Articles of Interest 8-28-06
"...It has been very properly the policy of our Government to cultivate peace. But in contemplating the possibility of our being driven to unqualified War, it will be wise to anticipate that frequently the most effectual way to defend is to attack."
George Washington
December 13, 1798
The DeVos bus tour continues today through mid-Michigan. Attorney General Mike Cox and Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land as well as other statewide candidates will be joining Dick DeVos as they continue their tour of the state.
Yesterday, Dick and the ticket went to church in Detroit, a fundraiser in West Bloomfield, the Ukrainian festival, church in Flint and are over-nighting in Saginaw.
The Democrats nominated Amos Williams for Attorney General. How did Amos get famous? Suing Cops. Over the next few weeks, Michigan is going to get to know all the frivolous lawsuits that Amos Williams filed costing police departments and taxpayers so much money.
Mike Cox's record of protecting consumers, children, seniors and taxpayers while working with law enforcement to fight crime in Michigan ensures that we will re-elect the best Attorney General in the nation.
Governor Granholm’s candidate, Scott Bowen, got dumped by the convention…showing what little power and influence the Governor really has among the Democratic Party.
The Democrats also nominated Carmella Sabaugh for Secretary of State. Ironically and hypocritically, she denounces partisan politics by clerks. All one has to do is check the Macomb Daily and you’ll find where Sabaugh publicly supported John Kerry for President during the last campaign…while being the sitting Clerk of Macomb County.
At the same time, Carmella Sabaugh has come out for “same day registration”. Can you imagine the possibility and incentive for voter fraud and gamesmanship on behalf of those who have no ethical bounds. If you thought the stories from Chicago were bad?
The really amazing thing is that the Democratic Party has nominated a previously endorsed Right to Life candidate for SOS. Sabaugh’s position - when taken by Republicans has been called “extreme” by this same Democrat Party. Looks like Emily’s List and their allies lost an internal fight here. Does it change the party’s rhetoric, or will they have a double standard?
Overall the State Convention was a great success. This is the first time we have ever used the Rock Financial Center. I received several emails yesterday as well as comments at the convention. I would like to ask you to send any comments, suggestions and/or constructive criticism of the event to me. I want to make sure we keep a file of how we could make the convention better and if we ever consider using the Rock again, your comments will be on file and helpful for planning the next event.
It’s back to the Victory Centers statewide. We need volunteers to continue making phone calls, knocking on doors and delivering our Republican message to voters. Voter Vault is updated daily and is available for Republican candidate across the state. We have literally invested millions of dollars in conjunction with the Republican National Committee to make this the best voter list available anywhere.
We need your help to continue this effort. Every hour you can give, makes a difference. So please join our effort statewide and give whatever you can.
Thanks again for all you do.
Saul Anuzis
State Stories
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060828/NEWS06/608280371/1008
Democrats settle on Williams, Sabaugh
Party shows united front after nomination fights
BY KATHLEEN GRAY
It came down to a fight on the floor in the race for attorney general and secretary of state at the Democratic state convention Sunday, but the battle was tepid as Grosse Pointe attorney Amos Williams and Macomb County Clerk Carmella Sabaugh easily won the nominations.
Williams will face Republican Attorney General Mike Cox, and Sabaugh will run against Republican Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060828/POLITICS01/608280343
Parties play blame game
Dems fault Bush; GOP cites Granholm for Michigan economy
Mark Hornbeck and Charlie Cain / Detroit News Lansing Bureau
As the fall election season heads into the intense final 10 weeks, statewide campaigns increasingly will focus on a candidate who's not on the Nov. 7 ballot: President George W. Bush.
And with the nation's second-highest unemployment rate at 7 percent, the Michigan economy will clearly be the issue on everyone's mind.
http://www.macombdaily.com/stories/082806/loc_carmella001.shtml
Sabaugh to run for secretary of state
Gov. Jennifer Granholm visited a union picnic in northern Macomb County on Sunday afternoon to rally organized labor's support for the upcoming election and then touted the Democratic candidacy of Carmella Sabaugh for secretary of state.
Sabaugh, the Macomb County clerk, was selected by Democratic convention delegates Sunday afternoon at Cobo Center in downtown Detroit on a slate of labor-backed candidates. She has 24 years of conducting elections for the county and in Warren where she formerly was city clerk.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/jer/?id=110008854
The War on Wal-Mart
Will Republicans remain in control? Plus Democrats attack the world's largest retailer and more.
