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“YOU HAVE SAT TOO LONG HERE FOR ANY GOOD YOU HAVE BEEN DOING. DEPART, I SAY, AND LET US HAVE DONE WITH YOU. IN THE NAME OF GOD, GO.” — Oliver Cromwell to England’s Rump Parliament, 1653 — Member of Parliament Leo Amery, repeating Cromwell’s words to British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlin, 1940 — MP […]

Question 1): Polls show most Americans don’t want to see a Joe Biden vs. Donald Trump re-match for President of the United State in 2024, but right now it looks like that very well may happen. Could there be an alternative scenario, like a plausible third party candidate? It’s happened before — Teddy Roosevelt, George […]

When it comes to Michigan political campaign financing, violations of the law seem to be unevenly applied by Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. If you’re a Republican, or connected to conservative or GOP-related campaigns, you’re likely to get the hammer for any infraction. If you’re a Democrat or a ‘progressive’ campaign to get on the […]

Question 1): Gov. Gretchen Whitmer used a mini-State of the State speech last Wednesday a few blocks from the state capitol building to call on the Michigan Legislature to repeal “politically motivated” and “medically unnecessary” laws that limit access to abortion. The second-term Democrat wants to “repeal waiting periods and other … hurdles that make […]

Michigan Legislative Maps May Violate Voting Rights Act, Says Three-Judge Panel The Ballenger Report told you so two months ago. Now it’s happened. Back in June, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision that called into question whether the current maps drawn up for the state Senate and House of Representatives by the Michigan Independent […]

 Question 1): 1): Eight candidates to be the Republican nominee for president of the United States in the 2024 election debated last Wednesday (Aug. 23) in Milwaukee. It was telecast on FOX. As everyone reading this knows, the “elephant not in the room” was former President Donald Trump. Instead, Trump engaged in a bit of […]

The original song has long since ended, but the melody lingers on. Translating that into Michigan politics, the poem’s rhyme scheme in 1994 ran “Shared Power/Majority/Shared Power,” but in 2023 it reads either “Majority/Shared Power/Majority” or maybe just “Solid Majority,” period. Here’s what we’re talking about: Two Democratic state Representatives — Lori Stone of Warren […]

     If former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Brighton) decides to run for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat next year and he gets through what could be a contentious GOP primary, what happens next? He would be likely to find himself matched up with U.S. Rep. Elissa SLOTKIN (D-Holly) in an expensive general election contest with […]

Question 1): The website Ballotpedia has tracked 136 recall efforts across the nation against 131 state lawmakers from 1913 to 2022. During that time, 39 recalls made the ballot and 22 legislators in various states were successfully recalled.[6] Michigan led the way with 30 state legislative recall efforts from 1913 to 2022. Of those 30 […]

It’s hard to ‘fix’ a law that a hefty majority of Michiganders like, even when it needs some ‘fixing.’ Two prime examples are the 1976 “Throwaway Bottle Law” and the 2018 “Voters Not Politicians” (VNP) constitutional amendment creating an independent commission to redistrict the state’s Congressional and legislative seats every 10 years. The former passed […]