Did a main street deplorable disrupt some Biddle Marsh big club backroom quid pro quo shenanigans?
Roughly three weeks out from a state convention, and ordinarily I’d be armpit-deep in some to-do list, but I’ve spent most of the past nine weeks considerably preoccupied. (If you really want to know why, then the obituary is here, and the funeral is here.) However, about four weeks ago, I had reason to have a rather lengthy and interesting conversation with one of the candidates for Michigan Republican State Committee Chair (the actual full title). I gotta tell you, it’s kinda nice to see that certain things really don’t change.
After the straight up disaster that was the November 2018 state election results (and subsequent blatant power grab), this contest to replace Ron Weiser should be about ideas and strategies to deliver the Great Lakes State into the republican column in the 2020 election cycle. Perhaps the candidates could discuss a postmortem of the 2018 campaign, what they believe went wrong, and maybe analyze the why or how. Perhaps the candidates could discuss specific changes they’d like to make to certain things, what they think could be done differently and perhaps better.
Or, you know, one of the candidates could just decide that playing dirty is the smart move.
When Gina Barr entered the chair race in early December, she did so because she saw a need for change in the party, and knew from her own experience that too many are afraid to actually be the necessary agents of change. Barr thinks that it would be a great idea to change the state party bylaws to sync up the standing committees with the convention-elected vice-chairs, and then make the vice-chairs the actual chairs of those committees . . . the way that they were designed to be. She’s also a fan of actually providing precinct delegates and poll challengers with substantive training, as well as actively recruiting people to serve as paid election inspectors. And – something that I think is long overdue – Gina also thinks that aggressive, consistent outreach directly onto the democrat plantation is critical to republican success going forward.
Barr is well aware that the party bosses have developed a bad habit of disenfranchising delegates, actively undermining candidates who refuse to knuckle under to the establishment, willingly surrendering core urban precincts, and happily turning a blind eye to known weaknesses in the state’s election systems and protocols. Because Gina’s platform and goals run directly counter to the preferred behavior of the professional political establishment, they would likely interpret her campaign as a threat to their interests, and there is no way that they won’t respond.
A couple of weeks ago, the Gina Barr for MRP Chair campaign sent out a letter, and published a video, discussing some disturbingly predictable behavior aimed at kicking Ms. Barr and Mr. Akouri off the convention ballot. For whatever reason, someone within the MIGOP professional political establishment is clearly willing to engage in some deep state swamp tactics to grease the skids for their chosen candidate. Leaking financial records to the press, attempting to strong-arm the Policy Committee, and seeking to harass the district chairs . . . why is it so damned important that someone have an unimpeded path to the state party chair?
When Laura Cox announced her candidacy for MRP Chair, back in mid-November, I think it’s a safe bet that many activists, delegates, and officials were experiencing a WTF moment. A key reason for the head scratching is that Mrs. Cox, in 2018, not only narrowly lost a state senate seat (the 7th District, which Patrick Colbeck had handily won twice in 2010 and in 2014), but did so to a novice whom Cox outspent roughly two-to-one. Not knowing Cox personally, I did some asking around; almost without exception, the feedback that I received, from people who do know Cox fairly well, characterized her as a clueless elitist. This raises the question of why the professional political establishment would select someone so glaringly unimpressive to oversee the efforts to restore Michigan to the republican column just under two years from now.
I’ll freely admit that I don’t have a definitive answer to that, but a modicum of actual research has produced a rather disturbing, though unsurprising, link.
Between Bridge Magazine and the Plymouth Voice, there’s been a bit of a recent hullabaloo over a pair of $10 million MEDC grants to a specific Washtenaw County township, clearly intended to directly benefit a specific project of a certain private real estate developer. Two weeks ago, a couple of stories ran, one focusing on the fact that the second of the grants was jammed through during the recent lame-duck session, and the other focusing on the reality that Michigan’s current open records laws don’t cover the legislature, and therefore we cannot definitively know who actually sponsored the grant per se. Curiouser, according to an article published last week, the legislative sponsor of the Salem Township Infrastructure Grant isn’t identified, which omission was attention-getting precisely because it’s unusual. Given that the locals wanted nothing to do with this, and have even fought the Schostak Brothers in court to prevent the project, why would this have been done at all . . . cui bono?