Paul Gigot: This week on "The Journal Editorial Report," Republican prospects in the midterm elections.
Gigot: When I talk to Republicans around the country, I hear a lot of--and these are rank-and-file voters, stalwart Republicans, but the people you really need to turn out--I hear a lot of complaining about the Republican record, particularly on spending and earmarks. Do you think Republican voters are as mobilized as they were in 2002 and 2004, and if not, what do you do to get them to the polls?
Mehlman: I think Republicans will be motivated, again, based on the choices. I was just, this past week, in two states where Republicans are very motivated. I was in Ohio. In the Senate race in Ohio, there's a huge choice. The Democrats have a guy named Sherrod Brown nominated. He is further to the left than Dennis Kucinich in his voting record--against the Patriot Act, against missile defense, against the tools we need to win the war on terror, in favor of tax increases. I think Mike DeWine will beat him. In the governor's race there, you've got Ken Blackwell, who's got a very strong record of reform and agenda for reform. There's also in Michigan, where there's been terrible job loss--the only state in the country to lose jobs three years in a row. And in that state, Gov. Granholm, I believe will lose. Dick Devos will get elected. And I think we're going to elect a senator, Mike Bouchard. So, again, I think our voters are going to be motivated by the fundamental choice on Election Day.
http://www.mlive.com/news/statewide/index.ssf?/base/news-7/115672740427990.xml&coll=1
Dems pick attorney general, secretary of state nominees following floor fights
DETROIT -- Democrats nominated Grosse Pointe attorney Amos Williams and Macomb County Clerk Carmella Sabaugh for statewide offices after the two beat out rivals in rare floor fights at the party's convention Sunday.
Williams, 59, a Vietnam vet and 17-year Detroit police officer, will face incumbent GOP Attorney General Mike Cox on the Nov. 7 ballot. Sabaugh, 68, of Warren, will take on Republican Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land. Cox and Land are seeking second terms.
http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/082706/loc_2006082741.shtml
So, you want a new job?
Looking for a different job while doing the one you have isn't the easiest thing to do. For politicians seeking other offices, it's also a visible process. For Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard, seeking to unseat incumbent Democrat Debbie Stabenow from her U.S. Senate seat, and for county Clerk Ruth Johnson, on the ticket for lieutenant governor, the next 2 1 /2 months until the Nov. 7 election will be a juggling act.
"Mike Bouchard puts in more hours than anyone I know," McCabe said. "He's in constant contact with the office. He doesn't miss a beat and he's not going to miss a beat.
"I talk to Mike Bouchard more than I talk to my wife," he said.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060827/NEWS12/608270692/-1/BUSINESS07
Lawmakers face deadline to fix minimum wage law
LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Lawmakers face a Republican-imposed deadline this week to fix a consequence of the state's minimum wage increase that will make more workers eligible for overtime pay.
The state Senate on Wednesday plans to take another stab at gaining immediate effect for a bill that would keep salespeople, truckers and others ineligible for time-and-a-half pay when the minimum wage jumps from $5.15 to $6.95 an hour in October.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060827/NEWS12/608270693/-1/BUSINESS07
Democrats wrap up party nominations at convention
DETROIT (AP) -- Democrats on Sunday nominated Grand Rapids attorney Jane Beckering for the Michigan Supreme Court.
They also chose incumbent Justice Michael Cavanagh to run again for the bench.
The nominations came as Democrats faced a potential floor fight later Sunday over who would get the nominations for attorney general and secretary of state.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060828/BUSINESS06/608280389
State venture capital to be put to work
Fund raises $200 million to bolster young tech companies
A new, state-backed fund designed as a catalyst to attract more venture capital for growing young technology companies in Michigan has raised $200 million and is ready to start investing, Gov. Jennifer Granholm is to announce today.
The Venture Michigan Fund I, to be managed by Credit Suisse's Customized Fund Investment Group, won't invest directly in companies. Rather, it will invest in other venture capital funds that have a presence in Michigan and that target investments in Michigan-based start-up companies engaged in research, technology, and new product development.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060827/NEWS12/608270690/-1/BUSINESS07
Stabenow, Bouchard differ on homeland security issues
LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Both candidates for Michigan's U.S Senate seat say the nation hasn't done enough to shore up homeland security.
