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From the chair
“Chaos”
It’s the ongoing story of Republicans running to succeed Debbie Stabenow in the United States Senate. Their story got even more muddled this week with the announcement by ultra-right-wing former Congressman Justin Amash that he was joining the circular firing squad. Michigan Republicans’ brutal infighting is getting nastier by the day. Their caustic showdown will leave them with a badly damaged nominee who is out of touch with Michigan families. Amash has an extensive record of leaving Michiganders behind: supporting dangerous abortion bans, vowing to gut health care access, and backing the 2017 tax giveaway to the wealthy and large corporations.
In the meantime, the other Senate wannabes focused on slamming each other:
- Sandy Pensler and Mike Rogers engaged in website wars, with each redirecting Michiganders visiting mikerogersforsenate.com and electsandypensler.com to attacks on their opponent’s record.
- Roger Stone, a Trump ally, took aim at Rogers for being a “blatant fraud” who “voters need to be leery of.”
- Stone slammed Rogers for “leaving his home state of Michigan in the dust,” making nearly $2 million in the past two years alone, living in a $1.5 million Cape Coral mansion, and only moving back to Michigan “a few months before announcing his U.S. Senate run.”
- Donald Trump continued to complicate Republicans’ bid to win the Senate seat. In response to a question if he’d pardon Trump, Rogers said it’s in the “country’s best interest not to go through that nonsense.” He went on to say that Trump’s New York civil fraud case showed “two tiers of justice.”
- Pensler bashed “career politicians” Rogers and Meijer, saying that most of the country’s problems were due to them “being unwilling to take on hard decisions because they’re afraid of losing their jobs.”
Grab your popcorn and pull up a chair. When millionaires Pensler, Rogers and Meijer start spending their vast personal funds you can count on the political bloodbath moving to your television.
All of this stands in stark contrast to the long history of our guest on this week’s podcast. Debbie Stabenow has always run on a forward-thinking platform of progress for Michigan, and the voters have endorsed that approach to campaigns time after time. Senator Stabenow symbolizes the very best in public service. Beginning as an Ingham County Commissioner, she has served the people of Michigan for nearly 50 years: state representative, state senator, Congresswoman and, for the last 23 years as our United States Senator.
In the News
Michigan Politics
- Mike Rogers tries to distance Senate campaign from past attempts to ban IVF – The Gander
- Amash makes GOP bid for U.S. Senate in Michigan, takes shots at rival – Detroit News
- Why Justin Amash could give the GOP a headache in Michigan’s Senate race – Dailykos.com
- 3 hours after he’s fired, <Ottawa County Administrator> John Gibbs claims it’s a contract breach and free speech violation – mlive.com
Michigan Policy
- A federal abortion ban could undo Michigan’s constitutional measure. How realistic is that? – mlive.com
- `Michigan Dems aim to ban guns at voting locations – Bridge Michigan
- New Legislation Aims to Stop Armed Intimidation of Voters – Brennan Center for Justice
- Michigan state House map proposal slated for court review – Detroit Free Press
- Michigan’s 4-year high school graduation rate rises 2nd year in a row – Bridge Michigan
- $900M solar component factory to add 1,100 clean energy jobs in Michigan – Bridge Michigan
- Michigan boosts funding to attract new EV-related factories – Bridge Michigan
- Michigan COVID deaths pass 40,000 – Bridge MI
Trump/GOP Outrages
- Trump Misleads About Crime and Public Safety, Again – Brennan Center for Justice
- The truth about illegal immigration and crime – The Washington Post
- Nikki Haley calls for all Trump legal cases to be ‘dealt with’ before November – NBC News
- Supreme Court Hands Trump a Win and Delays His Election Subversion Prosecution – Mother Jones
- VIDEO – ‘Republicans in robes’: Supreme Court critics see politics behind action on Trump immunity case – MSNBC
- VIDEO – ‘Historic proof’: If the Supreme Court wanted to move quickly it could – Chris Hayes/MSNBC
- Trump says he’s long worked ‘hand in hand’ with Black people. Let’s review. – The Washington Post
- Opinion | Trump’s pitch to Black voters is cringeworthy at best – Eugene Robinson/The Washington Post
- 125 Republicans have backed antiabortion bill without IVF exception – The Washington Post
- Opinion | Fear the Economic Impact of Donald Trump 2.0 – Steven Rattner/The New York Times
- Indiana man Andrew Nickles pleads guilty to threats over Michigan 2020 election – The Washington Post
National Policy and Politics
- Trump’s ‘Dominance’ of the GOP Primary Is an Illusion – The Daily Beast
- The Biden campaign is launching a nationwide effort to win the women’s vote, Jill Biden will lead it – AP News
- Hunter Biden gives House Republicans the rebuttal they didn’t want – The Washington Post
- Voters Support the U.S. Calling for Permanent Ceasefire in Gaza and Conditioning Military Aid to Israel – Data for Progress
- IRS says millionaires haven’t filed tax returns in thousands of cases – The Washington Post
- Eric Holder: The NDRC’s 10 Year Plan – National Democratic Redistricting Committee
- Amid Florida’s Measles Outbreak, Surgeon General Goes Against Medical Guidance – The New York Times