Look back to see the future. No more “Apol standards.” Instead, in 2022 Michigan voters should expect to see a reprise of the old Austin-Kleiner and Hatcher-Kleiner Congressional and legislative redistricting plans of the 1960s and ’70s. All or part of what is known as Proposal 2, a constitutional amendment approved by Michigan voters last […]
MICHIGAN TALK NETWORK: The Political Insider #65 — Oakland Co. Political Fireworks, with Detroit News columnist Nolan Finley, Vicki Barnett (D-Farmington Hills) & Chuck Moss (R-Birmingham)
DOES ‘DARK MONEY’ APPLY TO ONLY ONE SIDE OF THE POLITICAL EQUATION?
Little question that the epithet “dark money” is a pejorative to describe “hidden” financial support, usually in large quantities, for political causes and/or candidates. But why is “dark money” almost always applied to conservative or pro-business or Republican entities? How do most outlets in the mainstream news media (MSM) and the political “reform” industry handle […]
MICHIGAN TALK NETWORK: The Political Insider #64 — Oakland Co. Post-Patterson Brouhaha/Interviews with state Rep. Julie Alexander (R-Hanover) & state Senator Roger Victory (R-Hudsonville)
MICHIGAN TALK NETWORK: The Political Insider #63 — Oakland Co. Executive Brouhaha, Interviews with David Forsmark & Shelley Goodman Taub
“BIBLE OF AMERICAN POLITICS” NOW ON SALE AT DISCOUNT
Just a quick note to let everyone know that copies of the Almanac of American Politics 2020 are now officially back from the printer! You can get a 10% discount on your order by ordering at https://www.thealmanacofamericanpolitics.com/ and using the discount code LOUISANDFRIENDS. THE BALLENGER REPORT has no skin in the game on this offer, just […]
PUBLIC COMMENT: BENSON SKIMPS ON DIVERSITY IN HER APPLICATION FORM FOR NEW REDISTRICTING COMMISSION
It appears the late conservative icon William F. Buckley is about to get validation, from an unexpected source, of one of his most famous “bon mots.” Buckley said he’d rather be governed by people picked at random from the Boston telephone book than by the Harvard University faculty. There is good reason to believe Michigan’s […]
WHITMER MIDDLE-OF-THE-PACK IN RANKINGS OF U.S. FRESHMEN GOVERNORS
Michigan’s rookie Democratic Governor, Gretchen Whitmer, is rated in the “surviving” category with seven other just-elected governors, according to Lou Jacobson, writing in GOVERNING magazine. Jacobson writes about Whitmer as well as the history of Michigan politics and government in the about-to-be-released 2020 edition of the Almanac of American Politics. The Almanac has long been […]
DETROIT NEWS: Patterson a Racist? Not Even Close, says Ballenger
Brooks Patterson, longtime Oakland County executive, dies at 80 Mike Martindale, The Detroit News Aug. 3, 2019 Lewis Brooks Patterson, a polarizing figure who dominated Oakland County politics and government in a career that spanned nearly half a century, died Saturday after battling pancreatic cancer for several months. The long-time Oakland County executive was 80. Patterson, in […]