Question 1): The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Republican gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley last Thursday on four misdemeanor charges, hours before the first high-profile hearing by a U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. Federal authorities in court records said Kelley climbed onto portions of the U.S. Capitol, encouraged and gestured to other participants and removed a covering from a temporary structure outside the Capitol. His charges include knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building; disorderly and disruptive conduct; knowingly engaging in any act of physical violence against person or property in a restricted building or grounds; and willfully injuring or committing depredation against property of the U.S. Kelley was released Thursday on a personal recognizance bond. The charges carry a maximum punishment of up to a year in federal prison or a fine of up to $100,000 on each charge. So, does this incident help or hurt Kelley in his quest to prevail in the reduced field of five GOP candidates for governor?
Answer 1): Michigan Democrats hope they can get a ‘reverse Fieger’ result out of the Aug. 2 GOP primary. That would be as in Geoffrey Fieger, the well-known lawyer who was the Democratic nominee for Governor in 1998 against incumbent Republican Gov. John Engler. After pulling off a huge upset in the Michigan Democratic primary that year, Fieger predictably proved to be disastrous as a candidate and was crushed by Engler, whose landslide victory helped the GOP recapture control of the state House of Representatives. Republicans have retained that majority for 20 of the past 24 years. Flash forward — the FBI, U.S. House Democrats led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and the news media appear to be in league to ensure that a Fieger-like scenario happens again, this time with the GOP as victims. To dispassionate, objective observers (are there any left?), the optics of the Kelley arrest were not good — a tong of FBI agents, with a panting press in tow, swarming Kelley’s Allendale home to arrest him in front of his family on four misdemeanor (!!) charges more than 17 months after the events of 1/6/21, on the same day the Congressional hearings began. Can we spell ‘The Fix is In?’ It’s hard to imagine anything that could catapult Kelley’s heretofore woebegone candidacy into the spotlight better than this conflagration of events. Kelley exulted in his sudden fame, dubbing himself a “political prisoner.” Political commentators rushed to predict that Kelley’s elevated status as a ‘martyr” for the pro-Donald Trump base of the Republican Party means that he may now be the front runner for the Republican nomination against the four opponents he has left after five others were knocked off the ballot because of their fraudulent petitions of candidacy. Could this unfolding saga actually play out like 1998? It’s not beyond the realm of possibility. Real estate agent Kelley starts with a great Michigan political surname, for obvious reasons, although he’s not related to any of the famous Kelleys or Kellys who have preceded him by repeatedly winning political office. He’s good-looking, articulate, and if he can get a sudden infusion of campaign cash which up until this time he’s lacked, who knows what may result? All the above-named actors will be trying to make sure the proper script is followed. Gretchen Whitmer must be praying it will be. Stay tuned.
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Question 2): As MIRS newsletter asked last week, do Republicans have one overriding issue they can employ in the Michigan gubernatorial race the way Gov. Whitmer used “Fix The Damn Roads” in 2018?
Answer 2): Maybe “Fix the Damn Roads” ought to be recycled by the Republicans. After all, the roads haven’t been fixed, and despite what Gov. Whitmer is claiming, they are nowhere near on their way to being fixed as quickly and effectively as she promised, mainly because of her own incompetence as governor in getting the cooperation from the Legislature that she needed to get the job done properly. Regardless of whether he or she can come up with a catchy theme that fits on a bumper sticker, whoever the Republican nominee turns out to be ought to hammer away at how Whitmer invariably seems to make a bad situation worse, whether it’s the state’s infrastructure or Line 5 or the Flint or Benton Harbor Water Crises or the budget or the general economy. She didn’t have to lock down small businesses and destroy lives in 2020 and ’21 to protect us from Covid. She and her supporters continue to gaslight the news media and the electorate that she was dealt a “bad hand” and that her approach to the pandemic “saved lives.” In fact, there is evidence that she actually COST lives, and she certainly ruined people economically. Any candidate who doesn’t hold her accountable for that will be guilty of political malpractice.
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Question 3):. In the face of rising inflation, Democrats want to send out $500 relief checks to Michigan households, while Republicans argue that cutting taxes would be better. Which side of this disagreement is most likely to prevail with the voters?
Answer 3): Both sides could and should provide both proposals to the citizenry, if Whitmer and the Legislature could only get their act together and make it happen. Whitmer just vetoed the Republicans’ second attempt at a tax cut, claiming that it was ‘unconstitutional.’ Yes, the Republicans’ insistence on tax cuts, especially with the state Treasury flush with cash, is probably a better long term economic strategy, but the voters absolutely LOVE “free” checks from the government, whether it’s state or federal. Look at the popular support for the checks that Congress sent American taxpayers who suffered during the pandemic. Look at the $400 per vehicle rebates from the MCCA as a result of Auto Insurance Rate Reform. The governor knows she’s got a political winner with that approach, and that even if she agrees to the GOP’s demand for a quasi-“permanent” tax cut, that won’t be felt till next year at the earliest, and it won’t be as visible.
