There are a couple of stories making the rounds, that taken individually, might not pique everyone’s interest for very long, but taken collectively should be sounding alarm bells at the highest levels of what passes for leadership in the Michigan Republican Party.
Especially considering who was the actual cause behind it.
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(14)Nuh Uh.
(0)I’ve got to admit, I was more than a little underwhelmed at last night’s speech.
A quick check of what is available on the speech easily corroborates the MSM spin-machine rushing into action to provide cover for their own side.
Obviously video from C-Span nor The White House itself was readily available.
Nothing really new was actually said, and that’s the problem (more on that in a bit).
Pres. Trump reiterated his position, albeit in an un-Trump-like fashion (very measured and scripted).
Team d, who looked more like two p.o.’d parents ready to scold their teenager for coming home after curfew, were just dripping with emotion of how NOT having the American Government performing non-essential functions (which just begs the question of why we are even paying for them in the first place), can be quickly and easily remedied if only Pres. Trump would acquiesce.
Sorry, scooter! Pres. Trump already did that multiple times already via Beavis & Butt-Head (aka Lyin’ Ryan & Squish McConnell).
IMHO, Pres. Trump went about it the wrong way. He used words, when imagery would’ve been far more effective.
Below is a very small sampling of what I mean (just wait for Chuck’s comment in the clip below):
Actions from the “friendly & peaceful migrants” from just last week.
Actions from the “friendly & peaceful migrants” from just last month.
(2)Nuh Uh.(0)Regional 'payoffs' still ignore proper role of government.
Cronyism is now everywhere.
I have written at the beginning of Snyder’s terms that he was the guy who essentially brought the neu-cronyism to Michigan. He invented the current form, and served as its first overlord. Money spent in ways that used to invite constitutional challenges, now routinely passes through the sieve of Lansing into favored projects and could be expected to always get the blessing of the governor.
I doubt the new governor will do anything but enhance it’s reach as she attempts to cajole lawmakers from the ‘other side’ to embrace her sure-to-be bizarre mechanizations that raise the cost of government further. Sadly, it is a Republican legislature that continues to make this kind of thing happen:
$10M In Sports Funding Coming: Is Indoor Traverse City Sports Complex Next?
By Beth Milligan | Dec. 29, 2018
$10 million in state funding is headed to northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula to create a regional sports commission – an initiative that dovetails with an effort by Traverse City Tourism to explore opening a year-round indoor sports complex in Traverse City.
Governor Rick Snyder signed off Friday on two supplemental spending bills totaling $1.3 billion for numerous projects throughout the state, including road upgrades, contamination clean-up, and education initiatives. The bills – approved earlier this month by state lawmakers – also include funding for community projects throughout Michigan, including $10 million to establish the Northern Michigan Regional Tourism and Sports Fund and to create a Great Lakes Sports Commission.
…
… Traverse City Tourism hired a consulting firm earlier this year to conduct a feasibility study on whether there is a need for such a facility in the area, how much it would cost to construct, and if it would be financially sustainable. The firm’s results are expected in January. But Traverse City Tourism President/CEO Trevor Tkach says preliminary findings “prove there is enough demand to run a cash-positive business if the facility gets built.”
Maybe “cash positive” means profit? Maybe, maybe not.
(8)Nuh Uh.(0)Lame duck session is one of the most fascinating and illuminating times within our government. It is a period when all pretenses of our democracy are jettisoned and a mad cash grab takes place as term-limited legislators secure employment and other benefits in smoke-filled backrooms with lobbyists. It rips off the facade and exposes government for the cruel, soulless machine that it truly is.
Few watched the late-night session that went past 3AM last week when the worst bills were being rammed down our throats. I tuned in to watch the after-hours con job the next day on the Michigan Legislature website as I was sleeping at the time. The fact that the proceedings took place in the dead of night begs the following questions: What are the optics of using the midnight hour to push the lousiest bills forward? What does someone who is less politically inclined think of Republicans after the media reports on these shenanigans? And is it any wonder why we took it on the chin during last month’s mid-term elections?
(17)Nuh Uh.(0)Rick Snyder was never 'with us' anyhow.
His people got folks dead in Flint, and his instincts are off when faced down with the next lost decade.
