may be. Some are business people who are afraid of losing clients or business if their true loyalties were known. The independent, conservative culture in this county has many Democrats subdued, indeed, some even run as Republicans in various village, township and county elections. We know however from past Democratic Caucuses in the county that there are a good number of Democrats. Also, there are a fair number of independents who have voted Democratic before and may do so again in the November election. The buzz that I’ve heard from some staunch Republicans is that they are unexcited by the candidates they have to choose from and quite simply put off by most. Listening to them is quite satisfying for me and I suspect emotionally purifying for them. The Huffington Post recently reported that 10% of Republicans may vote , in fact, for Obama ! That 10% may be all that remains of the old Republican Party and it may be the only way they can still register their disappointment with the candidate field as it exists.

Interestingly too, Catholics have whispered to me that they want the option of birth control and that when they enter the voting booth only God and they, themselves, will know how they voted – wink-wink.

I have said it many times, and don’t mind repeating it, that the 1^st Congressional District is Michigan’s Northern Congressional District – something that makes us unique. As such, our ilk of Democrat is something that sets us quite apart from the down state crowd. That’s why we can have a Democratic Representative from 1993 – 2010 and can still manage to lose the seat to a Republican. Yes, the Tea Party had something to do with it but there was that independent thing again too. By the election results we can see that People who voted Democratic in the past voted FOR Benishek. In 2012, no doubt some of those will have “buyer’s remorse” and come back to vote Democratic again this fall. The November election is OURS to LOSE. The establishment Democrat is Gary McDowell, a good man and a solid Democrat but “ Houston We have a Problem” – he’s running because the downstate Democratic establishment wants him to. He toed the line in the State House and that is why he is the “chosen one”. But wait ! This time around we have a choice and we want to use our votes sort of like those Republicans who feel disenfranchised - we want to vote our national party but we also want to send a collective message to the State Democratic party and the DNC. Mr. McDowell ran against Benishek before and was handily defeated ... there was no great groundswell of support for him and his stump speeches were more about asking for donations than talking about the issues. I'm a U.A.W. Retiree and one of my U.A.W. friends asked me why I'd campaign against a guy ( McDowell ) who has a good record on Labor issues. I told him that having Benishek gain a second term and saying that, " well, at least Gary did have a good voting record" doesn't do anything for me. What's important in Northern Michigan are Northern Michiganders and with all due respect, there is a really good Northern Michigan Democrat running - Derek J. Bailey.

 We, in Northern Michigan,  have a good man in Derek J. Bailey. He’s uniquely qualified and experienced in listening, problem solving, community and economic development and is well respected in both the upper and lower peninsula. He’s A Northern Michigan Democrat from Northern Michigan’s 1^st Congressional District and that’s important to Northern Michiganders like us. He’s one of our own and when we choose him we know he will be with us and for us , unbeholden to forces and influences from outside the district. That means a lot in both state and national politics. It means he has the power of that Northern Michigan spirit and that he must be consulted and respected – and when that happens – Northern Michigan is respected.

About the 1st Congressional District & upcoming elections ...

Michigan’s 1^st Congressional District is the second largest congressional district in land mass east of the Mississippi River. Its boundaries contain much of the northern part of the Lower Peninsula in addition to the entire Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Altogether, the district makes up about 44% of the State of Michigan. It contains the second longest shoreline of any district in the United States, with Alaska being the first.

It contains all of 30 Michigan counties and a portion of the 31st. Making it comprised of almost 3/8th's of the states 83 total counties.

The district was previously represented by Democrat Bart Stupak, from 1993 to 2010. Republican Dan Benishek is the current Representative of the 1^st Congressional District, his term expiring this year. Vying for the privilege of running against Benishek in the November general election are Democrats, Gary McDowell and Derek J. Bailey. The Challenger will be determined in the August 7^th Democratic Primary Election.

 On February 28th there will be a state-wide Presidential primary. Here is a recent communication from Michigan Democratic  Chair, Mark Brewer on the subject of how the Democrats came to be involved in it and how we should govern ourselves accordingly :

“The Republicans are determined to waste $10 million of taxpayer money on an unnecessary presidential primary on February 28th. To make matters worse, they're trying to drag Democrats into it, despite the fact that we have chosen not to participate.

