Tag: Cox (page 3)

Primary races are already beginning to shape up and take form across the state.

Few will be as closely watched as the race for Attorney General and we'll be doing our best to bring the candidates directly to you!

Former Congressman and Court of Appeals Judge Bill Schuette has been traveling the state and making public appearances and will officially announce his bid for the office shortly.

This weekend I had a chance to catch up with Judge Schuette and discuss the Attorney General's race and his candidacy.

(Note: Firefox users may need to install a plug-in to view the MotionBox embed. Of course, if you'd rather, there's always the direct approach... click HERE.)

Political campaigns are chock full of committees.  You've got the "kitchen cabinet," you've got the traditional "finance committee" that raises your cash, you've got advisory panels on this and on that.  They're a great way of bringing together disparate personalities and experiences to ensure the formation of sound policy and, more than that, they can often offer some pretty interesting insights into a candidate's appeal across a variety of spectrums.

With a business and finance committee like this, getting an individual to lend his or her good name to your campaign is invaluable.  

Cox scored a couple of coups and his committee is flat out impressive.  I've posted the full list below the break but a few additional notes that pop on first read:

*James Barrett is one of the most respected business voices in the state.  In many ways he is the first person many campaigns would approach and attempt to recruit.  He is a big "get" in the GOP field.

*Republican National Committeeman Keith Butler has apparently joined the Cox team.  His opposite number, Holly Hughes, is yet to publicly lend her name to any campaign.  

*Michael Kojaian was a big-time Bush guy in 2004.  David Trott was a big-time McCain guy in 2008.  Two different portions of the Party coming together in this way is worth noting.

*Peter Karmanos is a wildly successful businessman and philanthropist who is widely respected by both Republicans and Democrats... and has worked with both.  

*Former Rep. Glenn Steil is now a successful west Michigan businessman and works with 2002 gubernatorial candidate Dick Posthumus here in the Grand Rapids area.  

Those last two surprised me the most and are, in their own ways, pretty big deals.  At least as far as any member of a Business and Finance Advisory Committee can be a big deal.  

Full list below the break...

That U of M Victory was exactly what this State needed.  Maybe the best game of the day and we're all able to sing Hail to the Victors after it was over.  Even on the banks of the Red Cedar.  OK, maybe not there, but everywhere else.

And while we're talking about things the state really needed (THAT, boys and girls, is what we call a smoooooth transition.  No.  Sorry.  I can't teach you... you've either got it or you haven't), the Ivory Tower this morning published an op-ed by Attorney General Mike Cox calling on state government to publish online her full budget.  That's a move that's about as common sense as running the Michigan offense through Manny Harris.  

Recently, the emergency financial manager for Detroit Public Schools, Robert Bobb, announced that he will put all of the Detroit Public Schools' spending online for everyone to see. Moreover, Bobb promises to accomplish this task within one year. Given all the other challenges that Bobb faces, such as the district's large deficit and dwindling student body, his willingness to embrace transparency in spending is nothing short of amazing...

But why should transparency be limited to Detroit Public Schools and not the State of Michigan? How is it that a struggling school system is able to implement transparency while the governor cannot implement it at the state level? And how can DPS get this done in less than 12 months while Michigan has been unable to make any progress on this for years?

Because, Mr. Attorney General, big-government liberals are always better served when they're able to operate in the dark.  They don't call transparency bills "sunshine" legislation for no reason.

I'm reminded of the classic Rankin Bass animated version of The Hobbit.  Check out the 3 minute mark in this clip (because residents of the lower peninsula know everything is better with trolls):

For his part, Cox is walking the talk.  The AG's office was the first in the state to publish its entire budget online, including all contract information.  The House Republican caucus is following suit and every member but Representative Rocca (shame, and eternal shame on him, by the way!) has pledged to do the same.  

The House Democrats and the Governor should pledge to do the same with their office and the entire state budget.  And then they should do it.

As long as they obfuscate and avoid and keep voters in the dark its fair to ask... what are they hiding?

Ballenger is back this weekend with the first round of publicly released opinion polling on the field of prospective candidates for Governor in 2010 (h/t to the BlogProf).  Darn it all if Republicans Mike Cox, Terri Lynn Land, and L. Brooks Patterson (a man who hasn't even announced his intentions to run and has about six percent name recognition outside the Metro Detroit area) don't rack up convincing wins against likely Democratic nominee John Cherry.  Seven, five and four points respectively.

Maybe running on Jennifer Granholm's record isn't such a good idea after all?

Only time will tell, and there's still a loooot of that.  Remember, there was a time early in the 2006 cycle when Dick DeVos held a double-digit polling lead on Jennifer Granholm and we all know how that turned out.

But, as I became accustomed to saying about otherwise worthless numbers during that particular run, they might not mean anything but they're better than a kick in the head.