But Democratic incumbent Debbie Stabenow and Republican challenger Mike Bouchard differ on what should be done to better defend the U.S. against terrorism and respond to natural disasters.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060827/NEWS12/608270691/-1/BUSINESS07
Stabenow, Bouchard weigh in on Iraq war
LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow voted against what she calls the "unilateral attack" on Iraq. But she says now that U.S. troops are there, she's not comfortable setting a firm date requiring them to leave.
"It's important to make this a transition year in Iraq, rather than to set an actual date," said Stabenow, a Democrat up for re-election in November. "The message needs to be sent to the Iraqi government. It's time for them to put their people on the front lines, to take care of their security and to start to foot the bill."
http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/082806/loc_2006082839.shtml
Study: Many Americans reject evolution
Many Americans can't accept the idea that modern humans evolved from a common ancestor with apes. But more Europeans believe in evolution.
Local and religious officials deem these survey results by a Michigan State University researcher sensible.
But Saul Anuzis, chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, says the split in beliefs is simply a difference in religion and has nothing to do with Republican politics.
Anuzis said if Republican politicians do voice their beliefs, it's to differentiate themselves.
"It gives people a personal perspective on their life and philosophies so you have a general idea where they are coming from," Anuzis said.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006608280376
DETROIT SCHOOLS SHOWDOWN: Teachers on strike
The Detroit Federation of Teachers voted Sunday against a two-year contract proposal that included pay and benefit cuts and agreed to a strike that will put teachers on the picket lines in front of schools starting today.
Many teachers said they would accept a pay freeze, but considering the amount of crime in schools and bureaucratic mismanagement they say they put up with, they would not entertain the 5.5% pay cut the school district proposed. The union wants a three-year contract with 5% pay increases each year.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060828/SCHOOLS/608280363
Detroit teachers strike
Pickets begin as union rejects pay cut; parents worry about school year.
DETROIT -- Thousands of Detroit Public Schools teachers are expected to go on strike today instead of returning to their classrooms after rejecting the school district's latest contract proposal, which includes a 5.55 percent pay cut for all teachers.
This would be the first time since 1999 the city's teachers have walked out.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060828/NEWS02/608280414
Oil wells? Livonia learns drill
Extraction plan makes residents, experts wary
It's not Saudi Arabia or the "Beverly Hillbillies" homestead, but Livonia could be the site of an oil dig, under a plan proposed by West Bay Exploration of Traverse City.
Sometime next month, West Bay expects to submit a request to the Livonia Planning Commission, seeking permission to drill two wells on an 11-acre commercial property the company owns. West Bay wants to drill diagonally because it has found oil and natural gas about two-thirds of a mile under the Greenmead Historical Park and just over the border in Farmington Hills.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060828/POLITICS/608280366
Mich. veterans get unequal aid
Veterans in Macomb County are waiting four to six weeks for basic benefit consultations in a support system that is vastly unequal throughout the state and has advocates calling for change.
In some counties, including Oakland and Wayne, veterans can get immediate assistance. In others -- including 12 that have no vet services offices at all -- help is limited or delayed by weeks.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060828/BIZ/608280324
Energy reform urged
Reliance on foreign power sources pinches growth, workers, National Association of Manufacturers says.
WASHINGTON -- The nation's manufacturers today will call for a broad strategy to reduce U.S. reliance on foreign sources of energy, while rallying support for U.S. automakers and emphasizing how high energy costs have cut into workers' pay.
"America's manufacturers believe now is the time for a bold and forward-thinking comprehensive plan to better insulate our economy from the volatile global energy market and related political risks," the National Association of Manufacturers says in its annual Labor Day Report, to be released today in Washington.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060828/OPINION01/608280351/1008
Change elections, enforcement to ensure honest City Council
Ex-Detroit councilman's lawyer points to 'freeloaders'
An attorney in the trial of ex-Detroit City Councilman Lonnie Bates told jurors that they may conclude that council members lack oversight and are freeloaders. But it wasn't the prosecutor making the statement -- it was Bates' defense lawyer.
The lawyer, Steven Fishman, added that he would show that Bates is not guilty of the federal corruption charges leveled against him. The trial is ongoing and Bates, like everyone else, is entitled to the presumption of innocence. All that Bates has admitted is that he failed to file his income tax returns for the last several years.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060828/OPINION01/608280360/1008
Preserve property rights, not just trees
Keep Livingston County landscaping laws in check
W hen the government dictates how you landscape your lawn, it's clearly gone too far. That's what's happening in Livingston County, where two communities are considering proposals to regulate the cutting of trees on private property.
