A conference for anyone who is interested in fair government. The corrosive impact of money in our elections, particularly here in Michigan, is clearly evident to anyone who pays the slightest bit of attention. Even the elections for our state Supreme Court justices are fueled by money from corporate interests and wealthy individuals. Unfortunately, due to the permissive laws of […]

A face for radio Last night I “appeared” on the Night Shift with Tony Trupiano radio show. We talked extensively about my interview with House Representative Ellen Cogen Lipton as well as our organizing efforts in Washtenaw County getting ready for victory in 2014. Enjoy: [soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/112694766″ params=”” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] [Photo by Anne C. Savage.]

“Why have to work through all of the messiness of this thing called ‘democracy’?” I have written extensively about Michigan’s “Education Achievement Authority”. It as formed in September of 2012 as an interlocal agreement with Eastern Michigan University as a school district comprised of Michigan’s most failing schools. Originally it had 15 of Detroit’s worst schools. New legislation, House Bill […]

See ya on the radio… Last night I spoke with my pal Tony Trupiano on the First Shift radio show about the rank hypocrisy of Congressman Tim Walberg from the 7th Congressional District. Our conversation centered around my piece “Tea partier Tim Walberg has been on the public teat for 30 years and will stay there when he retires”. We […]

A face for radio… I was on Night Shift with Tony Trupiano last night talking about my piece yesterday regarding ALEC’s presence in the recently-passed Medicaid expansion bill as well as the candidacy of Pam Byrnes for the 7th Congressional district. If you listen closely, you can hear me refer to Congressman John Dingell as “John Engler”. D’oh! [soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/107920765″ […]

A progressive breath of fresh air for MI-07 On July 18th, Pam Byrnes, the former Michigan House Speaker Pro Tem, announced her candidacy for Michigan’s 7th District. MI-07 is currently represented by former pastor Tim Walberg, a man who calls himself “the original tea partier”. The district is a rather convoluted mess of gerrymandering running from the west side of […]

What Detroit needs is an actual expert Photo by Anne C. Savage, special to Eclectablog. The following is a guest post by Roger Kerson and is Part 2 of a 2-part series. You can read Part 1 HERE. Roger is a Michigan-based media consultant for labor unions, environmental group and non-profit organizations. He was director of public relations at the […]

“Show up, stand up, and speak up”

As I have written about before, grassroots organizing on behalf of Democrats is already well underway in Washtenaw County.

Last night, in the Blog Role segment of the Night Shift with Tony Trupiano radio show, I talked with Tony in depth about what we’ve done, what we’re doing, and where we are headed in Washtenaw County with regards to creating a network of neighborhood teams working to turn out the Democratic vote in 2014.

You can listen to it after the jump.

“When you let creatives be creatives, magic can happen.” I finished reading Lizz Winstead’s book Lizz Free or Die (purchase it HERE) a couple of months ago and, via Twitter, she agreed to an interview. Realizing that Netroots Nation was coming up and that we would both be there, I sent her a direct message saying, “What’s the chance I […]

Two of Ann Arbor’s most stalwart & savvy progressives talk politics

Anyone who has worked with me in organizing things in the Ann Arbor area knows that I’m fond of holding meetings at Arbor Brewing Company in Ann Arbor or the Corner Brewery in Ypsilanti. They have an inviting atmosphere, vegetarian-friendly food, and excellent beers. However, since 2010, I have occasionally had pushback for giving them my business from Democratic purists who can’t get past the fact that the owners, Matt and Rene Greff, donated to fellow Ann Arbor business owner Rick Snyder during the 2010 Republican primary.

To hear some people talk, you would have thought that the Greffs had gone out and campaigned for Rick Snyder. While these same critics will patronize nearly every other business in Ann Arbor without administering a political litmus test, Rene and Matt seem to get special attention and invective others do not.

A couple of weeks ago, the Greffs announced that they would be holding a fundraiser at their home for Democratic candidate for governor Mark Schauer. Anne and I sat down with the two of them last Friday night in Ann Arbor to talk about their experience in the Democratic limelight over the past few years, their long history of supporting Democrats and progressive causes, and their excitement about the Schauer candidacy. During the conversation, we joked about them doing a “Greff Apology Tour” but the fact is, they were far more level-headed and realistic about the state of the race in 2010 than most of their critics and, in fact, do NOT apologize for their decision.

Enjoy after the jump.

Effective change in Detroit must come from communities, not from the top down This Saturday, the Change Agent Consortium (CAC), a coalition of Detroit faith, labor, and social justice groups, will hold their Advance Detroit Summit at the Bethany Baptist Church (15122 W. Chicago) in Detroit. The event is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and is open to the […]