Skubick asks what he’ll do with the GOP legislature’s attempt at reigning in the oncoming freight train of bureaucratic nightmares. He says “just wait.” From Fox2:
“In the new year Democrat Jocelyn Benson will be the new Secretary of State, Democrat Dana Nessel will be attorney general. Democrats have cried foul and want the governor to veto those bills.
The governor steadfastly refused to say what he will do even though he was pressed to do so.
“I will carefully evaluate and make a decision in the best interest for the people of Michigan,” Snyder said.
Tim Skubick: “Is it fair to say you would not have introduced this legislation if given the choice?”
“Tim. I’m not to get into all that speculation because people will try to read into what that means I’m going to do,” Snyder said.
The governor confesses he has personal feelings on this alleged power grab but he would not budge on that either.
“I have personal feelings on many issues but as governor I keep those feelings to myself,” Snyder said. “Because I am responsible to not act on my personal feelings but to represent the people of Michigan.”
Of course he is.
The I–Told–You–So is so damned thick around here.
And it (and at least a couple dozen other stories chronicling Slick Rick’s reign of stupid) ain’t wrong.
(10)Nuh Uh.(0)The Michigan GOP Establishment achieves its objective…
The Michigan GOP Establishment achieves its objective…
2010 was a benchmark year for conservatives…”Flip the House” was the Tea Party battle cry, and Nancy Pelosi handed the House gavel to John Boehner…The ensuing MIGOP convention saw Dave Agema elected to the RNC over establishment Saul Anuzis, and the establishment held off a serious challenge to the party leadership by defeating the conservative challengers for the State Chair by 71 votes…The “Old Guard” realized they had a significant problem, and set about to to correct it almost immediately…They infiltrated Tea party groups around the state, neutralizing conservative efforts by gaining control of county and regional Tea Party groups, and rendering them mostly harmless…They packed the State and District Committees with a many establishment types as possible, and began changing the rules, or ignoring the established rules to secure their advantage…Voice votes at conventions were used against conservatives in place of ballot votes the establishment knew they would lose…
Conservatives that managed to get elected to offices within county GOP parties became targets also…Our precinct delegates that nearly stole the State convention were also on the establishment hit lists…The CD1 Chairmanship was rigged to elect Jesse Osmer over Adrian Pelousse by a single vote, the establishment pulled out all the stops in that instance…Party and District rules were ignored, slates were printed on the pencils used to mark ballots that were illegally collected and tallied…Elected officials that owed their office to the conservative movement betrayed the very people that put them there…The list goes on, and for most of you reading this, you know these are the facts…because you were there…Even local politics became tainted with the establishment purge…After helping several candidates for the Kalkaska Commission win their seats, and turn a 5-2 Democrat advantage into a 4-3 GOP Commission, I (and others) was literally blackballed from my own County party…Funny how now and again I still get asked for help…
In 2010 we gave them the US House, we gave them Snyder and both houses in the State legislature, in 2016 we gave them the Senate and Donald Trump…In return they gave us higher taxes and a utility monopoly in Michigan, the perpetuation of ObamaCare, and now recreational pot, bureaucratic redistricting, and no fault absentee voting…Soon to come are the National Popular Vote, and the destruction of the Constitution via a Convention of States…The more Republicans we elect, the more they act like Democrats…The result was predictable, and secured November 6th…With the conservative purge nearly complete, they gave us ballot proposals that only served to attract Democrat votes, and a candidate for Governor guaranteed to lose, not to mention giving the US House BACK to Nancy Pelosi…
Yes, the establishment won…Funny, I don’t see anyone celebrating…
God help us in 2020…
(10)Nuh Uh.(0)
We have all been licking our wounds for this past week, but the time has come for serious introspection about where we are going to take the Michigan GOP in the years to come. We cannot afford another electoral disaster in 2020 because that could easily surrender the Presidency back to the radical left whether it’s Hillary, Pocahontas, Biden, Kamala or whoever else taking the reigns.
While we were fortunate to keep the Michigan House and Senate, last week’s election was especially catastrophic because of the passage of the proposals. In particular, Proposals 2 and 3 will allow Democratic control over the entirety of our state government. By surrendering control over redistricting to an “independent” commission (please note that Bernie Sanders and the ACLU are technically “independents”) and making it easier for felons and morons to cast votes, the writing is on the wall for what Michigan will become in the upcoming decades. We all hope that the Republicans have lawyers working overtime on challenges to these amendments, otherwise Michigan will pretty much inevitably become California at some point.
