Cold, callous, and without compassion (or a clue) I’ve written before about Michigan Republican Senator Joe Hune’s offensive opposition to expanding Medicaid to nearly half a million Michiganders — working Michiganders with jobs that don’t provide health insurance or a wage that allows them to purchase it on their own. In the past he has said, “I just can’t get […]

Don’t worry, that was just your retirement income being flushed down the proverbial toilet When the stock market crashed at the end of 2008 while George Bush was phoning in his last six months in office, retirees across the country watched as their nest eggs, retirement income accumulated over decades by investing in stocks and bonds, mainly through 401K plans, […]

Or forever hold your peace. I know, I know … there’s been talk of a vote in the Michigan Senate on Medicaid expansion for months. But this time, it’s possible it could actually happen this week. Which means everyone who supports Michigan Medicaid expansion needs to tell their Senators how they feel. Tea Party groups in Michigan have been screaming […]

Volunteers gather to protest Tea Party Republicans’ opposition to healthy legislation. Protesters rallied in support of Medicaid expansion in Michigan on Monday. They met at the GOP Victory Center in Livonia — which, not surprisingly, was closed. But they were undaunted, with three speakers making their voices heard on the importance of Medicaid expansion as a crowd, including two local […]

How much more time can they possibly need? Oh, and didn’t they claim they were working on this while they’re on vacation this month? This is getting ridiculous. After gaveling in and out of session in just 10 seconds earlier this week, Michigan Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville said Senate Republicans are going on a retreat “in a week or […]

You got your Right to Work and your corporate tax cuts. Now show us the jobs. For two months in a row, Michigan’s unemployment rate has gone up. It went up 0.3 points to 8.7% in June and, in July, it was up another 0.1 points to 8.8%. In contrast, the US unemployment rate was flat at 7.6% in June […]

What’s this? ANOTHER judicial smack-down of Governor Snyder and his Republican colleagues? Yes. Yes it is. [Caricature by DonkeyHotey from photos by Anne C. Savage for Eclectablog] Another day, another Republican bill signed into law by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder ruled unconstitutional. In this case, it’s not the entire law, just the part that requires state employees to pay 4% […]

Please, Congressman, join the rest of us in the reality-based world I’m going to break my rule about promoting OFA events today because this one is aimed directly at Congressman Tim Walberg, my “representative” and someone I want to see go down in flames in November 2014 when Pam Byrnes cleans his clock in the 7th District. Organizing for America […]

Go away, Janice. Just. Go. Away. Former Troy, Michigan mayor Janice Daniels was recalled from office last year. Her public homophobic statements, incomprehensible tea party rants at public meetings, and damage to the local economy by impeding a major public transportation hub from being built in Troy all led the citizens there to unceremoniously toss her out of office. You […]

This is your weekly reminder. Senate Republicans need to hear from you now. As I wrote here last week, Tea Party groups are asking their members to call their Senators every single day, urging them to vote no on Medicaid expansion. Putting aside my curiosity about how these folks have so much spare time (and, if they don’t work, how […]

Wait. What??? As I wrote about a month ago, Republican House Representative Bob Genetski has a solution to Michigan’s budget problems: blow an $8.3 billion hole in it by repealing the state income tax. Well, the bill has been introduced: House Bill 4898. Here is the part that eliminates the tax: HOUSE BILL No. 4898 July 18, 2013, Introduced by […]