Brighton and Brighton Township residents have been debating the issue for a couple of years, and it appears they're ready to take action.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060828/AUTO02/608280321/1322/OPINION03
Daniel Howes
Toyota recalls prove auto juggernaut is fallible, but fixable
P ardon the folks here in automotive Loserville for taking momentary pleasure in the big news out of Japan: Mighty Toyota Motor Corp. is fallible.
Recalls are skyrocketing -- so much so that Toyota last year recalled more vehicles (2.38 million) in the United States than it sold (2.26 million). Quality, by its own admission, is suspect. Three company officials are under investigation for failing to remedy a faulty steering component blamed in an accident that injured five people.
National Stories
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/27/AR2006082700773.html
S. Dakota Becomes Abortion Focal Point
Voters to Decide Fate of State Ban
By Peter Slevin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, August 28, 2006; Page A01
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Kayla Brandt had an abortion three years ago and instantly hated having done it. Now, hoping to stop other women from making the same choice, she is a public advocate for the most severe abortion ban in the nation.
"I don't want anyone to feel what I did," Brandt says.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/28/AR2006082800072.html
Bush to Visit Katrina-Ravaged Gulf Coast
By JENNIFER LOVEN
The Associated Press
Monday, August 28, 2006; 6:07 AM
WASHINGTON -- President Bush marks the anniversary of the hurricane that still haunts his presidency with worries a new tropical storm could bring this year's first test of his promises the botched post-Katrina response will not be repeated.
As Ernesto cut a path through the Caribbean, Bush prepared for a visit Monday and Tuesday to the region that is little recovered from Hurricane Katrina's devastating strike last August. Forecasters believe Ernesto, which grew into the first hurricane of the season Sunday and then weakened back to a tropical storm, will emerge with some force into the Gulf of Mexico later this week.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/28/AR2006082800108.html
Judges to settle Mexico's bitter presidential vote
By Kieran Murray
Reuters
Monday, August 28, 2006; 4:17 AM
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's electoral court on Monday will settle a fierce legal battle over last month's disputed presidential vote, although leftists who say it was rigged will almost certainly push ahead with street protests.
The court's seven judges are widely expected to reject allegations of massive fraud and confirm the victory of conservative ruling party candidate Felipe Calderon.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/28/us/nationalspecial/28bush.html?_r=1&ref=washington&oref=slogin
Year After Katrina, Bush Still Fights for 9/11 Image
WASHINGTON, Aug. 27 — When the nation records the legacy of George W. Bush, 43rd president and self-described compassionate conservative, two competing images will help tell the tale.
The first is of Mr. Bush after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, bullhorn in hand, feet planted firmly in the rubble of the twin towers. The second is of him aboard Air Force One, on his way from Crawford, Tex., to Washington, peering out the window at the wreckage of Hurricane Katrina thousands of feet below.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Israel-US-Congressman.html
Congressman Wants Aid to Lebanon Frozen
JERUSALEM (AP) -- A congressman said Sunday he would ask the U.S. administration to freeze the $230 million aid package to Lebanon proposed by President Bush until the Lebanese government takes control of its borders with Syria and prevents arms smuggling to Hezbollah guerrillas.
Rep. Tom Lantos, the top Democrat on the House International Relations Committee, spoke after meeting with senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/28/world/middleeast/28mideast.html?ref=world
Fox News Journalists Free After Declaring Conversion
JERUSALEM, Aug. 27 — Two journalists kidnapped in Gaza were released unharmed on Sunday after being forced at gunpoint to say on a videotape that they had converted to Islam.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/28/world/middleeast/28iran.html?ref=world
An Ex-Official Offers Glimpse of Iranian Views of U.S.
TEHRAN, Aug. 27 — A former high-ranking Iranian official wants Americans to see his cracked thumbnails. They were torn out, he said, after Washington’s friend, Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, put him in prison in the 1970’s.
His point is instantly clear: look at what happened when we had close ties to the United States.
“I was a medical student,” said the man, Ali Muhammad Besharati, a former interior minister and deputy foreign minister. “But they put me in prison because I opposed American dominance in Iran.”
http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110008856
Hostage Crisis
What is Kofi Annan doing for the kidnapped Israeli soldiers?
BY JUDEA PEARL AND RUTH PEARL
As the parents of Daniel Pearl, The Wall Street Journal's reporter who was kidnapped and brutally murdered in Pakistan in 2002, we share the anguish of the families of the kidnapped Israeli soldiers, and their frustration with the international community for failing to secure the release of their loved ones. For more than six weeks now, these soldiers and their families live each day tortured by unimaginable fears and shattered hopes, praying desperately for the nightmare to end; we relive this nightmare each time an innocent person falls victim to the inhumanity of terrorist abduction.
