Michigan Politics

Michigan Political considerations.

Political Self Perpetuation

Making The Democratic Process In Michigan Just A Little Bit Less Democratic With A 21st Century Poll Tax

Representatives Steve Marino, Tommy Brann, Julie Calley, Kimberly LaSata, and Jim Lilly have just introduced six bills, HB 4745 to HB 4750, to increase filing fees for various down ballot political offices across the State of Michigan by 50% to 300%.  These are the fees prospective candidates can pay to get on the ballot in lieu of filing nominating petitions.

As you might expect, the highest (300%) filing fee increase proposed applies to candidates for State Representative (and Senator).

The kicker here? The filing fee is also no longer refunded to the runner up.  So running for political office in Michigan just became more expensive exclusive.

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Not Any Time Soon

Will common sense ever return to our state?

I believe the power of stupid people in large numbers is reaching a climax.

Michigan has its share of both (people and numbers) in all corners of the state.  In Traverse City, it might be the new cause-du-jour ‘sanctuary city’ effort, gender fluid/creative/neutral bathrooms‘ or our political class simply not seeing the forest for the trees.

Funny thing about that last.  One of the commissioners cannot accept a sale of county property for an amount less than it is worth. But as things always seem to bear out, political classic and commissioner Cheryl Gore Follette was for itbefore she was against it.

“There is frustration, but as I’m learning, it’s government,” says Clous. “Government can’t make a decision and stay with a decision and live with it.” He says he’s at “a loss for words” over Gore Follette’s “making an issue out of selling property for less than market value, or making the assumption that we are” after the board accepted a below-market bid for 160 acres of Whitewater Township property last week.

Yes, ‘cognitive dissonance’ is a real thing.

But the hinterlands is not alone in such net-less mental acrobatics. On the opposite corner of the mitten, we have even more willful ignorance.  MI Dems were introducing bills to make the world safe for ISIS terrorists last week, the feds arrested a naturalized resident of Dearbornistan for:

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Introducing the Michigan Patriot Action Center — Up-to-Date Info and Action Items Regarding Important Bills in Lansing


I have something that I am happy to unveil to you today: The Michigan Patriot Action Center. A team of conservative patriots in Oakland County have been working on it for several months, and we are very proud of what we have come up with!

This legislative center will help you stay up-to-date on bills that directly impact your freedom and your pocketbook. It is regularly updated with new legislative action updates every week. So you always know the status of each bill, which committee the bill is in, when a relevant committee hearing will take place, basic talking points about the legislation, and receive instructions on how to take productive action to move the bill forward.

All of this information is available on the internet but it is often scattered and difficult to find. Sometimes the legislation itself is difficult to decipher because it was written by lobbyists in a deliberately vague manner, and activists might not know how to describe it. That is why we analyze each bill, and provide a basic script for you to use during outreach. We are centralize all of the pertinent information to make productive action much easier.

I do bill tracking around the country for the Tenth Amendment Center, and sometimes only a few dozen phone calls can move a bill in the right direction so if we utilize this bill center to its full potential, we can all make a real difference. Additionally, we are always working to improve the project. Right now, it is hosted from Google docs which is very easy to use. We are always looking to expand so if you have any comments, please email us. We are also organizing a group of individuals in each state rep district and state sen district to increase the power of this center.

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Michigan House Passes Constitutional Carry

On Wednesday, the Michigan state house passed a package of bills to implement constitutional carry in Michigan.  Constitutional carry means that the government does not impose any permits or fees before citizens can exercise their constitutional right to carry firearms. Around five years ago, support for constitutional carry moved from the fringe to a mainstream Republican position.  Twelve states now have constitutional carry, and more are considering it.

The four bills received 59 to 61 yes votes, and 47 to 49 no votes.  Three democrats voted for all four bills.  They are

  • John Chirkun – district 22 (Roseville)
  • Phil Phelps – district 49 (Flint suburbs)
  • Scott Dianda – district 110 (western UP) – running for state senate (district 38) in 2018

Seven Republicans voted against some or all of the bills.  They are

  • Kathy Crawford (against 3 of 4) – district 38 (Novi) – termed out in 2020
  • Michael McCready (against all 4) – district 40 (Bloomfield) – termed out in 2018 – may run for senate (district 12)
  • Martin Howrylak  (against 2 of 4) – district 41 (Troy) – termed out in 2018
  • David Maturen (against all 4) – district 63 (E Kalamazoo) – termed out in 2020
  • Chris Afendoulis (against all 4) – district 73 (GR Township) – termed out in 2020 – may run for senate (district 29)
  • Rob Verhuelen (against all 4) – district 74 (Walker) – termed out in 2018.  Verhuelen ran against Tom Leonard for Speaker last year.
  • Dave Pagel (against all 4) – district 78 (S Berrien) – termed out in 2018

The bills now go to the state senate, where it is not certain whether they will be taken up.  It is also unclear whether Governor Snyder, who has a mixed record on gun rights, would sign them.  Nonetheless, Speaker Tom Leonard and most Republicans in the state house deserve credit for getting them this far.

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The Forest For The Trees

Grand Traverse County Commissioners don't even understand why the county is broke.

We all like nice things.

Sometimes we have to choose which nice things we want however.  As a community, the pie is only big enough for so many parks, so many police officers, and some of the other necessary ‘amenities’ to make it all happen.  One thing it requires is choices and priorities.

Attending a board of commissioners meeting tonight, one participant noted that our Northern Michigan county had the worst pension funding situation in the state.  While probably true, the rest of the commissioners in their own ways acknowledged it, and then moved on to prove in no uncertain terms why it is unlikely to change.

