Virgil Smith (r) shown hanging out today with Senate Republican Leader Arlan Meekhof and Republican Mike Kowall On the morning of May 10th, Democratic Senator Virgil Smith from Detroit pumped 10 rounds into his ex-wife’s car from a rifle. Smith admits to having done it saying it was “stupidest thing he had done in his life”. Last Friday he was […]

Tonight at 5:00 p.m., Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lon Johnson will announce his candidacy for Congress in Michigan’s 1st Congressional District, challenging Republican incumbent Dan Benishek. He will be making the announcement at the Marquette County Democrats’ annual Summer Sizzle Picnic in Ishpeming. Word on the street is that House Democrat Brandon Dillon will be replacing Johnson as Chair of […]

Sponsors call the law “cruel and unnecessary” and are fighting to restore women’s full access to healthcare. In 2013, Michigan made national news — and not in a good way — for passing a law that forces women to buy additional health insurance for necessary medical care during a miscarriage or abortion, even in cases of rape and when the […]

Education cost study? We doan need no stinkin’ education cost study! As part of the package of legislation passed to put Proposal 1 on the ballot, Republicans agreed to fund a study of the costs to educate a child in Michigan. Democrats pushed for the study so that smart choices regarding the funding of schools can be made in the […]

Thirty-four states along with Washington, D.C. have graduated state income taxes where wealthy people pay a higher percentage than people who make less money. This is also how our federal taxes are configured. Michigan, however, does not. We are one of only seven states with a flat tax. A recent EPIC-MRA poll shows that an astonishing 66% of Michigan voters […]

On March 3rd, State Senator Bert Johnson (D, MI-02) and three other Michigan Democrats introduced Senate Bill 172 requiring the state health department to provide information about “emergency contraception,” otherwise known as the “Morning After” pill. The bill was referred to committee with no further action at this time, and probably not at any time under the current GOP-dominated legislature […]

Michigan’s 7th District Congressman Tim Walberg is in deep trouble if recent events are any indication. It started with his sole Democratic opponent Gretchen Driskell raising more money than him during the last quarter. According to FEC filings, Driskell raised $173,732 compared with only $165,929 for Walberg. Those numbers don’t tell the entire story, however. Driskell didn’t even get into […]

Not just predictable. Predicted. The dust hadn’t even settled on the epic crash and burn of Michigan’s Proposal 1 yesterday when Republican House Speaker Kevin Cotter began discussing his plans for slashing the budgets of other areas to come up with over a billion dollars needed to rebuild our crumbling roads and bridges. He gave a glimpse into his thinking […]

The contentious nature of Proposal 1 has been well documented on these pages and both Chris Savage and I have taken a great deal of criticism and of have been the recipients less than honorable insults from some of you who believe that to disagree on an issue somehow makes us instant conservatives or “slackies” for the Right. Of course […]

In a move that demonstrates the Democratic principle of fairness for all, lawmakers seek update to Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act. In a press conference today, members of the House and Senate Democratic caucuses urged an update of the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) that will protect Michiganders from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Placing LGBT […]

Part 2 of a series. Part 1 is HERE and Part 3 is HERE. Before I get into this piece, I want to clarify a couple of things. First of all, in the conversation on Proposal 1 in Michigan, at least on the progressive side, we are starting from the position that Republicans are hideous leaders that created gigantic hole […]