From one of my heroes in the Michigan Fight For What is Right. Jen Gratz makes it clear why she supports Dave Agema for Republican National Committeeman:
Dear Michigan Republican -
For the last 15 years I have been the woman working to end "affirmative action" programs that grant race preferences at the University of Michigan and in all public entities. In 2003, my lawsuit against UofM went to the US Supreme Court and following that court case I led the victorious Michigan Civil Rights Initiative (MCRI/Proposal 2) campaign.
At the time of MCRI, Saul Anuzis was Chairman of the Michigan Republican State Committee (MRSC). To my surprise, Saul opposed our effort and worked hard to convince establishment Republicans across the state to oppose our effort, because he claimed it would hurt the Republican Party.
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On election day in 2006, MCRI won with over 58% of Michiganders (and 78% of Republicans) voting in favor of banning state-sponsored discrimination. We had this success in a year when the rest of the Republican ticket lost everything. After the election, analysts agreed that Republicans might have done better across the state if they had a different position on MCRI. Instead, under the leadership of Saul Anuzis the republican party abandoned principles and stood with political correctness.
I am writing today to encourage conservative Republicans and tea party members across the state to remember Saul's opposition to MCRI in 2006 and what was done by the Michigan Republican Party to oppose MCRI. Grassroots conservatives and a strong majority of voters across the state saw this issue correctly and ended the University of Michigan's discriminatory policy.
For this reason I am supporting Representative Dave Agema for National Committeeman and I hope you will do the same.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Gratz
Gratz v. Bollinger
Michigan Civil Right Initiative (MCRI)
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Articles:
The Weekly Standard 9/4/06
"I'm opposed because I fear the unintended consequences," says state GOP chairman Saul Anuzis. "If [the MCRI] passes, we'll probably spend years and years and years in court defining what it means." What's more, Anuzis says, "most people would say, yes, there is some justification for saying race should be a consideration" in hiring and school admissions.
Post Election Press Release
"The voters have spoken and MCRI passed," Anuzis said. "Like U of M, I opposed the initiative. However, it passed by a large margin. The citizens of Michigan have spoken and the University of Michigan has no right to use taxpayer dollars to challenge the passing in court, simply because they do not like the outcome."
