Yesterday morning, Congressman Gary Peters went to the polls to vote in Michigan’s primary election. With him was his daughter Maddy. Maddy was voting for the first time having recently turned 18.
Peters ran unopposed in his bid for the U.S. Senate.
WJRT spent the day with Peters and was there when the father and daughter did their civic duty by voting:
In sharp contrast, Terri Lynn Land was “unavailable”.
[Terri Lynn Land] was unavailable to speak to ABC12 Tuesday, but we did catch up with her during the annual Mackinac Policy Conference back in May.“Michigan has been hurt hard by the economy, that’s the most important here in this state is a good paying job. Detroit put America on wheels and we need to do that again, so we need to make sure the federal government doesn’t overburden businesses and families,” she said in May.
It’s astonishing that a news report on election day featuring a candidate for the U.S. Senate has to rely on a single encounter with a living, breathing reporter from over two months ago.
The pathetic truth is Land’s “unavailability” is no surprise. The last thing Republicans want is to have Terri Lynn Land anywhere near a camera or a journalist who might, you know, ask her a question or something.
A National Journal piece titled “Republicans Are Losing Faith in Their Michigan Senate Candidate” talks about Land’s retreat from public events since her epic fail on Mackinac Island:
Predictably, Land has gone into a shell since that disastrous incident. She limits her exposure to fundraisers and photo-ops. She makes no appearances that allow for unscripted interaction with voters. And she has essentially ended all engagement with the media (including with this correspondent, who, for purposes of disclosure, has known Land for years and cited her as a source when reporting on Michigan and national politics.) Land declined to comment for this story.“Land is running her campaign from a bunker. It’s been more than year now and she hasn’t held a single event that’s open to the public,” said Peters spokeswoman Haley Morris. “She’s on the run from reporters and she’s hiding from voters.”
Late yesterday, Land released a statement on Facebook saying, “We could not have done this without our amazing grassroots supporters”.
In reality, Land could have done it without all of those “amazing grassroots supporters”. Like Peters, she ran unopposed.
Maybe if she talked to a reporter once in awhile, she would have known that.
In related news, Peters has named former Lieutenant Governor John Cherry as his debate negotiator and issued the following statement:
This is the first open U.S. Senate race in 20 years, and Michiganders deserve to hear from both candidates on the issues that matter most. I am proud today to announce that John Cherry has agreed to serve as our campaign’s debate negotiator. John’s lifelong experience working across party lines to do what’s right for Michigan makes him uniquely qualified to make sure that Michiganders have access to both candidates and robust debates about the future of our great state.
Peters has accepted three separate debate invitations and is calling on Land to join him for a total of five town-hall style debates. So far, Land hasn’t accepted a single invitation, continuing her evasive hiding from public scrutiny and public questioning. Given the potential scandal brewing regarding her self-funding and potential illegal campaign finance activities, this, too, is unsurprising.
In an article a separate article in the National Journal, Land inadvertently explains why she is going to lose to Gary Peters:
Terri Lynn Land, Michigan’s GOP nominee for U.S. Senate this year, recalled in an interview last year working for Amash’s rival in a 2008 statehouse campaign. She witnessed how Amash—”this kid”—outhustled the competition and connected with voters. Two years later, Land watched again as Amash defeated her preferred candidate, this time for a prized congressional seat.
It’s hard to find a candidate who has more hustle and is more accessible than Gary Peters. Given Land’s complete inability, or unwillingness, rather, she’s headed for the same sort of defeat that Amash’s opponent faced.
[Caricature by DonkeyHotey for Eclectablog. Adapted from: Wikipedia – State of MI / HHS – Chris Smith]