Whatever success the U.N. Security Council would presume to claim, it cannot be said that Resolution 1701 has effectively addressed the direct cause of the fighting--the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers, Ehud Goldwasser, 31, and Eldad Regev, 26, by Hezbollah, and the earlier abduction of Gilad Shalit, 19, by Hamas. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's call for the unconditional release of these soldiers has been ignored. Moreover, in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, the terrorists have not only seized the soldiers as hostages for political blackmail, they have not allowed the Red Cross to visit them. Their families do not know their physical condition; they have no proof they are even alive.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1376213,00.html
"Anybody knows not to mess with me"
Nancy Pelosi leads the Democrats with a fiery style that could make her the first woman Speaker of the House
Nancy Pelosi, the leader of the Democrats in the House, portrays herself as a polite, grandmotherly lady. She constantly discusses her five grandchildren, makes sure her office is stocked with Ghirardelli chocolates, perpetually smiles and never swears in a business in which almost everyone else does. She even has a few cute quirks she and her staff would love to tell you about: a diet consisting mostly of chocolate and chocolate ice cream, and so much energy, she rarely sleeps. Just the other night, she will tell you, she was up watching MTV after midnight.
Don't believe it for a second. Would your grandmother ever say, "If people are ripping your face off, you have to rip their face off" (Pelosi's approach to handling attacks from Republicans)? How about "If you take the knife off the table, it's not very frightening anymore" (her explanation for why she won't let voters forget George W. Bush's unpopular Social Security proposal from last year)?
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0828/p01s02-uspo.html
Major black candidates at record high
Six African-Americans are making serious bids for senator or governor in 2006.
WASHINGTON – From Maryland to Tennessee to Ohio, the 2006 elections already hold a place in the history books: More black candidates from both major parties are mounting serious campaigns for upper-tier office - senator or governor - than ever before.
Even more noteworthy, three of the six men are Republican, a party that has struggled to boost its black affiliation above 10 percent. In Maryland, after the Sept. 12 primary, the major-party choice for Senate could come down to two African-Americans.
Gongwer
REPORT NO. 164 VOLUME 45 SUNDAY, AUGUST 27, 2006
Larry Lee (517) 482-3500
GRANHOLM RALLIES ‘EVERYDAY’ TROOPS
DETROIT – While she may be “going anywhere and doing anything” to bring jobs to Michigan, Governor Jennifer Granholm also told the audience at the Democratic convention here Saturday that “everyday I’m governor I will put the interests of everyday Michiganians first.”
Ms. Granholm painted her party as being the big tent for everyone who feels disenfranchised by their usual political affiliations, telling those who identified themselves as Milliken Republicans, “come on over, you’re welcome here. Their party has left them, so let us reach out.”
Michigan is a place where everyone has an opportunity to succeed, she said, asking attendees to vote against the ballot proposal that would end affirmative action programs in state government and at public universities.
“It is not civil. It is not right. It is not Michigan,” Ms. Granholm said.
The first-term governor said the election will not be about to candidates, but about who the people believe provides the leadership that represents regular people and not the “extreme fortunate few.”
While Lt. Gov. John Cherry, speaking before Ms. Granholm took stage discussed Republican gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos by name Ms. Granholm did not.
She did say, “It isn’t about who has the most money or who has the most ads on TV – it’s about who fights for Michigan families.”
Ms. Granholm said voters would see stark differences between she and her challenger, adding that the Democratic Party is the only one fighting for “the person who set up those chairs today and the people who will clean those up afterward.”
Somewhat responding to an attack this week by Mr. DeVos that she has not done enough to bring the President and Big Three together to discuss providing aid to the auto industry, Ms. Granholm said while George W. Bush has enough time to watch the popular television show American Idol, he is too busy to meet with the auto powerbrokers.
“Bush is an American ‘idle,’” she said. “We don’t side with the big oil companies. We side with the people who are putting gas in their tanks.”
Ms. Granholm urged attendees to learn and educate others about her 21st Century Jobs plan, which is the most comprehensive plan (“My plan is specific and fiscally responsible” – taking a jab at Mr. DeVos’ Turnaround Plan).
She also listed off companies that have chosen to relocate or expand in the state, going from A to Z, “just to name a few,” Ms. Granholm said.