So, let’s connect a couple of dots, shall we?
In his two articles, Don Howard points out that the 2017 grant money was earmarked under House Bill 4323 of 2017 (now Public Act 107 of 2017), and that the 2019 grant money was earmarked under Senate Bill 601 of 2017 (now Public Act 618 of 2018). Both bills were introduced as standard appropriations templates, and were enacted as multi-page . . . distributions . . . with no change in the original sponsorship. Like it or not, that means that the original sponsors (Rep. Laura Cox and Sen. David Hildenbrand) own these bills, and in fact, current Plymouth Township Supervisor, Kurt Heise, was quoted as knowing that Cox had helped the Schostak Brothers get at least the initial grant. But, when asked about her role, Cox would neither confirm nor deny Heise’s statement, responding that, “It would be preposterous to believe that one person such as myself, a state rep, would have the ability to put a $10 million grant in the budget.”
Maybe so, maybe no, but I think that anyone who’s actually familiar with the legislative process would have a problem taking Cox’s quote at face value, in no small part because Cox makes a point of advertising herself as experienced and connected. Also, during the 2017-2018 legislative cycle, she wasn’t any random state representative; she was the House Appropriations Chair, and I understand that such a position comes with a considerable amount of clout . . . and more than a few connections.
To be very clear, what I’m about to say is strictly conjecture, applying Occam’s Razor to what I already know to be so.
Knowing how the professional political establishment operates, would it be too much of a stretch that Mrs. Cox did, in fact, directly or indirectly earmark $20 million worth of MEDC grant money evenly divided into two appropriations bills? Would it be too much of a stretch that she saw to it that the insertion of those earmarks was timed to avoid any scrutiny whatsoever? Assuming that the first two are true, would it then be too much of a stretch that the earmarking was done with the implicit or explicit quid pro quo that Cox would succeed Ron Weiser as the MRP State Chair?
As I said, this is strictly speculation, an educated guess based on some verifiable facts (check out the links throughout this article), and an understanding of how things work inside the Biddle Marsh. However, given the aggressiveness of the response to Ms. Barr’s challenge, I’ll wager a four-course dinner at my favorite steakhouse that I’m not off by much, if at all. But if someone has a different explanation, then I’m all ears.
Like I said, it’s oddly refreshing to notice that certain things don’t change.
(21)Nuh Uh.
(1)
https://youtu.be/wH-PYhLRJKY
I am requesting your permission officially and legally as the writer / publisher of this article to republish?
Permission granted . . . with the standard caveat that you accurately cite the source.
I agree with your analysis and will vote for Barr. She alone hopes to clean up the swamp that is the elitists of both parties.
Gina showed a lot of courage standing up against the immense pressure to provide a choice for delegates and upend the shameful coronation of Laura Cox. I hope that many who are being strong-armed by the establishment moneymasters of the MIGOP to endorse Cox do the right thing and vote Gina Barr when submitting their ballots at convention later in the month.
First off,allow me to offer my condolences.
Second, regarding the question in the title: Why not both?
It really isn't some huge surprise that these "conservatives" have a major problem with standing up for & upholding their own principles.
Like what Ms. Barr has pointed about, there are Conservatives in urban areas (and not just here in Michigan). I can vouch for that first-hand in my travels at work. The problem here is that the Republican Party does such an abysmal job of seeking out and engaging them. Remember him?
As near as I can tell, he's just a professional b.s. artist. He couldn't even hold his gig at 910 of all places!
And then you have the fiasco from last Summer.
No, not that fiasco. The other one where they played deaf, dumb & stupid with the Grassroots and gave us eight more years of a RINO in a robe, over a Conservative like Justice Wilder.
Anyone want to take bets on them pulling the same trick when Viviano's term comes up in '25?
