Republicans have successfully branded themselves as the party that worships “local governmental control”. They want federal regulations repealed and the power given to the states on all sorts of things from the environment to the Affordable Care Act. But, when it comes to actual local control, where local municipalities set their own rules, the whole idea of “local governmental control” […]

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 […]

Dan Benishek, the Congressman from Michigan’s 1st Congressional District made a pledge when he first ran for that seat that he would only serve three terms. When he recently reneged on that pledge, I sorta shrugged. Republican politicians lying about things isn’t particularly BREAKING NEWS!!! However, when Benishek revealed his supposed reason for breaking his pledge, I got angry. According […]

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 […]

With control over every aspect of Michigan’s government, Republicans are no longer even trying to hide their contempt for anyone they disagree with. By the time you read this post, there’s a good chance the Michigan GOP will have pulled another underhanded stunt. They’re becoming an everyday occurrence. But for now, I’ll focus on two power grabs on April 28 […]

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 […]

Part 1 in a series. Part 2 is HERE and Part 3 is HERE. There are few topics that unite tea partiers with progressive liberals but Michigan’s Prop 1 has not only united these two disparate groups, it has, for all intents and purposes, turned many progressives into tea partiers in their own right. What I mean by this is […]

Michigan state lawmakers Cindy Gamrat, Gary Glenn, and Todd Courser are openly theocratic, regularly expressing their desire and their intention to bring their religion into government, using their personal interpretation of the Bible to make laws and policy in our state. But the three of them have a mentor in this effort: 7th District Congressman Tim Walberg. A former Baptist […]