(Posted May 31) It’s apparent Michigan Democrats will continue to control the state’s four major education boards elected on a statewide basis indefinitely — unless Republicans change the system while they have a chance. How likely is that to happen? Not very. Few realize that the Legislature and governor have the power under the Constitution […]
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NEW FRIDAY MORNING PODCAST AVAILABLE
Mark Pischea Discusses Conservatives Fighting for Renewable Energy, Traveling to Peru for Health Care LANSING—The Friday Morning Podcast, a podcast hosted on Bill Ballenger’s website, www.theballengerreport.com and produced by Dennis Denno, today uploaded a podcast with Mark Pischea, a Partner at the Sterling Corporation. In this episode Pischea talks about his efforts to get […]
No Statewide Ballot Proposals for Michigan Voters This Year?
(Posted May 20) It looks like that will be the case. It’s never been easy for petitioners to get the money and “people” power to collect sufficient signatures to force a statewide vote on any issue, and it just got harder. Majority Republicans in the state House and Senate on Wednesday passed a bill (SB […]
Term Limits: Michigan Has Always Led the Way
(Posted May 18) President Barack Obama’s approval ratings have been edging upward for months. The national electorate is facing a general election to replace him involving two major party nominees with the highest negative ratings in decades. Wouldn’t it be better for the country if we just kept what we have a while longer? Couldn’t […]
EMILY’s List Fuels Stabenow, Granholm Epic Wins
(Posted May 13) Michigan’s premier campaign finance litigator knows that, with the turn of the 21st Century, it was a case of win some, lose more in his battles with the pioneering money-bundler, EMILY’s List. Bob LaBrant, then the Michigan Chamber of Commerce’s senior vice president for political affairs, saw his favored candidate for re-election […]
Stabenow for Governor — in 1994
(Posted May 11, 2016) Some political junkies have posited during the past dozen years that U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow ought to chuck it all in Washington, D.C., and come back to run for governor of Michigan. Stabenow’s response has been pretty much, “Been there, done that,” and she’s happy where she is. In fact, she […]
I Remember Mama: The Birth of Emily’s List
(Posted May 7) With Mother’s Day approaching, Bob LaBrant, Michigan’s pre-eminent campaign finance litigator, got to thinking — what nascent fund-raising atrocity posed his greatest threat? Then he read a review of Ellen Malcolm’s new book, and it all came back to him. Here’s what LaBrant remembers from the time he felt he was in […]
New Michigan Ban on Straight Ticket Voting
(Posted May 7) What will be the practical effect of banning straight ticket voting, enacted late last year by Michigan’s Republican-controlled legislature and signed into law by GOP Gov. Rick Snyder? Will it hurt Democrats, as most seem to believe, or will it be a wash? NORTH CAROLINA POLL A recent poll in North Carolina, […]
LATEST FRIDAY MORNING PODCAST POSTED
Dr. Matt Grossman, Director of MSU’S IPPSR featured LANSING—The Friday Morning Podcast, a fresh new podcast hosted on Bill Ballenger’s new website, www.theballengerreport.com and produced by Dennis Denno, today uploaded a podcast with Dr. Matt Grossman, the Director of the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research (IPPSR) at Michigan State University (MSU). In […]
Sleeping Bear Dunes: Something New
(Posted May 4) Having set a new all-time record for Michigan park visitations in 2015, could things actually get better for the state’s iconic Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore? Well, maybe the naming of a new superintendent with impeccable credentials, brand-new from the West Coast. He’s Scott Tucker, who for the past the three years […]