While she has inherited what she said was a $4 billion budget deficit, Ms. Granholm said she has made cuts that are “lean and not mean” and that she was still able to ensure that Michigan has $2 billion available for bringing diversity to the state’s economy through the 21st Century Jobs Fund.
She also touched upon her plans to increase the Merit Scholarship to $4,000, bring a universal health care system to the uninsured in the state and grow alternative fuels in Michigan.
While Ms. Granholm has taken hits that since 2001 there are 1,500 less police officers on the state (she came into office in 2003), she told convention attendants that the state has picked up 2,000 fugitive felons under her watch and are calling for stiffer penalties on people involved in drive-by shootings (a proposal still pending in the Legislature).
Ms. Granholm said voters would not be blindsided by Mr. DeVos and will get to know that he shipped jobs overseas, supported a school voucher program, is a major fundraiser for Mr. Bush, wants to criminalize abortion completely even in the cases of rape or incest, and that he has sat on boards that have advocated drilling more oil, slashing Medicaid and making Michigan a Right to Work state.
“We know who we are fighting for and who we are fighting against,” she said, asking delegates to send her allies in the state Legislature, Supreme Court, as well as the offices of Attorney General and Secretary of State (see related story).
In her entrance and exit, “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” played above the crowd.
REPUBLICANS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT ECONOMIC TURNAROUND AT CONVENTION
NOVI—As they march into a battle for a firm majority in the Legislature and a GOP win for each spot on top of the ticket, Republicans said on Saturday that they are taking the high road toward victory instead of resorting to “mud slinging” and negativity.
It was a message emphasized by the party’s gubernatorial candidate who said the campaign would take the high road.
Republicans also went into the weekend’s state Convention with an agreement on who would be nominated to represent the party on the ballot, so the jubilance of the day was unspoiled by a floor fight for nominations; instead supporters were free to listen intently with quiet energy, ready to leap to their feet when a speaker roused them, but otherwise remaining almost silent enough to hear an echo in the huge room at the Rock Financial Center in Novi.
One such rousing speech, not surprisingly, came from Gubernatorial-hopeful Dick DeVos, who took the stage to dimmed lights and a standing ovation.
Mr. DeVos was the last to speak, and with his time summed up a theme of a “party of optimism” that came from most speakers about how to turn around the economy, create better schools and more jobs and generally make Michigan a better place to live, without resorting to “fear tactics or tearing people down.”
“Our campaign won’t be about fear, it will be about hope,” he told the crowd. “(We) will take the high road, because that’s the right road.”
Mr. DeVos and other candidates reiterated their claim that Michigan’s “single state recession” is due to the Governor Jennifer Granholm’s “refusal or inability” to make the changes to the tax structure, educational system and business climate needed to bring about change.
The Grand Rapids businessman said that he liked Governor Jennifer Granholm, but that she hasn’t proven she can keep up innovations and federal policies that have added to the workforce in every other state.
“She is a nice person and a gifted communicator, but you have to judge a governor on what they do and have done, not what they say,” he said. “The sooner Michigan gets a new governor, the sooner Michigan gets new jobs.”
Mr. DeVos warned supporters that “T.V. commercials weren’t going to win” the race for him, saying that as his opponents attacked him, he’d need a grassroots, door-to-door effort to takeover the office of governor.
He also laid out an abbreviated version of his economic plan, calling for an overhaul of public education and the current state of schools “a tragedy in the first order.”
Under the DeVos plan, he said, he’d assure that more resources went into the classroom and toward rewarding teaching excellence, instead of funneling money into “a bureaucracy.”
“The No. 1 challenge facing the state,” though, is the brain drain happening with college graduates, he said, blaming it on the lack of a diversified economy that creates jobs.
“If Michigan’s young people choose to leave, it’s their right,” Mr. DeVos said, “but shame on us if they can’t choose to stay.”
Mr. DeVos echoed the sentiments of his newly-chosen running mate, Oakland County Clerk Ruth Johnson, who is a former teacher, which she said, could “make her biased.”
Saying that teaching is the most important job in the state, Ms. Johnson added that she work to get reduce corruption in schools just as she did in Oakland County.
SABAUGH WINS S.O.S. NOMINATION
DETROIT – While Macomb County Clerk Carmella Sabaugh may have never officially declared her candidacy for Secretary of State, the Democratic delegates made it official here Sunday that she is their nominee heading into the fall.
