You will know them by the friends they keep Florida Congressman Trey Radel announced yesterday that he’s “taking a leave of absence” after being busted earlier in the week for buying cocaine from undercover police officers. Radel is a supreme hypocrite. Earlier this year he voted for legislation that would require anyone receiving food stamps to be drug tested. No […]

Who could have EVER seen this coming??? A downgrade of the bond ratings of 53 Michigan school districts is proving what charter school opponents have long warned against: charter schools are diminishing public schools’ ability to have stable budgets by siphoning off tax dollars into for-profit corporations. Moody’s Investors Service made this move this week citing “significant fiscal strain related […]

Remember this number: 94.3% Michigan Republicans love to pass laws with “immediate effect”. It avoids the whole “gotta wait until 90 days after the close of the current legislative session” thing and the laws they pass go into effect immediately. They love it so much that, when I last did my analysis in early September, they had passed 94.3% of […]

GOPocrisy, pure and simple Michigan Republicans are still working to demonize the Affordable Care Act in any way they can. The most recent example is a bill reported out of the House Subcommittee on Insurance last week, H.B. 4816, which was introduced by Rep. Mike Shirkey. The bill, which you can read HERE (pdf), requires health insurers to report to […]

Of puppets and strings and doing the right thing This morning Democratic candidate for governor Mark Schauer called for increasing the minimum wage in Michigan to $9/hour. It’s not just the right thing to do, it’s wildly popular. A Gallup poll released last week shows that a full 76% of Americans support this move, up 5 points from just last […]

Pipe down or be punished For the past three years, Republicans in control of the Michigan legislature have created a culture of retaliation and punishment in order to stomp out any opposition they may encounter. The blazing speed of their right to work (for less) drive was, for all intents and purposes, designed to punish labor groups for having the […]

Go, Iggy!

After Michigan wolf hunt opponents gathered enough signatures earlier this year to put the issue on the 2014 ballot, Republicans, in their typical anti-democratic fashion, passed a law that would make the vote moot. The group Keep Michigan Wolves Protected is now embarked on a second petition drive that would overturn this law, as well. If they are successful, you could actually see TWO wolf hunt ballot referendums on your ballot next year.

Rock icon Iggy Pop has now gotten involved. Earlier this week, he sent Governor Rick Snyder a letter taking him to task for signing the bill that prevents Michigan residents from having a voice in the matter.

Read his letter after the jump.

Only in Republicanland is this a good idea This is week in a somewhat surprising move, Republican Secretary of State Ruth Johnson proposed a rule to require transparency in the funding of so-called “issue ads” that don’t promote specific candidates. Millions and millions of dollars are spent every election cycle on these ads which are, more often than not, nothing […]

Drunk. With. Power. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder signed legislation today that is one of the final steps in consolidating Republican power in Michigan. The new law moves the Court of Claims — the court where suits against the state government are heard — from the Ingham County Circuit Court where it’s been for decades to Michigan Court of Appeals. Governor […]

Michigan Republicans are starting look desperate and obsessed and controlled by the Mackinac Center It’s no secret that Michigan Republicans are hellbent on destroying unions. Teachers unions seem to be their prime targets, likely because teachers are particularly vulnerable because they are focused on educating our kids, not on political action and activism. When Republicans rammed right to work (for […]

They know what democracy looks like. If Gov. Snyder signs this bill into law, it will prove once again that he doesn’t. [Caricature by DonkeyHotey from photos by Anne C. Savage for Eclectablog] The speed at which Republicans rammed through Senate Bill 652 is enough to give anyone legislative whiplash. And when bills are rushed through that quickly for no […]