I felt the need to say something for the 20 people who still visit this blog.

What’s worse: corruption… or corruption that gets swept under the rug because everyone in Lansing was too busy playing footsie with “economic development dollars”?

Let’s rewind. There’s a $20 million grant. It went to Fay Beydoun, a former MEDC board member and—oh yeah—a fundraiser and donor for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Now, was this money competitively awarded?  No.

Was it slipped into the 2022 budget as a legislative earmark with no open bidding process?  Yes.

And who controlled both chambers of the Legislature in 2022?  Republicans. Of course.

You remember those guys, right? Always talking about “fiscal responsibility” until there’s a chance to fund some opaque “accelerator” no one’s ever heard of.

A Mystery Wrapped in a Paycheck

So what happened to that $20 million?

Well, Beydoun’s nonprofit—Global Link International—wasn’t even launched yet. But they managed to pay her a $550,000 salary, take $11,000 first-class flights, and drop $4,500 on a coffee machine.

Is that your idea of “economic development”? Or is this what happens when you give politicians a blank check and they hand it to friends?

“As the Governor Requested”

It’s all in the emails. Beydoun herself said the grant was approved “as the governor requested.” She also boasted that Whitmer signed a letter to the Qatari government on her behalf.

Let’s pause right there: why is Michigan’s governor lobbying Qatar?

Why is your money being spent to prop up someone with international fundraising goals and zero accountability?

And most of all: why was this even in the budget?

But Wait—Didn’t Democrats Run the Show?

Actually, no. Not yet.

This particular gem was passed in 2022, when Republicans still had the reins in both the House and Senate.

Let that sink in: the party of “limited government” approved a multimillion-dollar slush fund that bypassed competitive vetting, aided a close ally of the governor, and was rubber-stamped under the radar.

Of course they did.

So now when Whitmer says she’s “very troubled” by the whole thing and claims to know nothing of how it got approved—guess what?

She might just get away with it.

After all, it was a Republican-controlled Legislature that gave her the blank check.  – Go figure.

Don’t Worry—The MEDC Had It All Under Control

Or not.

It’s not like ANY administration or legislature has ever held the MEDC to account.  And in that spirit .. MEDC CEO Quentin Messer says he didn’t even know about the grant until after it passed.

Imagine being the head of Michigan’s main economic development agency and finding out about a $20 million program with your department’s name on it after the ink is dry.

Should that be possible?

Should a single individual—governor or not—be able to direct massive funding with zero agency oversight and no public accountability?

And what does it say that no one in the Legislature noticed—or cared—until the AG raided the MEDC?

Whitmer’s Get-Out-of-Jail-Free Card?

Let’s be blunt.

If this had been a GOP governor giving money to a big donor through backdoor budget gimmicks, the media would be in meltdown mode. You’d have daily pressers, impeachment talks, and full-time MSNBC specials.

But since this happened under a Republican-led Legislature, the optics get muddier. And Whitmer? She gets to play “concerned governor” while her own political allies pull the strings and the usual suspects nod along.

Final Thought

So here’s the real question:
Was this corruption?
Or just the natural result of Lansing’s bipartisan addiction to spending your money in secret?

Because when both parties team up to grease the wheels of insider deals and political favors—what chance does accountability really have?

And more to the point:

How many $20 million checks are still floating out there… just waiting for the next coffee machine to arrive?