First up was the panel discussion relating to fixing Michigan's image and it was fairly disappointing. I felt it was weak discussion (it belonged at a Democrat meeting) and didn't sit through the entire discussion.

The second panel discussion covered  Jobs and tomorrows economy. This was much stronger panel discussion. A few key take away points from the discussion:

    * Making Michigan a right to work state is very important to attracting new business
    * Many states that have performed well economically over the last decade have been states with no personal income tax
    * Michigan needs to streamline and reduce it's regulatory environment
    * To attract new business, Michigan needs to streamline the interface between government and business.

Next up was lunch, and the highlight for me was Mike Cox giving a passionate speech about the future our state and his vision for a bright future for Michigan.

Also, I spent a few minuets talking with Pete Hoekstra. We briefly talked about the debate and I brought up his point regarding how our money that Washington returns (not all of it, since incredibly, Michigan is still a `donor' state) to us has many strings attached. Pete outlined one example of Washington dictating how we spend our own money.

Lastly, I received a note from a subscriber to the web site asking me if the GOP has gotten the message voters. And I would say yes ( except for the one panel... but that was business `leaders') they are really pushing the low taxes, personal freedom, accountability, cutting spending and, in some instances, a Federalist agenda.

When these leaders get elected its going to come down to follow through and execution.