Republicans

The Devil is DEFINITELY in the details.

Multiple news outlets have reported that the Michigan Supreme Court in a 4-3 decision upheld the democratic party “independent/grassroots” Voters Not Politicians petition initiative to create a non-partisan commission to redraw every voting district in Michigan.

In writing for the majority Justices Viviano, McCormack, Bernstein & Clement said;

“Here, that approach leads us to conclude that a voter-initiated amendment under Const 1963, art 12, § 2 is permissible if it does not significantly alter or abolish the form or structure of our government, making it tantamount to creating a new constitution.”

Yeah that’s sounds great on paper, but exactly how did they intend on accomplishing this nigh impossible feat?

{Well, I’ll go into that more after the fold}

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A Major Mistake.

Contributions to NRCC and NRSC forsake donor intent.

Received this today.

WASHINGTON — President Donald J. Trump and the Republican National Committee (RNC) have announced the transfer of $8 million to the NRSC and the NRCC in support of their midterm election efforts. The Trump Campaign will max out to nearly 100 candidates in its first round of contributions. The RNC will transfer $4 million to the NRSC and $4 million to the NRCC.

Not good.

Truth be told, I am still not a fan of my own state’s Republican political apparatus as they attempt to manipulate primary elections. Just take a look at who gets the stage when the president or Vice President comes to town.  But I am happy to contribute through my local dues and contributions to my local party, and sometimes nationally.

The RNC has not always been great in its finances historically, but has gotten a few of my shekels as contribution from time to time.  And the most recent iteration of it under chair McDaniel has been as an excellent

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Idiotorial Departments

Team Little Nerd grabs onto an iron life vest.

Brian Calley has picked up his second endorsement from a ‘major newspaper outlet’

Both the Free Press and the Detroit News have endorsed Mr. Mom (Brian Calley) for the gubernatorial position while purposefully ignoring surging candidate (Patrick Colbeck) altogether.

Readers should be reminded of whom these two ‘news’ outlets chose for the presidential contests in 2016.

The Detroit Free Press proposed that Felonious Von PantSuit was the ‘Mature choice.‘  And the Detroit News Clown show chose perennial loser Gary Johnson.  Obviously, these are well reasoned editorial geniuses.

There can be no doubt that such brilliance in electoral choice will be repeated, again and again.

 

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In Case You Missed It

Antrim Debate video with Colbeck and Calley at the ACRP event at Shanty Creek Resort

Hines flaked out, and Bill Schuette likely felt the fundraiser nearby was a more productive use of his time.

Two candidates decided not to show for a major county party event. The Antrim county party, while not overly large has active and influential players and participants.  Ignoring this base might not be a good idea.

The content was good however. Typical 1 minute to 90 second responses were changed to three minute responses.  Allowing substantive answers to things that matter, and answer times for bit more of a philosophical element as well.

Worth the watch if you care about who might be Michigan’s next governor.

Or to help demonstrate that there can be more underneath the hood than soundbite soliloquies.

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You do know that whole “The Wall”- thing could’ve stopped all of this (or at the very least significantly reduced it).

So in the latest distraction in our 24-hour News Cycle World, the latest “outrage” is coming from a surprising source?

And just whom that might be, you may ask yourself?

{Click below to learn the answer}

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Michigan Criminal Justice Reform: Too Much, Too Soon?

Recidivism Is Worse Than We Have Been Told

Michigan has been at the forefront of ‘criminal justice reform’, which is newspeak for prison population reduction. In just a few years, Michigan has driven the MDoC prison population down 18%.  Democrats love criminal justice reform because it gets one of their major constituencies back on the streets, and voting. Republicans love criminal justice reform because it cuts prison spending, which has become a bottomless pit with all the various mandates. Both of these views are decidedly near term.
The question for non criminal Michigan residents is longer term: will crime rates rise as more prisoners spend less time incarcerated and more time in your neighborhood?

A study just released by the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics undermines the case for criminal justice reforms intended to reduce prison populations. This study contradicts previous studies which showed much lower rates of recidivism, probably because it better tracks released prisoners who have moved to other states and also looks at a longer time frame.

This BJS study followed 67,966 state prisoners released in 2005, in 30 states, over the 9 year period following their release. This was a statistically representative sample (16.8%) of the 404,638 prisoners released that year in those 30 states. The BJS study included 2,603 Michigan individuals; sampled from the 12,177 releases from MDoC custody during 2005.

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House Speaker Tom Leonard’s Support of ‘Special Assessment’ Tax Hike Shows Leadership Unbefitting of an Attorney General

Recently, I received an email showing all of the “conservative leaders” throughout the state of Michigan who support House Speaker Tom Leonard for Attorney General. This list of leaders assured me that Leonard’s leadership record in the House was impeccible and that he is a man who “truly understands our issues and stands up for our values.”

Then I saw that he voted for House Bill 5325 (HB5325), legislation that hikes property taxes on homeowners for the purposes of crony giveaways to well-connected private interests. This scam is called a “special assessment” and a similar scheme may be on a local ballot in your municipality in the near future. This fraud is now picking up steam because of Leonard’s actions.

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Disgracing The Uniform

An unnecessary urinating contest risks two primary frontrunners canceling each other out.

It’s a given to the point of predictability, in contested republican primaries, that eventually someone will defensively mis-invoke Reagan’s Eleventh Commandment. Naturally, this will require someone to explain that the intent of “thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow republican” is a prohibition against personal attacks, but that calling someone out on an accurate understanding of their actual record is always fair game. That said, I can honestly say that I never expected to have to explain one of the Ten Commandments in the context of a political campaign, nor that I would have to do so as a remonstration to a political attack that is not only blatantly personal, but also patently false (to the point of being willingly, deliberately, and knowingly deceptive).

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Macomb County Gubernatorial Debate – June 7, 2018

 

The Macomb County Republican Assembly will be hosting the first gubernatorial debate to be held in Macomb County in 2018.

Sen. Pat Colbeck, Dr. Jim Hines and LG Brian Calley are all scheduled to attend.

Citing yet another “scheduling conflict” AG Bill Schuette will not be attending this event.

The event will take place at Macomb Community College University Center on June 7th. Doors will open at 6:30 pm and the debate begins at 7:00pm.

The debate will be moderated by Charlie Langton along with Kathy Hoekstra and Nolan Finley.

Tickets for the event will be free, but there is a limit of two and must be reserved here first before attending. There will be no tickets available at the door.

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