Over the past couple of days, Todd Courser has been releasing screenshots on his Facebook page of the texts he’s gotten from “the blackmailer” who has been threatening to expose him if he doesn’t resign. You can view the texts HERE and HERE, as well.
This morning at 1 a.m., Courser took to Facebook againwith a bizarre, disjointed statement saying he’s going to be releasing texts another person received along with him to prove it’s “not all in [his] mind” and that it isn’t something he “made up as a wild conspiracy theory to hide [his] actions”:
What Courser apparently fails to understand is that nobody is “complaining” that it’s “all in his mind” and people don’t give a damn that he was being pressured (“blackmailed”) to resign. We all get that and, frankly, I think we’re all grateful to whoever sent the texts because both Courser and Gamrat DO need to resign. This isn’t about the “blackmail”. It’s about the sordid sexual affair he and Gamrat had even as they tweeted and Facebooked and blogged about their “holier-than-thou” moral superiority all the while condemning loving same-sex couples that wished to be married and adopt children. Their hypocritical bigotry in the face of that is galling.
Even more galling is the outrageous “false flag” email he sent or had sent out as a “controlled burn” to “inoculate the herd” and create a distraction to cover up their adulterous affair. It’s something he has done before as recently as last year according to Brandon Hall at the West Michigan Politics blog. No amount of whining about being blackmailed erases these things and it’s no wonder his supporters are abandoning him right and left. A Practical Political Consulting poll this week shows that 76 percent of voters in Lapeer County support a recall of Todd Courser.
There are now two different recall threats in progress against Courser. Thanks to Republican changes to the recall law in our state, the task is going to be much harder. Recallers would need to gather 7,407 signatures in just 60 days.
What’s interesting is that neither of the groups threatening a recall effort are Democrats or progressives. They are from Courser’s own “herd”. The Lapeer Tea Party is one of the groups, in fact.
Another threat comes from Randy St. Laurent, a former 10th Congressional Committee Chair and current Oregon Township Planning Commissioner and member of the Zoning Board of Appeals. St. Laurent published an open letter to Todd Courser in the Lapeer County Press yesterday. It is positively epic:
Resign or face a recall
So where do I being? I supported Todd Courser in the 82nd House race. I felt the strengths of his professional experience coupled with, in my opinion, the lack of experience of some of his competitors made him the obvious choice. I knew he would challenge some of the legislation presented to him.We need more of that, but I hoped he would learn to temper his decisions. In that respect I was dead wrong. I always felt he was a little too good. I was dead wrong there too. In short I am one of the many people Todd Courser let down. He must resign immediately.
Resign first, and then begin the long list of apologies. Apologize first to all the people of Lapeer County who you were supposed to represent. You wanted the job and when you got it you should have done it. Instead you put your own personal desires first. You have soiled the integrity of all future politicians — Republicans and Democrats yet to to come. You have given credence to the, “They’re all crooks” crowd.
Apologize to your wife and children who now have the stigma of Todd Courser to carry every day, everywhere they go, and in every conscience [sic] hour. Only time will ease their suffering.
Apologize to the Christians who truly do practice their faith, and will have you waved in their faces at every opportunity by those who seek to marginalize and destroy them. And let’s not forget Ben Graham, a young home-schooled Christian who would not become part of this deceit, and may have lost his job because of his moral convictions.
Apologize to the Tea Party people, many of whom study the issues, know the facts and act to support this great country. The haters will use Todd Courser as the face of the Tea Party. many will give up hope because of you. Readers please note the Lapeer Tea Party did not support Todd Courser in the primary.
I weep for your mother. She is a friend of mine. I have your ambitions take their toll on her. She always stood by you. I’m sure she will find a way to stand by you now. You ask too much.
And you know the worst part? I’m not even sure you realize the many wrong things you have done. I’m not sure you will resign. So get this. If you do not resign by the end of the day, August 13, 2015, i will personally start recall proceedings against you. I have no reason to believe I will not have enough signatures by the 15th.
And to all the citizens of Lapeer County, I apologize.
Randy St. Laurent
Oregon Township
St. Laurent is right. Courser has completely lost the thread and apparently has no clue why people are so outraged. The fact that Courser thinks people will support him once they see the texts is proof of it and he appears to have gone down a rabbit hole of his own making, a rabbit hole that emerges in Bizzaro World.
Meanwhile, Cindy Gamrat has gone completely under cover other than to go after Brandon Hall, himself a former supporter of both Courser and Gamrat, by text.
It’s time for the Michigan Republican caucus to toss Courser and Gamrat out of the state legislature. The two of them have no business there and their continued presence is a stain on our state. That needs to happen sooner than later. It needs to happen NOW.
By the way, Brandon Hall is doing a bang up job following this story at West Michigan Politics. Be sure to check out all his coverage HERE.
UPDATE: A couple of other things. First, Courser hilariously took to Twitter yesterday to place the blame for the scandal on Republican House Speaker Cotter. (I’d provide a link but, in an act of cowardice, Courser has blocked me on Twitter.) In response, Cotter’s spokesperson said, “This isn’t the boy who cried wolf; this is the boy who cried Loch Ness Monster. He’s shown time and time again that he has zero credibility on this issue. He’s desperate and trying to point the finger at anyone but himself for the pain he’s caused.”
Second, is there anyone who believes a thing Courser says anymore? Would anyone be surprised to find out that Courser had a “burner” cell phone of his own and was sending himself and Gamrat these texts in yet another “false flag” operation? I know I certainly wouldn’t be.
UPDATE 2: Gamrat will be doing a press conference tomorrow (August 14th) at 2 p.m. in East Lansing, according to her attorney. She may not be taking questions, however.
State Rep. Cindy Gamrat, who has remained silent and in seclusion since news broke Friday about a cover-up scandal at the Capitol related to an extramarital affair with another lawmaker, will hold a 2 p.m. news conference in East Lansing on Friday, her attorney said.Attorney Andrew Abood said Thursday that he is representing Gamrat, R-Plainwell, and “she’s going to address some of the issues that she feels need to be addressed.”
“I’m not sure that she’ll be taking any questions,” Abood told the Free Press.
Abood wouldn’t say whether Gamrat plans to keep her House seat amid widespread calls for her and Rep. Todd Courser, R-Lapeer, to resign.