Let’s not beat around the bush. Last week’s nightmare happened because of the top of the ticket. Bill Schuette felt he was entitled to this position, and it showed on the campaign trail. Because Schuette did such a lousy job during his run for Governor, we have literal Soros activists serving as Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of State now. We have an LGBT Attorney General who will use her power to punish Christian conservatives and obstruct the President’s agenda. We may ultimately lose the state for good, and the blood is on Schuette’s hands for all of this.
(19)Nuh Uh.(3)First Fallout From The Midterm Elections
The automobile assembly and automotive parts supplier sectors have been key to Michigan’s recovery from the Great Recession, and the increased tax revenues collected by Michigan’s many units of government. These sectors have been riding a wave of expansion – and hiring – in Michigan since President Trump announced his intentions to impose higher tariffs on European vehicles and parts on May 23rd.
Although these tariffs were proposed under national security statutes, Trump clearly intended to retaliate against the 10% tariff the EU imposes on all American-built vehicles and parts. The U.S. currently imposes 2.5% maximum tariffs on European cars, trucks, and parts. so European made vehicles and parts enjoy a 7.5% advantage over American vehicles and parts in direct trade.
It now appears that the Trump Administration is going to delay or abandon these proposed tariffs. A Bloomberg article posted last night reports on a meeting held at the White House Tuesday which put off automotive tariffs for the foreseeable future. A draft report on U.S. – European trade was sent back to the Commerce Department for reconsideration, a polite way of killing it. That report must be issued before any tariffs can take effect.
The November 6th election outcome just killed that.
(11)Nuh Uh.(0)So in the midst of all of the post-election analysis, we’ve heard the “experts” from other outlets drone on about why the 2018 Election went the way it did.
We’ve heard them tell us that this is the vaunted “Blue Wave” sweeping across America. Despite the rash of ballots “miraculously” showing up in places like Florida (and apparently now here) along with Arizona, democrats still only control the House.
We’ve been told that this is the year of the woman. Yet, I’m waiting to hear why superior candidates like Lang and Epstein didn’t benefit from this?
Finally, the media (or infotainment complex…take your pick), dredges up their favorite rationale for last Tuesday Night’s results: It’s all President Trump’s fault.
If you get past their self-created echo chamber, you might have noticed the marked lack of coverage of the rise in America’s economy that has taken place since the ‘16 election (far higher than any democrat or their sycophants claimed was possible) , unemployment numbers falling ACROSS THE BOARD, and a newfound respect for America around the world since a certain Chicago street hustler was no longer in a position to embarrass our Republic by bowing down to foreign leaders at every opportunity and generally showing no backbone with the same by conceding at every opportunity.
I’m going to bring up a topic that the so-called conservative policy wonks running the multitude of losing campaigns are loath to ask themselves.
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(11)Nuh Uh.(2)More Michigan Media Lies; Not Even Quality Fake News
Ingrid Jacques tells us that the Michigan GOP is “running scared” in an opinion posted yesterday at The Detroit News. “Republicans fear that the end of traditional district drawing by lawmakers is their death knell.” Michigan’s Republican Party leadership shares our dismal view of the baleful effect of Proposal 2 on our future.
Ms. Jacques goes on to quote Secretary of State elect Democrat Jocelyn Benson, who will be in charge of the Proposal 2 redistricting commission:
“I have a deep background in redistricting law and in particular citizen-led redistricting,” Benson told me in an interview last month. “I do believe that it is the most impactful way that you can remove the conflict of interest that currently exists in districting, where people are drawing their own districts and preserving their own power.”
Ms. Jacques concludes her opinion, however, with soothing ‘independent’ reports from Wayne State Law Professor Robert A. Sedler saying there’s no doubt this will benefit Democrats, but that’s just because the contorted districts Republicans have drawn will no longer exist; and Eric W. Lupher of the Citizens Research Council imagining the GOP will keep control of at least one legislative chamber in the coming decade.
Republicans have nothing to fear. It is another tin foil hat conspiracy beloved of Trump supporters.
Feeling some reassurance? You shouldn’t.
(18)Nuh Uh.(1)
