Tag: Ron Weiser

In the side twitter bar the question

"What? After paying for #AFP/#RTW #Tentgate 2012 Dick DeVos' Greg McNeilly now anti-#MITeaParty?"

appears.

Having been a part of the RTW/FTW effort, I must say I was quite pleased with the impetus placed on FTW in Dec 2012 by Dick DeVos and Ron Weiser, without which, it might never have happened.  But it isn't a free pass for the abuses laid out by operatives of the GOP, and in particular the MiGOP club which doubled down on the national slaparound the tea folk have been getting from media and complicit (Vichy) Republicans.

December 2012 WAS important though. Snyder at the time might have even overcome a bit of the reaction to the Prop 2 debacle by Michigan's labor unions, but a reminder that anything he had done good was outweighed by cronyism, unilateral international transactions, and the promise of tax increases that moved him.  Truthfully, if not for Weiser and DeVos RTW might never have come to be.  It never was a part of Rick Snyder's agenda, and never really will be heart-fought from ongoing union boss opposition.

Remember that.

Something those two saw that the governor could care less about, was the strength of the Tea party movement within the GOP construct.  There was a very real possibility that the governor, sans a significant policy delivery to the base, would face a primary challenge (perhaps by the sitting AG) thus creating a divide in the 'acceptable' GOP hierarchy.  The AG, already on record as opposing the Obamacare Exchanges, Medicaid Expansion, and showing significant support among the Tea types worried the power brokers.

And those "wackos" were brought under control, right?

Passed 74 to 33 in the House on October 3, 2013, to mandate that vehicle owners must replace their license plate after 10 years, even if it is still legible. Under current law the state imposes a $5 extra charge to replace a plate.

Two days ago, it was a video of State Senator Howard Walker cutting loose on a critic.  Today we have from a reliable fly-on-the-wall, an interesting bit of perspective. Overheard last night at the "Thank you Chuck Yob" event:

"I got the wackos under control."

Boy I sure hope you do Ron!

Oh.. uhh .. Wait just a goldarn minute..  Who were you talking about?

The failure of proposal 2 in November's election drove home the fact that Michigan is ready to become the 24th Right To work state.  The millions in big labor money spent to even further violate the civil rights of Michigan workers was not successful, and brought the issue out into a broader theater of debate.  The Freedom to Work organization (disclosure: I am a member) was joined by political heavyweights Dick Devos and Ron Weiser who are now calling for action on this important piece of Michigan's future.

"MIRS News reports former Michigan Republican Party chairman Ron Weiser and 2006 GOP gubernatorial nominee Dick DeVos are putting the pressure on in the Senate, where Majority Leader Randy Richardville doesn't want to take it up."

And labor leadership is freaking out. Kyle Olson, writes:

"Now the union is wringing its hands over a rumored Right to Work proposal that may be introduced and debated in the state legislature during the lame duck session.

On Tuesday, the union pressed the panic button and issued a screed to its members via email:

"With just a few weeks left in the Legislative session, right-wing politicians in Lansing are looking to exact political revenge against union members by ramming through dangerous bills that will harm school employees, middle-class families and children throughout Michigan.

"Their reckless agenda includes: ...

 ... "These extremist legislators must be stopped immediately. The Working Michigan coalition is holding events across our state tonight and tomorrow night to help mobilize union members and supporters in the effort to fight back."

It's hard to feel sorry for this group of tin-horned gangsters. They were in a good position and they got too greedy.

But we best not consider this a done deal until the guv's pen is to paper.

Your legislator needs your strength. Call them. praise them for their support of this basic civil right. Write them. Encourage them to act quickly and decisively. Call your friends and encourage them to do the same.  Watch the video below the fold to get a better understanding of why.

Update [2012-11-30 10:51:19 by JGillman]: As a bonus, here are a couple who REALLY want you to call them and offer support of Freedom to work. (H/T Jack Hoogendyk)

Among the choices delegates will be making are for the Republican noninations for trustee positions sought at MSU, and Regent at U of M.  In these two races, I have decided to support solid constitutionalists, and fighters for common sense.  Getting the respective fiscal houses in order, concern over the cost of tuition increases caused by social engineering and subsidizing out of  country students (for diversity) will be addressed by these folks.  The constitution as a part of the curriculum also taken a little more seriously than it has been for too many years.

Last Sunday, on the Dump Saul Anuzis facebook page, I wrote:

"While all of this various and sundry political talk is very fascinating, let's please keep our primary objective in mind . . . that of dumping Saul Anuzis as Michigan's RNC National Committeeman. We do need to start recruiting a potential challenger, and develop a delegate strategy (using the 2010 pool) to accumulate the votes necessary to dump him."

The conversation threads, both on the page and in the group, were starting to get a tad afield of the original purpose, which is to focus the efforts to replace Saulius Anuzis as Michigan's Republican National Committeeman.  Best to stay focused here, as we only have about seven weeks left to work with.  Grab a pot of coffee, and let's go below the fold.

With the blessing of the current MIGOP chair, Ron Weiser, and the new Governor-elect, Rick Snyder, Bobby Schostak is poised to become our next GOP chair.

All across the state, new members have been elected to positions within the Republican Party, who came to the party through frustration with the system and the tea party movement.  They are all being massaged to support Schostak because, he, after all, raised so much money for the GOP in the last election cycle, and it is believed that is what helped put the GOP over the top.

This attitude rankles tea partiers and campaigners for conservatism, especially since, according to the Detroit News, Schostak has given personal contributions "to Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former Vice President Al Gore and Gov. Jennifer Granholm."

The MIGOP has some work to do.  The convention in late January will most likely be as cantankerous as the last one, with the tea party factions all looking for a conservative to lead the party forward, and they will not go quietly into the night.

What I see happening is that the moderates in the party, willing to accept anything to continue what they perceive as what they did right, pushing for one of their own.

So, the GOP in Michigan has a fight on their hands, will we sit by and believe that money is the reason the GOP won?  Or is it because of the tea party that came in full force to elect conservatives, and where they failed, they will hold those that won accountable?  "Principle Over Party," was the mantra, perhaps that will be changed to "Money or Soul?"

Chairman Weiser was kind enough to speak exclusively with RightMichigan.com to answer a few questions about his approach to the coming cycle and where the Party's focus will be in the coming year.  (I'll give you a hint... it starts with the number "19" and ends with "th state Senate District.")

-Aside-

Should note, too, that this is the Chairman's FIRST official statewide interview... and he granted it to the Right Roots, not the same old traditional gate-keepers.  That's a reflection of the weight each and every one of you carry right now... the strength of Michigan's conservative blogging community!  So kudos to the whole Right Roots team.