Ms. Sabaugh beat out House Minority Leader Mary Waters (D-Detroit), who had declared her candidacy for the position in February, and who last week declared that Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was working to ensure success for the Republican ticket in November by not supporting her candidacy.
While Ms. Waters and her supporters passed around petitions Saturday to put her on the ballot, the influx of signs of support for Ms. Sabaugh started flooding in.
In her nominating speech, Ms. Sabaugh declared, “I know how to run elections. I know Terri Land and I can beat her.”
Ms. Sabaugh said she would follow the tradition of former Secretary of State Richard Austin. She also said if elected she would put automatic voter registration into place, allow for same day voting and registration, advocate for no reason absentee voting, promised not to serve on a campaign committee (Ms. Land was a co-chair for President George W. Bush’s reelection campaign in Michigan) and would fight against requiring photo identification at the polls.
“I will not let Michigan become a Florida or Ohio,” she said.
Despite saying she had a base of support from Democrats as a leader in the House, Ms. Waters did not join Ms. Sabaugh on stage when the nominations were announced.
OTHER NOMINEES: The other nominees for the Democratic ticket are:
Michigan Supreme Court: Justice Michael Cavanaugh (incumbent) and Jane Beckering
State Board of Education: Reginald Turner (incumbent) and Cassandra Ulbrich
University of Michigan Regents: Katherine White and Julia Darlow
Michigan State University Trustees: Faylene Owen and former MSU football coach and athletic director George Perles
Wayne State University Governors: Eugene Driker and Debbie Dingell
STABENOW: G.O.P. POLICIES HAVE FAILED; DEM VOTE IS FOR CHANGE
DETROIT – Times may be tough in Michigan, but U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Lansing) told the attendants at the state Democratic convention Saturday that the policies of the Republican Party have failed on the national and state levels, and that a vote for change this election season is a vote for a Democrat.
“I smell victory,” Ms. Stabenow told the crowd as she took the stage at Cobo Center.
Ms. Stabenow said it is the policies of President George W. Bush and the Republican Congress that have driven the United States in a race to the bottom, but “we want a race to the top.”
Ms. Stabenow, facing Republican candidate Michael Bouchard in the general race this year, did not refer to her opponent by name, but did say during her stump, “We don’t need another senator that supports those policies.”
A level playing field for trade, including the installation of a U.S. trade prosecutor – an idea backed by Ms. Stabenow, is the strategy America needs to succeed globally, she said.
Ensuring that Americans have access to health care coverage, are able to count on the pensions that they paid into and are a committed to investing in education is what Ms. Stabenow said is key to succeeding domestically.
“This election is about us,” she said.
Reflecting on growing up in Michigan, Ms. Stabenow said, “Living here has given me the values I need.”
Protecting the state’s natural resources by prohibiting drilling in the Great Lakes and banning the importation of Canadian trash by imposing a higher fee per truckload are also ideas Ms. Stabenow said she supports.
And in discussing the war in Iraq, she said the government must honor and continue to support the troops, while at the same time investing in the protection of neighborhoods domestically by providing more resources to police departments across the state.
BOUCHARD FORMALLY STARTS ON TOUGH ROAD TO U.S. SENATE
NOVI – Although enjoying the firm support of his party members, U.S. Senate candidate and former state lawmaker and Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard doesn’t enjoy the incumbent advantage of Secretary of State Terri Land and Attorney General Mike Cox, since he’s working to defeat veteran Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Lansing).
And he wasted no time before the delegates in challenging Ms. Stabenow.
He began his speech with a play on his first television commercial, which featured him sitting in between his daughter and her date.
He joked to convention-goers that “no boyfriends were harmed in the making of the commercial,” but soon after his talk turned to a point-by-point listing of ways that Ms. Stabenow has failed the state.
Mr. Bouchard said the senator has been ineffective at passing legislation that matters to the state.
“If I come back to you in six years and all I have done is re-name a federal building, fire me,” he said, shouting the last words – a now common criticism of Ms. Stabenow’s record -- to a cheering audience.
Also on his agenda as a U.S. senator, Mr. Bouchard said, would be curbing federal spending, fencing in Michigan’s borders and making energy affordable to businesses so that they can focus on creating jobs.
“There is a referendum on incumbents,” he said, “but there’s also a referendum on results.”
PIZZA AND POLITICS WITH ROMNEY: Convention goers kicked off the weekend Friday night with a planned, yet unscripted speech at a “Pizza and Politics” dinner from Mitt Romney, Massachusetts governor and chair of the Republican Governors Association.
