To say that Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s State of the State Address last night was a whitewash of the reality we face in our state is an understatement. He avoided any serious discussion about his plans to remedy the slow motion infrastructure catastrophe that is in visible progress. He never mentioned the tens of thousands of out of work Michiganders […]

In a state facing massive infrastructure problems from roads that have gone unrepaired for years to a city poisoned by lead that needs tens of thousands of lead water service lines replaced, one Republican Senator has a plan: pass a law ending our state income tax, a move that will blow a $9 BILLION hole in our state budget: Senate […]

We all know President-Elect Donald Trump is not a big fan of the First Amendment. During the campaign, the Republican complained it has “too much protection” for free speech. He’s routinely targeted journalists at rallies and on Twitter as an intimidation tactic. After winning the election, Trump’s first tweet took aim at people protesting against him, which he whined was “unfair.” A […]

Eclectablog, while often focusing on national issues, has a Michigan-centric component as regular readers know. That’s largely because we are the testing ground, the beta testers for what Republicans want to achieve nationally. Republicans here control the governor’s office. Our Lt. Governor is a Republican. Our Secretary of State is a Republican. Our Attorney General is a Republican. Our state […]

The following guest post was penned by Nick Wallace, a freelance writer/data journalist who lives in Ypsilanti. Enjoy. Arguments that credit individual politicians with ongoing macroeconomic trends should always be treated with skepticism. It is the rare elected official who can cause a recession or reduce the unemployment rate. This is particularly true of state and local leaders; governors, mayors, […]

The dashing young man in the photo above is Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Charles S. Kettles. LTC Kettles, who lives in Ypsilanti, Michigan, was awarded the Medal of Honor yesterday at a White House ceremony. His story is extraordinary. Here’s an excerpt from President Obama’s remarks: May 15, 1967, started as a hot Monday morning. Soldiers from the 101st Airborne were […]

When, in the wake of the Flint water crisis, Dan Wyant resigned from his post as director of the Department of Environmental Quality, Gov. Rick Snyder’s outgoing chief of staff lamented the move. “I’m not sure why this decision was made but if it’s only optics, keep in mind that finding a replacement who has the trust of the business […]

Circuit Court Judge Deborah Thomas recently announced that she is running for the Michigan Supreme Court. This is her second supreme court race and her candidacy is generating a lot of energy and enthusiasm. She’s a fierce and lifelong advocate for those in society without a voice in the judicial system and, in addition to her job as a Circuit […]

In an interview with the Associated Press last week, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder pointed to Michigan’s economy as heading in the right direction. Gov. Rick Snyder on Wednesday said people should be mindful of Michigan’s continued economic resurgence even as the state grapples with lead in Flint’s drinking water and enormous debt in Detroit’s public school district. The Republican governor, […]

Today’s guest post is by Laura Packard, a partner at PowerThru Consulting, a growing national progressive digital consulting shop. Enjoy. Now that Snyder has effectively ruined our state brand, we should be thinking about what it is we DO want to be known for. We’ll have the chance to replace him in 2018 (or maybe even sooner, if he steps […]

Sen. Bernie Sanders’ upset victory in Michigan yesterday unequivocally proved that a solid ground game is the key to winning elections. Not only has Sen. Sanders brought scores of new people into the political process, he was able, in Michigan at least, to get them to register to vote and to actually go to the polls in large numbers. How […]