This weekend, Michigan Republicans dutifully nominated U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ choice for Secretary of State, Mary Treder Lang. The billionaire DeVos family has already padded Lang’s campaign account with more than $40,000 so far. Republican pundit Bill Ballenger, best known for declaring the Flint water crisis to be “overblown,”* gave us some insight into another reason for Lang’s nomination […]

Most people know Tony Trupiano from his radio shows, podcast, posts here or as a Democratic activist who could always be counted on to help a candidate on the campaign trail or emcee an event. Tony was all those things. But most of all, he was just a really good man and a great friend. The world is poorer without him. He […]

 If you’re looking for a window into 2018 in Michigan, the most important race took place last night in the western Upper Peninsula. On first blush, it looks like a pretty routine result in the special election for the 109th state House District: Democrat Sara Cambensy held a seat that’s been blue for more than a half-century. The district has a […]

After Donald Trump’s surprise victory last year, it became almost gospel with beltway pundits that liberals were living in a bubble. That’s been followed by a never-ending stream of profiles of Trump supporters (aka Real Americans) who — wouldn’t ya know it? — vowed to stick with him no matter what. Now given the fact that Trump’s win shocked most […]

Voting is a sacred act and for many people, it remains a private one. That will change under President Trump’s Election Integrity Commission. The commission chaired by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach and Vice President Mike Pence is charged with investigating voter fraud. The problem is that this is not a widespread problem, no matter what Trump tweets. The Washington Post […]

In the midst of the bombardment of news about the U.S. Senate’s secret health care bill, the Michigan Legislature whacking teachers (again) and President Trump lashing out about the FBI’s Russia investigation, it’s easy to overlook some revelations about Russia’s attempt to hack our electoral systems last year. First, there was the Intercept’s blockbuster story about a top-secret NSA report […]

“The president’s new at this. He’s new to government, and so he probably wasn’t steeped in the long-running protocols that establish the relationships between DOJ, FBI and White Houses. He’s just new to this.” — U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan (D-Wisc.), at a Thursday press conference held during former FBI Director James Comey’s Capitol Hill testimony For years, we’ve been […]

U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith finally weighed in on Michigan’s presidential vote recount, something the country has been waiting on since around 1 p.m. This evening he ruled that the recount should now end. This is the result of a Court of Appeals ruling saying that the Board of State Canvassers ruling that Green Party presidential candidate’s petition to start […]

As I mentioned in my update last night, a Michigan Court of Appeals panel ruled that the Board of State Canvassers needed to reconsider Jill Stein’s petition to force a recount and reject it. At nearly the exact same time, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the federal order allowing the recount, rejecting the appeal by Michigan Attorney […]

When Green Party candidate Jill Stein announced her intention to demand recounts in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, I was skeptical. In fact, it looked to me like she was simply using it as a way to raise money and, more importantly, her profile along with getting Democrats to sign up for her email list. I’m still not so sure that […]

A few weeks ago, I wrote a column entreating Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder to stand up to Donald Trump, given his status as a businessman-turned-Rust Belt governor who preaches the virtues of civility. While Democrats and liberal activists can be expected to do the heavy lifting when it comes to opposing the authoritarian elements of Trump’s presidency, it’s vital to […]