So with visions of conservative victories dancing in our heads, figured we'd have a little multi-media Sunday.  Below you'll find the State Republican convention speeches delivered by the Secretary of State and the Attorney General only about a month ago.

Check `em out... in order of who currently beats Cherry by more... (lest anyone ever accuse me of playing favorites).

In 2010 just about everything is up for grabs in Michigan.  We've got the Governor's race, the AG, the Secretary of State, the entire State Senate, the whole House, every member of Congress including Mark "I swear I won't run for Congress" Schauer and Yooooooooour (former) Lottery Commissioner Gary Peters... Supreme Court seats... the list goes on and on.

So what's the buzz around the convention thus far?  

That's the tricky part.  Let me be frank... if I wanted to play the part of Tim Skubick I could give you a dozen and a half early campaign announcements and rumors.  And not just today or this weekend but for the past months.

But I'm not Skubick.  I'm not a reporter.  I'm a conservative who blogs and I count a lot of the men and women bouncing around this convention floor as friends... if I hear something specifically off the record or can't track down the candidate him or herself (or a top staffer) to verify it then I'm going to shut my yap.

I know.  I'm lame.  

But that's not to say there aren't some rumors that I'm able to substantiate.  So here's the latest and greatest from MRP Convention Day 1:

In the 19th District Special Election its Mike Nofs or bust.  The man has locked up support in and around the convention and was getting his name dropped by activists from across the state.  This is going to be a national race and expected to see an infusion of millions of Dem dollars so watching the Party rally around a candidate with broad bipartisan cross-over appeal is exciting.  Mike Simpson and Marty Griffin, look out.

More below...

Both the Michigan Republican Party and the Michigan Democrats are holding their winter conventions this weekend and on the GOP side, the campaigns for Governor, Secretary of State and Attorney General unofficially begin.

Not that there isn't one major difference.  Over on the RIGHT side of things, convention delegates... thousands of them... will select the Party's candidates for AG and SoS (the gubernatorial nominee s selected by both parties via primary).  Over on the LEFT its up to the UAW.  No.  Hyperbole aside.  Seriously.  

It appears the Dems have already selected their AG nominee.  Despite her connection to a massive Bureau of Elections investigation into serious campaign finance irregularities stemming from the 2006 election, state Senator Gretchen Whitmer all but has that spot sewed up.

John Cherry is the man with all of the Big Labor backing in the race to follow Jennifer Granholm at the state Capitol.  Barring a huge electoral shocker, that just leaves holes in two places.  MDP still needs a nominee for Secretary of State and he or she simply must be black.  Not Hispanic.  Not Asian.  Not Jewish or Indian or Arab.  Black.  Because quotas are cool, apparently.

No matter how you cut that cake, though, there isn't much excitement left in the selection process for Democratic activists.  Quite simply, they have no input.  

QUITE the contrary over at the Michigan Republican Party.  This weekend, aside from the technical work of officially selecting Ambassador Ron Weiser to be the next Party Chairman, picking various vice chairs and other Party positions, the activists and volunteers and normal, average working moms and dads from across the state will have a chance to get a good long look at more than a couple of handfuls worth of candidates.

Read on...

Approved today, Senate Bill 93, sponsored by Senator Alan Sanborn prevents mandatory ergonomics standards in the work place that would severly harm the viability of Michigan job providers.  SB 93 prohibits the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration from establishing mandatory ergonomic rules and standards.  

The legislation was needed because, well, the Granholm-Cherry administration is a big fan of following in California's footsteps on this issue.  The Sunshine State is the only one in the union with these sorts of onerous "standards" and the cost to job makers is expected to reach $500 million or more.

"Michigan's economy remains the worst in the nation, and if we're serious about recovery, we need to enact this bill," said Sanborn, R-Richmond Township. "Despite the lack of evidence that these rules are necessary, the administration has spent more than six years crafting mandatory standards. It's just plain bad policy, but to foist this on us during a recession borders on negligence."

"Just the specter of joining California in implementing mandatory ergonomics rules could affect job-provider decisions to locate, expand--or even to survive--here in Michigan,"

And before the bleeding hearts start belly-aching about carpal tunnel syndrome... Michigan's repetitive stress injury rate decreased by nearly 40 percent since 1998 without mandated ergonomic standards--better than the nationwide drop of 32 percent during that time.

We're not talking about a choice between healthier work places or more dangerous work places.  We're talking about work places (period) or no work places (period).

Props to the Senate for doing the right thing.  Again.  And the clock is now officially ticking on the state House.

And speaking of the House... the Republican caucus apparently isn't as interested in wasting the taxpayers' time as Andy Dillon is.  Minority Leader Kevin Elsenheimer, Paul Opsommer, Kim Meltzer and Tom McMillin joined Attorney General Mike Cox today in calling on the Granholm-Cherry administration to provide a healthy dose of desperately needed transparency to their wild spending.

Read on...