Michigan’s ‘Teacher of the Year’ deserves better than this

In May of this year, Gary Abud, a science teacher at Grosse Pointe North High School, was chosen as Michigan’s 2013-2014 Teacher of the Year by State Superintendent Mike Flanagan. It’s an amazing accomplishment for a teacher who has only been at it for six years. Well-respected by both his students and his coworkers, Mr. Abud was a worthy choice.

To reward him for his outstanding achievement, the anti-union corporatist Mackinac Center — an ALEC and State Policy Network affiliate that is funded, in part, by the Koch brothers — did a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to find out how much money Mr. Abud makes. Once they found out, they proceeded to use him to promote passage of House Bill 4625, a bill I call the “‘Teach to the Test’ Teacher Pay Act”.

Click through for my interview with this amazing educator.

A well-planned, strategic vision for Michigan’s only statewide LGBT advocacy group Over the past month, there has been a plethora of great news for the LGBT community both nationally and here in Michigan. Recent polling by PPP shows that a full 70% of Michiganders believe that gay couples should either be allowed to marry or form civil unions. This echoes […]

We don’t do this very often — it’s a big deal

Regular Eclectablog readers will know that (a) I’ve only brought on a new writer one other time (LOLGOP) and (b) lately Amy Lynn Smith has been guest-posting some dynamite content at Eclectablog. Today I’m extremely pleased to announce that we have brought Amy on as a regular contributor to Eclectablog. This means she will share in blog revenues with me, Anne, and LOLGOP and, more importantly, you’ll get to enjoy her excellent writing on a regular basis.

Amy and I have followed each other on Twitter for quite awhile. However, our mutual friend and organizer extraordinaire, Sarah Burris sent me and email last February saying, “If you ever need someone who is very very well versed in health care policy to write something for the blog [Amy would] be a genius at it. I think she should start blogging in more high profile places. She’s brilliant!”

This connection led to Amy guest posting a few pieces, much of which was about Medicaid expansion in Michigan, something near and very dear to my heart. Amy’s style fits in perfectly at Eclectablog. She brings a unique voice while at the same time fitting into our overall vibe absolutely perfectly.

I’m thrilled to have Amy on the team and I know that you’ll all enjoy her creative content as well. In addition to her writing here, you can learn more about Amy’s professional writing by visiting her website ALSwrite.com and following @alswrite on Twitter.

Our interview is after the jump.

“I hope that people start thinking about campaign finance in a completely different way”

NOTE: This is part two of a two-part post on Lee Fang’s new book “The Machine: A Field Guide to the Resurgent Right”. My review of the book can be found HERE.

After reading Lee Fang’s new book The Machine, I was interested in asking some questions about his research and his thoughts on a number of issues related to the rise of the corporatist conservative movement that so dominates our politics and our government today. I spoke with him on Saturday and our conversation ranged from the beliefs of the average Tea Party adherent to what the left is doing wrong in the battle for public opinion.

Enjoy (after the jump.)

This past week, I spoke to former Governor Howard Dean on a wide range of topics. My chief interest was to get his impressions about current gun control measures being considered in Congress. During his run for governor in Vermont, Gov. Dean received high ratings from the NRA. Yet, recently, he has been highly critical of that group, saying that they are “populated by crazy people”.

It’s also the tenth anniversary of the Iraq War and, at a time when there was nearly unanimous support for that war, Gov. Dean was one of the most outspoken opponents. Finally, Gov. has come out in favor of the sequester so I wanted to ask him more about that.

Enjoy (after the jump.)

“The politics, strategy and tactics of addition”

Lon Johnson‘s name was probably not familiar to most Michigan Democrats until he announced his candidacy for the Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party (MDP) last week. All of that changed with, in a letter from Senator Debbie Stabenow, the entire Democratic Congressional and Senatorial delegation came out in support of Johnson. Along with them, the Teamsters union and the UAW threw their support behind Johnson, as well.

Anne and I sat down with Johnson and his wife last weekend to discuss his candidacy, his qualifications, and his vision for the future of the MDP. Our interview is after the jump.

