Question: Will Michigan’s share of the national COVID-19 relief money make it easier or harder for the Michigan Legislature and the administration of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to reach agreements? Answer: Hey, those people in the state capital couldn’t blow this one, could they? Could it be possible that continued wrangling between Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and […]
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RON DeSANTIS ON THE PANDEMIC YEAR: DON’T TRUST THE ELITES
The Wall Street Journal Influential people in public health, government and the media failed to rise to the moment Spring-break crowds on the beach in Ft. Lauderdale last Sunday. Photo: MediaPunch/Associated Press By Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis The Wall Street Journal March 18, 2021 The Covid-19 pandemic represented a test of elites in the […]
JAMES MADISON’S FIVE LESSONS FOR OVERCOMING POLARIZATION
The 1776 Series By Lynn Uzzell Issue: American Civics This essay is part of RealClearPublicAffairs’s 1776 Series, which explains the major themes that define the American mind. There has never been a time when our nation wasn’t divided by partisanship. Yet some eras are more divisive than others, and few of us would deny that we’re […]
DETROIT NEWS: Cuomo-type COVID-19 Nursing Home Scandal in Michigan? Hard to Know
Nessel says she consulted New York AG before declining nursing home investigation Beth LeBlanc The Detroit News March 17, 2021 Attorney General Dana Nessel told lawmakers she consulted the New York attorney general — who is investigating New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s nursing home and data policies — before declining a similar review of nursing home policies […]
THINK TANK RATES MICHIGAN’S GARY PETERS MOST EFFECTIVE U.S. SENATOR
Peters Rated The #1 Most Effective Senator in U.S. Senate The Non-Partisan Center for Effective Lawmaking Recognizes Peters for His #1 Ranking in the 116th Congress (2019-2020), Cites Senator’s “Rare Distinction Despite Being in Minority Party” and the “Secret to His Success was in Coalition-Building.” Peters’s office announced March 15 that Peters Got More Standalone […]
SLATE DOESN’T LIKE THESE REPUBLICAN FROSH CONGRESSPERSONS
Politics The Republican Freshman Class Is a Tribute to Our Nation’s Notorious Local Bozos A guide to the GOP’s ascendant congressional wing of bullshitters, cranks, zealots, and personal-life disasters. By Ben Mathis-Lilley THE SLATEST online March 11, 2021 From upper left, clockwise: Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert, North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn, Georgia Rep. Marjorie […]
The Atlantic: The Republican Party Isn’t Going Anywhere
The Republican Party Isn’t Going Anywhere In the contemporary American political system, the parties are always changing—but they don’t simply disappear. David A. Graham, Staff writer at The Atlantic The Atlantic March 10,2021 Paul Spella / The Atlantic After the 2002 midterm elections, in which Republicans defied history and added to their House […]
MICHIGAN SENATE SHOULD REJECT ELIZABETH HERTEL AS DHHS DIRECTOR, BUT WILL THEY?
If majority Republicans want to be taken seriously, they should, but they probably won’t. Question: Why should they, and, if they don’t, why not? Answer: They should because she is the face of Whitmer’s flawed lockdown policies of the past year that haven’t proven to work, have been contradictory and arbitrary, and have caused substantial […]
FREE PRESS: Redistricting Commission Hires ‘Outside’ Firm to Draw New Maps
‘Picasso’ of gerrymandering selected to draw new districts Clara Hendrickson Detroit Free Press March 5, 2021 Michigan’s first-ever, independent redistricting commission has made a rather interesting selection for the political consulting firm to draw the state’s new congressional and legislative districts — one led by a man once satirically referred to as the Picasso of gerrymandering. On […]
EPIC-MRA POLL: WHITMER’S NUMBERS ERODE
by Paul Egan DETROIT FREE PRESS March 2, 2021 LANSING – Gov. Gretchen Whitmer remains a popular leader, but her support has slipped over the last several months in what a pollster believes is a reflection of public frustration over the coronavirus pandemic, nearing its one-year anniversary in Michigan. In a new poll from EPIC-MRA […]