I’m often asked why we focus on Michigan so much at Eclectablog. The easy answer, of course, is that all of us live here and care about our state deeply. The less obvious answer is that Michigan has become the beta testing ground for some of the most egregious Republican overreach you’ll find in the USA. In our statewide elections, […]

I hate writing fundraising pleas. You hate reading them. Those are facts. Also a fact: We’re all in this together. I just finished a Powerpoint presentation I am giving at Netroots Nation this week in Atlanta where I’m on a panel sponsored by the Center for Media & Democracy titled “Dismantling the Corporate Influence Machine in the States”. As I […]

Let’s face it, progressive blogs, especially here in Michigan, are becoming more and more rare. In our state, there were once two major progressive political blogs: Michigan Liberal and Blogging for Michigan. Neither of these websites exists today. In fact, Eclectablog is one of the only progressive sites in the state still bringing you news and commentary about what’s happening […]

The following guest post was written by Friend of the Blog Barb Byrum (D-Onondaga). Barb is currently serving her second term as the Ingham County Clerk. Before that, Clerk Byrum served in the Michigan House of Representatives for six years. She currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Legislative Committee of the Michigan Association of County Clerks (MACC) and also […]

It’s becoming an all too familiar news story in Michigan these days: A “failing” public school system faces “competition” from a charter school that sucks even more resources and students away from the traditional schools and then, when they can’t make enough money, the charter school closes and things are worse off than they were before. For example, it happened […]

There are two ways defeat the forces of conservatism in America. The first is to spend ungodly amounts of money to purchase state legislatures, judicial positions, governors’ seats, Congressional seats, and the presidency. News flash: Progressives do NOT have the seemingly endless supply of corporate interests to fund this sort of decades-long program, one that is playing out precisely as […]

Bill Schuette hasn’t filed paperwork to run for governor in Michigan yet but there are plenty of signs that he’s going to. For instance, he has already raised nearly $1.6 million. But the clearest evidence is that the man who has spent millions upon millions of our tax dollars to promote his extremist conservative views has finally started doing his […]

I won’t lie to you: Since we started our fundraiser on Monday, we’ve gotten precisely ZERO donations. We get a couple thousand visitors every day, sometimes more, but it’s clear that folks are focused on other things. It’s our hope that those other things are defeating Trumpcare. So, given the situation as it is now, we’re going to pause the […]

Dear Gov. Snyder, It’s no secret that I have been highly critical of you and your administration since you took office in 2010. However, I have lauded your decision to take advantage of the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion and, because of it, hundreds of thousands of Michiganders now have health insurance that they wouldn’t have otherwise, most of whom […]

Regular readers know that I’m a big (BIG!) fan of Michael D’Antuono’s artwork. And I want a wider audience to appreciate his contribution to The Resistance. He’s what some people call “The Norman Rockwell of The Resistance” and I agree. Michael has a new project and he needs our help. I’ll let him explain: I’m Michael D’Antuono, an artist and […]

After happily signing countless tax breaks for corporations into law in Michigan, Governor Rick Snyder finally found one to veto. It’s one that would benefit actual Michiganders and not for-profit corporations: Gov. Rick Snyder vetoed on Tuesday a tax cut recently approved by the Michigan Legislature, saying the measure would put too much strain on the state’s budget. Snyder vetoed […]