In an effort to raise money to cover the ballooning pension liabilities, Grand Traverse County Commissioners voted 6-1 to sell a county property for nearly $100K less than the highest bid for the property.   They were convinced by a number of hikers, bikers, and cross country skiers, that letting the property in question into ‘private’ hands would make our slice of heaven intolerable.

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Adverse City

Traverse City Adhoc Committee faces proper and righteous indignation over direction toward sanctuary status.

The left, in its unbridled pursuit of one world lunacy, is fully embedded in Traverse City, Michigan.

Considering a sanctuary city policy that ties the hands of local law enforcement, an adhoc committee of the Traverse City Human Rights Commission (the most concentrated batch of lefties and progressive lunatics in the north) held a public meeting at the Grand Traverse County building yesterday.  The meeting was met with (perhaps unexpectedly intense) opposition to the idea of a sanctuary policy from residents in, and out of Traverse City proper.

Outside the county building a couple hundred protesters gathered prior to the meeting to let the HRC know where they stand on the issue.  Many had apparently never been moved to protest till this point, and others were regular guardians of good government, and our constitution.

By the time it began, the meeting had to be moved to the larger County chambers venue because of the sheer number of people who showed.  The ratio of folks opposing the ‘sanctuary’ nonsense was about 10:1 to those who demonstrated support.

Interestingly, there were those who work with the migrant community as well who were in opposition to the sanctuary policy, because they feared increased ICE activity in the region as a result.  Even those who carried the signs protesting the protesters of this may have had some second thoughts after the commenting was finished.

Misunderstanding the difference between migrants and illegal aliens is apparently too easy.

The HRC will make a recommendation to the Traverse City Commission, which will then vote on whether to advocate lawlessness, and neuter it’s police force fully.

Stay tuned for updates.

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Calley’s Next Big Announcement!

What will the next over-hyped roll out of critical information be???

So Brian Calley has not yet come out and said if he was running for Governor ..US Senate ..Muffin man.

He used the build up, the excitement, the hype! ..To announce a legislative effort.  The May 30 announcement at the Detroit Crony Club’s Mackinac Leadership conference brought us news that The conservative boy wonder wants to spearhead efforts for a part time legislature.

Mackinac Island — Lt. Gov. Brian Calley is spearheading a petition drive and potential 2018 ballot proposal to make the Michigan legislature part-time and cut legislator pay, the Portland Republican announced Tuesday.”

Ballot proposal hmm?

While the idea of a part time legislature is a great idea, it is not entirely original, it does not set him apart from ‘the pack’ as Schuette beat him to the punch, and the timing is hilarious.  Political opportunism on the back of good policy is a part of Calley’s past.  He used RTW promises to get a hand picked supreme court nominee (who lost) and now after a decade of service in Lansing, and NOW it’s apparently time to ‘pull the trigger’ on this ‘necessary‘ reform.

Classic.

The announcement however, left open the speculation of whether Calley would be pursuing higher office.  His website hints at yet another big news event, telling us to come back June 1st.  Obviously, Calley has a string of announcements planned all the way to the GOP leadership conference.  Keeping us in suspense will keep us engaged with (presumably) his next campaign bid!

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So, what’s the catch?

Is it just me, or is anyone else waiting for the other shoe to drop?

LG Calley made one of his two big announcements this week.

The second is still anyone’s guess. Will he be running run for governor? Will he run for US Senate?

We’ll know that one on Thursday.

But this one is a real head scratcher.

{I’ve got more after the fold}

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Why So Happy?

Is joy expressed in reflections appropriate?

I Saw a post on Facebook yesterday that suggested wishing folks a “Happy Memorial day” was inappropriate.

I felt it was unfortunate to see, and it made me go through the whole self reflection and critique thing of how I might offer greetings or wishes from these pages.  Yesterday in particular of course, when I did in-fact wish those reading a “Happy Memorial day” towards the end of the post.

I can only conclude that I am indeed happy.  I am happy that we have a nation worth fighting for, that is better in oh-so-many ways than all others, that inspires courage, even in the face of the ultimate consequence.

Why wouldn’t we be happy throughout our celebration of those who would give their all to defend our way of life?  We can certainly still appreciate dedication, sacrifice, valor, and heroism.

While we still pay respect solemnly, perhaps we can also give thanks to our Maker that we have protectors and advocates who stand between us and the plentiful misery so many others have endured across this earth for false prophets, flawed ideologies, and lust for power.

Tell me again why we shouldn’t be happy?

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The Good, the Bad, & the Unattractive.

Bill Schuette begins the issues ramp up for 2018.

A partial ‘wish’ list by Bill Schuette in a recent editorial is a decent start to his gubernatorial bid.

Schuette, in preparation to take on a half dozen or more GOP contenders is capably using his AG pulpit to advance certain ideals that will probably be embraced by conservatives and GOP activists across Michigan.  Schuette, already enjoying a lead built on 30 or so years of campaigning for governor leaves little to question on 4(3?) key issues.  In today’s editorial on the Detroit News page:

First: Financial disclosure

Michigan is one of only three states that does not require disclosure of personal financial information by elected state officials. This common sense reform would provide new information to help prevent conflicts of interest in government decision-making.

We already require financial transparency from federal officials, so it is not a stretch to include state elected officials, from the governor’s office to the state legislature. I have both sponsored financial disclosure bills as a state legislator and complied with federal disclosure requirements while serving in the U.S. House of Representatives. It is not that difficult.

Personally, I don’t care how much you are worth.

But there are tells in the way your investments are made.  Add to this the cronyist environment that takes taxpayer money and pipes it through political process toward certain ‘investments,’ and a sickening reality becomes clear.

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