Democrats may soon have a strong candidate to get behind so they can take back Michigan’s 11th Congressional District. Democrats have been looking for someone to run for Rep. Kerry Bentivolio’s seat in the U.S. House in 2014 — and they may have found her. Jocelyn Benson, Dean of the Wayne State University Law School and the Democratic Party’s nominee […]

Thank you, tea party. May we have some more? Photos by Anne C. Savage, special to Eclectablog As horrible as it is, the Republican shutdown of the U.S. government does have a silver lining: it’s positively KILLING Republicans’ chances of being winning in November of 2014. Two new polls show both Pam Byrnes, running for the 7th District Congressional seat […]

Middle-class Michigan families can watch their taxes increase $50 every second. And they have Gov. Rick Snyder and legislative Republicans to thank for it. For a party that says they want lower taxes, Republicans in Michigan sure like taxing the middle class. During the last legislative session, Governor Rick Snyder and the Republican-led legislature made severe changes to the Michigan […]

Where are your actual loyalties, Mr. Schuette? In a Detroit Free Press article yesterday, two legal experts suggest that Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette’s claim that there is no conflict of interest between his representation of the State of Michigan at the same time he’s defending the rights of retired pensioners in the Detroit’s bankruptcy. Indeed, many people (including me), […]

Live or work near Washtenaw County? Drop by for a coffee chat about healthcare in Michigan. Michigan State Representative Gretchen Driskell (D-Saline) will host a coffee hour about healthcare in Michigan on Monday, Oct. 7, from 3-5 p.m. at the Manchester Community Resource Center, 410 City Road in Manchester. The discussion will include the federal Affordable Care Act, Medicaid expansion […]

The opening of the Obamacare marketplaces isn’t the only news today that’s a BFD. The passage of Medicaid expansion in Michigan last month was a huge victory for the nearly 500,000 uninsured who will gain coverage as a result. But the fact that the Senate passed the bill without “immediate effect” meant delaying the start of the program until 90 […]

The Republicans’ goal is to “try to find a way to educate students on the cheap” Photo credit: Anne C. Savage, special to Eclectablog Michigan Republicans have made their education “reform” plan quite clear: slash funding to traditional public schools, privatize schools to for-profit corporations, and knee-cap teachers to prevent them from collectively bargain for decent wages and benefits. This […]

Sorry, Terri, they’re just not that into you. Photo by Anne C. Savage, special to Eclectablog It’s not easy being Terri Lynn Land these days. Nobody really likes her that much. She was once the Michigan Secretary of State and she’s been a fairly prominent figure in Republican politics as a member of the RNC for years. With Carl Levin’s […]

Game ON! These days, Anne and I feel like we’re at the center of the bullseye for a number of nationally-watched races. First we have Gretchen Driskell in the 52nd District who is the only Democrat in Michigan holding a seat in a majority Republican state House district. Then, of course, is the epic fight to reclaim the governor’s mansion […]

GOPocrisy in full display SEE UPDATES BELOW In 2013, Michigan Republicans have already sent 107 bills to Governor Rick Snyder, all but one of which he signed into law. Of those 106 new laws (pdf), all but 6 — 5.7% — were passed with Immediate Effect meaning that they went into effect immediately rather than the statutorily-mandated 90 days after […]

Getting to knoo-oow you, getting to know all aboo-out you! Photo by Anne C. Savage, special to Eclectablog Beginning next Saturday, September 7th, Democratic candidate for Michigan’s 7th Congressional District Pam Byrnes will begin a 7-County Swing Tour of this highly gerrymandered district to begin the important process of introducing herself to 7th District voters. In case you missed it, […]