Won’t someone think of the bombers? Nevermind. Someone did. When the deficit cutting committee failed to reach agreement last year, it set in motion a series of automatic budget cuts which included some military cuts. This, of course, is an anathema to the Republicans so they have been scrambling like crazy to find a way to trim the budget to […]

Won’t someone think of the millionaires? Not that it’s a surprise but Republicans in the Senate blocked passage of the Buffett Rule today that would have ensured that the most-wealthy Americans would pay their fair share in taxes. It wouldn’t have raised that much money but it’s a good first step. President Obama was much nicer about it than I […]

Karma’s a hardass, Pete

Pete Hoekstra, the Republican Party’s leading hopeful to defeat Democrat Debbie Stabenow in November is not looking so hopeful these days. Right out of the chute he ran a clearly racist ad during the Superbowl. That was such a catastrophe that he has since scrubbed all mention of it from every corner of the internet he could.

This past week he joined the GOP’s War on Women by calling the Lilly Ledbetter Act — the law forces employers to pay women the same as men for equal work or face a lawsuit — “a nuisance”. Yes, Pete, it’s such a nuisance to pay the ladies the same as men.

All of this is taking its toll on Hoekstra’s campaign. In February, he was down in the polls against Stabenow 53-42%.

Now we find out his campaign donations are down by nearly a third.

I hate when that happens

Mitt Romney is traveling around the country telling Americans what a complete disaster Obamacare is, the health insurance reform modeled after his own Romneycare back in Massachusetts. He calls it “an unfolding disaster for the American economy, a budget-busting entitlement, and a dramatic new federal intrusion into our lives.”

Meanwhile, back Massachusetts, health insurance rates in the program are actually dropping.

A tale of an Obama surrogate who isn’t This is the Week of the Woman™ for the Romney campaign and Mitt is going whole hog trying to prove that it is he, not President Obama, who is the pro-woman candidate (maybe I should pause while you stop laughing.) His chief advisor in this effort is, apparently, his wife Ann, pictured […]

Conflict of interest much? As I have been reporting on (HERE and HERE), the effort to repeal Public Act 4 — Michigan’s Emergency Manager law — is being challenged by a group called Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility. The group is asking elections officials — the Board of State Canvassers — to throw out all of the petitions because the heading […]

Constitution schmonstitution, part eleventy billion When I wrote about Michigan Republicans being put under a restraining order to keep them from violating the state constitution a few days ago, I wrote, “It will be interesting to see if the Republicans are so intent on betraying the state constitution that they appeal to the appeals court.” Turns out they ARE and […]

The arrogance and audacity of Michigan Republicans continues On Thursday, Governor Rick Snyder signed a bill into law that goes into effect retroactively. The retroactive aspect of this bill benefits one person: David Schostak, brother and business partner of Michigan Republican Party chair Bobby Schostak. The bill overturns court decisions against Schostak that have him responsible for $2.4 million from […]

Improving education by attacking teachers? Michigan Republicans are not done with teachers yet, not by a long shot. Now they are going after their pensions and healthcare. Lawmakers and Michigan’s largest teachers’ union are locking horns over how to bring the state’s school employee retirement system — underfunded by some $44 billion — back into the black. The Michigan Public […]

Constitution schmonstitution [NOTE: This story has been updated HERE.] The Michigan Republicans in a rather remarkable display of arrogance have taken to passing bills lately and voting to give them “immediate effect”. They are, in general, allowed to do this and it bypasses the normal 90-day waiting period after the bill is signed into law by the governor. However, under […]

Subsidizing hugely profitable companies is a good idea why again? President Obama is leading the charge on ending taxpayer subsidies to the massively profitable oil companies. This week, the Senate voted in a procedural vote on Senate bill 2204, the Repeal Big Oil Subsidies Act, to do just that. The vote was a lopsided 92-4 but that’s not because Senate […]