18 years of leadership of one of the most active state parties in the country

For the past 18 years, except for a brief period when Jennifer Granholm installed Butch Hollowell at the helm, Mark Brewer has led the Michigan Democratic Party (MDP) as its Chair. During Hollowell’s tenure, Brewer was given the newly created position of Executive Director and, since Hollowell’s departure a year and half later to work on the Kerry campaign, Brewer has held both positions.

Although Mark Brewer has been challenged in the past for his position as Chair, the most recently in 2011, the challenge he faces this year seems more robust than previous attempts. Brewer is supported by the Michigan Education Association, Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters, and the Greater Lansing Labor Council among other organizations along with at least 60 local party leaders across the state. On the other hand, both Senators Stabenow and Levin along with the entire Democratic Congressional delegation, the UAW, and the Teamsters have shifted their support to Brewer’s opponent, former candidate for state House, Lon Johnson.

I spoke to Chair Brewer about this race, his accomplishments as MDP Chair and his vision for the future of the MDP. The interview is after the jump.

Are you woman? Are you man? We’re your biggest Twittered-up fans

Last night, LOLGOP was on SiriusXM’s Politics Powered By Twitter show. You can listen to it after the jump. If the link doesn’t work for you, hop over to the HyperVocal website where they have transcribed some of the highlights and included their own commentary and impressions after talking to our very own Eclectablogger.

It’s a spectacularly fun interview. Enjoy (after the jump.)

Using the power of personalizing issues to make change when you’re in the minority

One of the most outspoken and eloquent Democrats in the legislature for the past two years is Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer from East Lansing. Whenever there was a major issue making the headlines that Republicans were on the wrong side of, Senator Whitmer was there to be sure that they were not only held accountable but that their actions would not go unnoticed.

Given the Republicans’ recent flurry of ideologically-driven activity and the fact that Republicans still control both houses of the state legislature, control the state Supreme Court, and that the Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State are all Republicans, I wanted to see how the top Democratic leader of the state Senate (and longest serving sitting Senator) was feeling about the road ahead. I sat down with her in a coffee shop in East Lansing this week for an interview.

(It’s all there, after the jump.)

The choice is clear

Back in August, I published a piece about Fake Democrats running in Michigan. One of those Fake Democrats is the appropriately-named Jim Fink who not only admits to being a Republican but whose biggest campaign donor is, in fact, the Republican Party. If you go to Republican Party headquarters/offices in Washtenaw County, there you will find Jim Fink signs. He has made many donations to Republican candidates, is anti-Choice and against marriage equality and civil rights for the LGBT community.

Despite this, Jim Fink has vigorously sought the endorsement of the Washtenaw County Democratic Party (full disclosure: I am on the Executive Board of the WCDP as co-Vice Chair for Precinct Organizing.) He attended our conventions and meetings. He parked his car, covered with his campaign magnets, at the entrance to the parking lot at our events to make it look as if we supported him. He asked us to put his literature and yard signs at our campaign office in Ypsilanti. In short, this confirmed, right wing Republican did everything he could do to get the Democratic Party to use their resources to support him.

We did not.

What we DID do is endorse his opponent, Carol Kuhnke. In contrast to Fink’s dishonesty and questionable character, Kuhnke is a fantastic candidate. Smart, fair-minded and a true Democrat, Carol Kuhnke is the ideal choice for the 22nd District Court in Washtenaw County.

My interview with Carol Kuhnke after the jump.

“I’m doing it the hard way but I’m doing it the RIGHT way…”

I first met Democratic candidate Democratic candidate Betsy Coffia at the Vagina Monologues rally at the state Capitol last summer. Even in the cacophony of hundreds of fired up women dressed in bright pink, Coffia stood out with her energy and fire. It’s a passion for making positive change that she’s bringing to her unique campaign in Michigan’s 104th State House district, a traditionally Republican area that includes Traverse City that she’s trying to turn blue.

Coffia is running her campaign, as she did her primary, without taking any money from PACs, Super PACs or from out of state. Read my interview with Coffia and find out more about her exciting campaign after the jump.