Here's your 30 pieces of silver!
I wish you guys the best of luck dealing with the sycophants working to perpetuate the kakistocracy up in Lansing at the end of the month..
But myself, along with several people who actually went and were sorely disappointed at the blatant games last August, have better things to do with our time.
Regarding the condolences: Thank you. I assume that this starts to get easier at some point.
Regarding clueless vs corrupt: The difference is one of intent and involvement. The clueless are those that Vladimir Ulyanov referred to as "useful idiots" precisely because they have no clue that they're actually advancing a cause destructive to their own better future. The corrupt are those who know exactly what they're doing, and don't appear to care as long as their own self-interest is satisfied.
I've said this elsewhere, and I'll say it here: The reality is that what the Mitten Republic most needs is a professionally-organized grassroots insurgency network, if we're ever to effectively counter the cronyists in the professional political establishment. However, the details of that concept are not something that I'm going to discuss in the open.
Ah, yes, the white male goyim within the MIGOP is still seeking out their grrlpower magic silver bullet.
Predictable....
Pat Colbeck won the 7th district by 4% in 2014, which I wouldn't call handily. Republicans collapsed throughout the district in 2018, losing two state house seats contained in it. Cox did better than most (definitely better than Schuette), but not good enough to save the seat. I'm confident that she was planning on winning the seat, not running for MIGOP chair, so at least the first of the appropriations that you cite would not have been a quid pro quo for the MIGOP chair race.
As a matter of factual correction, in 2014, Patrick Colbeck beat Dian Slavens by (52,567 - 47,110) ÷ 99,677 × 100 ≈ 5.47% . . . which isn't the blowout of 2010 (Colbeck over Kathleen Law by (55,284 - 43,173) ÷ 105,833 × 100 ≈ 11.44%), but is outside what's normally considered a "narrow win" (Δρ < 5.00%). To compare, Laura Cox lost to Dayna Polehanki by (69,434 - 65,001) ÷ 137,327 ×100 ≈ 3.23% . . . a relative squeaker. While the first $10,000,000 appropriation may not have been made with this specific payoff in mind, I will gladly wager that it was done with some sort of reciprocation promised. This particular kickback, if that's in fact what's actually happening, would simply be Mrs. Cox calling in the marker.
From my read of its history, these appropriation bills got kicked around quite a bit between chambers and sat around for a while after Snyder line-itemed a considerable portion of it, only to be taken up again full-bore again on Dec 21st.
Because as well all know Detroit PAL, St. Jude of Iraq, paddle riverboat funding along with infrastructure developments costs for vacant undeveloped land are all important financial responsibilities of the state.Good thing that the guv got his precious environmental bills passed during that lame-duck process.
Also, plenty of time for Cox to consider future "career" aspirations after a defeat in the previous month's election.
Methinks, the protest against Laura Cox, is extraordinarily misdirected.
https://www.bridgemi.com/public-sector/arlan-meekhof-takes-credit-steering-grants-help-ex-gop-chairs-firm
If Arlan isn't lining Ron Boji's pockets with overpaying for a Senate building, he's lining (((Schostaks))).
Either way, the majority of both party's passed it and, Slick Rick signed it.
https://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=777279
https://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=777364
Ps. Kurt Heise is the last imbecile I'd ever listen to: https://youtu.be/xz_amFWRrZ8
Kev, welcome back. Hope to see you at the convention with your daughter. You are absolutely right on. The November election was painful in that Trump did not do an 11th hour rally. I hear his help wasn't wanted. Weiser got Scheutte Trump's endorsement in January, 2017, locking in the BS. As a result, we lost our favorite son, John James for US Senate--JUGE, unforgivable mistake. Ms. Barr is refreshing and its time we rid ourselves of the stale monarchy of the Coxes and other never-Trumpers.
Favorite son? You blew your cover "Sue". Mystery-meat family was the last and only option for senate. He carried that. Broads like you create that same peril. You losers got Gretchen elected, don't blame (((Ron))) for Schuette's loss. You're there too!