In order to confuse and disenfranchise Democratic voters, Republican Secretary of State Ruth Johnson placed President Obama's name on the February 28th ballot solely to create partisan mischief. Our attempts to keep the President's name off of the ballot were ignored. Therefore, the Michigan Democratic State Central Committee has decided not to enforce the party rule that prevents Democrats from participating in both the presidential primary and the MDP's presidential caucuses on May 5, 2012.

We won't let Republicans confuse or disenfranchise Democrats. Democrats who vote in the primary will not be banned from participating in our caucuses.
Please read the MDSCC's resolution from this past weekend's meeting and share it with at least 10 of your friends. Please post it to your websites and social network accounts. We need to get the word out to alleviate confusion and make sure no Democrats are disenfranchised."

GDH

Democratic Women who could run for Governor ...

Looking ahead to 2014: Who will run against Gov. Rick Snyder? (Tim Skubick column)

Published: Sunday, February 12, 2012, 6:54 AM

By Tim Skubick | For MLive.comMLive.com

Jocelyn Benson

 

Gretchen Whitmer

Gretchen Whitmer vs. Jocelyn Benson for governor.

Gretchen and Jocelyn who for what?
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The 2014 contest for governor is a bazillion
miles away - 1,310 days to be exact - so why waste any time on who might be the Democratic nominee?
Because the chatter has already begun even though the current
chief executive is just into his second of a four-year term.
Ms. Whitmer is the senate Democratic leader from East Lansing
and Ms. Benson has already been on the statewide ballot. She ran for
Secretary of State and got swamped by Ruth Johnson in that GOP wave
election in 2010.
When Ms. Benson showed up, the Wayne State University law professor and former civil rights investigator, was a certified novice at running
statewide. She was tagged with the “next Jennifer Granholm” label or
stigma if your prefer.
The SOS candidate didn’t exactly embrace the comparison.
The state was suffering from an acute case of Granholm-fatigue and the
wise Ms. Benson knew hooking her wagon to the governor was a
non-starter.
Of the two, Sen. Whitmer has more experience with six years
in the house and she’s on the last two-year leg of eight years in the
Senate. Being an insider does not appear to be in vogue these days but
that does not deter the Whitmer-ittes from urging her to run for
governor.
Adding fuel to the Whitmer-for-governor fires is the fact
that President Obama has tapped her as a key spokesperson in
his re-election bid. She’s already done two teleconferences on his
behalf, including one with the woman who is running again for First Lady.
Everywhere Ms. Whitmer goes, she is asked about it, but she
has not committed - even though she did flirt with running for Attorney
General last time.
As a single mom back then, with two young girls, the heavy
burden of traipsing all over the state to grow grassroots support was
too much. And when one of her daughter’s classmates died of cancer,
that was the last straw. She dropped out before she got in.
The little girls are still little but there is now a Dad in
the picture, but soundings around town suggest that Ms. Whitmer does
not have the fire in the belly to do it this time either. Which means somebody will
have to convince her to pull the trigger.
Maybe that will be her Dad, the former head of Blue Cross, who has talked with her about this.
Ms. Benson, on the other hand, was approached the other day
and asked directly, "Are you interested in running for governor?"
Instead of looking the reporter in the eye, her eye shifted
to her handler as if to say, ”Get me out of here.”
She would not bite and noted that her soldier husband was in
the Middle East and she was in no frame of mind to ponder her political
future right now.
Yet, rummaging around in the Benson brain trust one
discovers that she does not want her name taken off the list and she
would not rule it out.
But you can’t wait too long. Current Gov. Rick Snyder
started two years before his election. Maybe the two should call the
Angriest Mayor in America to see if he will run again?
Lansing Mayor and 2010 gubernatorial candidate Virg Benero volunteered the other day that he has no plans to do that but then quickly added, “Not now.”

You know what that means; he won’t rule it out either.

Watch Off the Record with Tim Skubick online anytime at video.wkar.org

Korean-American letter to Pete Hoekstra ...