His speech in support of Dick DeVos as the state’s next governor was in the works for sometime, but instead of writing down his thoughts, Mr. Romney, son of former Michigan Governor George Romney, spoke seemingly off the cuff.
“The unscripted speech created a dynamic atmosphere,” said Mr. De Roche, who added that Mr. Romney go people fired up about Mr. DeVos until the room was “electrified.”
Although he has his eye on a potential run for the oval office, Mr. Romney’s main purpose this weekend was accomplishing a change of parties in Michigan.
Mr. Romney, a 25-year venture capitalist-turned politician, focused on how a businessman like Mr. DeVos understands what it takes to get the economy going.
Mr. De Roche, who said “Michigan is a Romney state,” said the appearance is a huge asset to the party in their efforts to take over the top of the ticket this fall.
He added that Mr. Romney’s political action committee, Commonwealth, has raised more money in support of GOP efforts than Ms. Granholm’s camp.
Mr. Romney is traveling across the country, mainly to states where a GOP gubernatorial pick-up is likely, such as in Iowa, or needed to fill a term-limited Republican spot, such as in New York.
There are nine states where a Republican governor is stepping down, compared to two where a Democrat is leaving office.
THE NOMINEES, PLEASE: The following people were nominated on Saturday to run for office on the Republican ticket: Dick DeVos with Oakland County Clerk Ruth Johnson for Governor and Lt. Governor; Mike Bouchard for U.S. Senate; Terri Lynn Land as Secretary of State and Mike Cox for Attorney General.
Justice Maura Corrigan and former Rep. Marc Shulman were nominated to run for state Supreme Court and Judges Kirsten Kelly, Brian Zahra and Peter O’Connell will defend their seats on the Court of Appeals.
Incumbent Eileen Weiser was renominated for the State Board of Education. Running in the other spot will Tom McMillan, a former Oakland County Board of Commissioners member.
As for University Boards, David Brandon and Susan Brown will run for a spot on the University of Michigan Board of Regents; David Porteous and Dolores Cook will for Michigan State University Trustee spots and John Akouri and Andy McLemore will run for a spot as Wayne State University Governors.
For a complete list of all of the candidates running on the GOP ticket, visit the state party’s web site. (www.migop.org).
DEBATES: GRANHOLM ACCEPTS 3; DE VOS PEOPLE SAY BREACH OF FAITH
Formal negotiations on gubernatorial debates have not yet begun, but the campaign of Governor Jennifer Granholm said late Friday they have accepted three prime-time television debates held over a two-week period in mid-October. A spokesperson for Republican candidate Dick DeVos said the proposal was largely meaningless but also represented a “serious breach of good faith” on the Granholm committee.
Representatives of both Ms. Granholm and Mr. DeVos are supposed to meet on Tuesday, September 5, to discuss debates. Chris De Witt, Ms. Granholm’s campaign spokesperson, said that meeting is still on.
But Friday, the Granholm campaign announced it had accepted debates with WKAR-TV in East Lansing on October 2, WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids on October 10 and with WXYZ-TV in Detroit on October 16. All three of the debates are supposed to be held in prime time and broadcast statewide.
The DeVos campaign had agreed to a debate before the Detroit Economic Club on October 12, which spokesperson John Truscott said they had to do so the organization could hold the room.
In a press release, the Granholm campaign said that Mr. DeVos had “failed to accept any invitations for televised debates” in Detroit but that he had accepted other televised debates even though the campaign had asked that none be accepted until the two sides met.
Not true, Mr. Truscott said. While as many as 40 different groups have contacted the campaign about debates, Mr. Truscott said the campaign has accepted none except the Detroit Economic Club.
“We would ask them to extend the same courtesy to us that we extended to her” to accept debate times, Mr. Truscott said.
And while it did represent a serious breach of faith to accept these debates, Mr. Truscott also said that in the end “this is just posturing. Don’t take it too seriously.”
CAMPAIGN NOTES
G.O.P. CALENDAR: Being passed out at the Michigan State Republican Convention were calendars titled “No Results” that Republicans said listed 75 days of “broken promises” made by Governor Jennifer Granholm. The first, for Friday, charges that Ms. Granholm signed over $2 billion in tax increases despite saying she would not raise taxes, and the last on Tuesday, November 7 – election day – that the state needs a change even though she said that in five years the economy would “blow away” state residents.