Former U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra's instantly controversial campaign ad was the subject of heated debate among readers Tuesday.
The ad, which aired during the Super Bowl, featured an Asian woman speaking in broken English, thanking incumbent Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow (the ad changes her last name to "Spenditnow") for sending American jobs overseas.
One comment that deserves special attention appeared below a list of the day's highest-traffic stories, which the Associated Press piece on Hoekstra's ad topped. It's from "smitten" and offers an Asian-American's perspective on the ad. Here it is in full:

Letter I wrote to Mr. Hoekstra,
As an American-Korean, adopted to Michigan couple over 30 years ago, I am appalled at your Super Bowl ad. I grew up among majority Caucasian conservatives and married a man who thought he was Republican, until the Republican’s changed their political stance from being fiscally conservative to racially insensitive. Your ad used a woman who clearly did not have a real accent and appears to look like an American-Asian pretending to be Chinese. If you had a dime for every time a Caucasian tried to imitate the broken English to me, you wouldn’t need to fundraise anymore.
Although I can appreciate your message of the ad, your marketing group tried to be funny at the expense of others. Your ad only reminded me of all the times my young Caucasian classmates thought it would be funny to talk to me in broken English. My family, friends, and colleagues will remember your commercial and how this American-Asian found it offensive.
Many times, people aren’t aware of the insensitivity, because it doesn’t apply to them, until someone they respect and care about points it out to them. I am aware that there isn’t a large Asian population on the west side of Michigan. I know, because we visited Western University after our daughter was invited to compete for a full ride scholarship and the admission’s counselors brought this to our attention. Regardless of the lack of presence, it was in poor taste. There are many Michigan voters that have adopted Asian children like myself, or have a friend, or married to someone Asian, or may be mixed (like my children).
Thank you for convincing me to donate for Debbie Stabenow. Prior to the ad, I didn’t care who won.
Published Tuesday, February 7, 2012 @ http://www.mlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/02/comments_an_open_letter_to_pet.html#incart_mce

Please - Help Derek J. Bailey receive up to $20,000 toward his campaign by voting for him at the link below :

Click on this link :

http://www.grassrootsallstars.com/

1)      Make only one selection – Derek J. Bailey – Here’s how …

2)      On the screen, on the right side of the picture panel is an arrow – hit it 4 times

3)      Find Derek J. Bailey and select the check mark under his picture

4)      Enter your name , zip code and email in the blue box and check submit.

NOTE : You’ll receive some emails from the sponsoring organization, “ Democracy for America”. When you receive the first email, if you don’t want to be subscribed , just select “unsubscribe”.

GDH

Neo-Nazis in the U.S. Military ...

Last week there were pictures of U.S. Marines displaying a Nazi “SS” flag and now a U.S. Army Base named “Combat Outpost Arayan” ? Such displays and actions are a disgrace to the respective services. Apparently the soldiers involved do not know or understand the devastation caused by the designers of Nazi symbols and crimes against humanity perpetrated by Nazi soldiers during WWII. Further, they must be totally ignorant of how many American & Allied service members were killed defeating the forces of militarism and fascism. Of course, they know and their intent is obvious. The Marines displaying the “SS” flag should be court-martialed and discharged with dishonorable discharges for bringing disgrace on the U.S. Marines and the United States. The Combat Out Post incident is of a greater significance as it indicates a systemic failure of the U.S. Army. There should be no Non Commissioned Officer or Officer who does not know and understand the significance of the usage of the word “Arayan”. The use of the term as an outpost name seems to indicate that there are no leaders paying attention over there and that the U.S. Armed Services are paying neo Nazis to obtain basic training and combat experience. What’s next ? An Air Base named after Herman Goering ? An Army Base named after Adolf Hitler ? It’s time to shake up the services from the top down and by making an example of all concerned and all officers responsible. This is totally unacceptable and is a disgrace to the United States and all service members past and present.

GDH

What is a Democrat ?

Watch the video here as Rev. Dr. Wendell Anthony spells it out for all of us  - I was there for this speech and the mood in the room was electric !

http://engagemichigan.com/