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Question 4): Kevin RINKE, the remaining GOP gubernatorial candidate with his own deep pockets, has not as yet separated himself from the pack. If he hasn’t been able to do it so far, what are the chances of him doing it between now and the August primary?
Answer 4): For various reasons, Rinke hasn’t been able to channel George Romney or Rick Snyder as a successful multi-millionaire businessman who has never run for public office but who looks like he could be a plausible chief executive of Michigan government. It could still happen, and he’s got a golden opportunity right now with the annihilation of half the Republican field of gubernatorial candidates. If he can’t take advantage of it under the new circumstances, he never will.
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Question 5): What does it say about James CRAIG that he’s now talking about doing a write-in campaign in the GOP primary?
Answer 5): Apparently a shell-shocked James Craig is in deep denial. Does he seriously believe he can pull off what his old boss, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, did in 2013? The two scenarios are not comparable. Remember, Duggan was victimized by a truly bizarre glitch in campaign petition filing that was against all reason upheld by the courts. The news media and Detroit voters felt Duggan had been jobbed. There was a public outcry; a poll was taken showing that Duggan could win as a write-in. Duggan had the campaign organization and campaign cash in place to overcome the low blow he got from The System. As a write-in candidate, he actually received an absolute majority of all the votes cast in the primary against multiple rivals. Craig, on the other hand, gets no sympathy from anyone. He has never shown any ability whatsoever to raise money or organize anything in the year he’s been a candidate. Now his petitions have been exposed as fraudulent. He’s squandered all the good will and support he had. As a political candidate, he’s proven to be a buffoon of the first water.
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1. Of course the DEMONcrats are panting, salivating, and even hoping that Ryan Kelley is the primary victor this August. If so, then the US Justice(?) Department will promptly upgrade the misdemeanor charges to felonies. (Think the DOJ won’t do it? Think again; the indictment of the six ne’er do wells on attempted kidnapping and other bogus charges was the height of stupidity. Even the most casual observer had to realize something was amiss when there were more FBI agents/informants then defendants involved in this escapade—all because they wanted to take Whitmer on a canoe trip to Wisconsin!)
This will ensure four more years of the wicked witch of the west, who has done little if anything to “Fix the Damn Roads”. She has, however, been quite successful at causing multiple deaths, whether in nursing homes, among high school student suicides, or others who were pushed off the edge due to her stupendously idiotic lock down for at worst was a novel strain of the flu. Not to mention the economic destruction of small business caused exclusively by her. (Hey Gretchen, now that she’s open again, why not stop by Marlena’s sometime for your last meal?)
2. Perhaps it should. But so far the Republicans have proved to be laughing stocks this election cycle. First, they throw Matt Maddock out of the caucus for publicly unknown reasons. (RINO hunting it seems). Second, half, that’s right, 50% of them can’t even coordinate a petition drive and submit the correct number of signatures needed to qualify for the ballot. By now this half should have fly-specked their signatures to quickly demonstrate to the SOS (and the court) that they did in fact submit at least the required amount. Of course, this is impossible if you failed to retain copies of everything you turned in. Looks like a Quality Guru is needed to rectify this problem! Oh, wait….there was a Quality Guru…..
3. Unfortunately, this is another lame attempt by both sides to throw crumbs at the voter in hopes of buying them off, and even more unfortunately, it may be successful. REAL tax relief consists of abolishing the personal income tax, which would provide massive and permanent relief. It would also strengthen the economy on a long-term basis. Of course, that means stepping on the toes of certain special interest groups. What groups would those be? Remember when Granholm proposed a sales tax on services? Seems like none of the special interest groups would be subject to the tax; all the others would. (Special Interest Group = Those who can afford Lobbyists)
4. Actually his chances are above average. There are five candidates in the race, all who deem themselves conservative, but some more so than others. (All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.) Kelley and Soldano will split the vote among their type of conservative. Rebandt, who will come in fifth, gets the voter not enthused by Kelly or Soldano. Dixon, who has secured support from the Soap crew now becomes a contender, but not to the extent of cleaning up the race. The independent votes, as always, are in SE Michigan, which is where Rinke has decades of name recognition. All he needs to do is drive them to the polls.
5. Simply pathetic. Somehow, the Chief got conned into running for Governor, much like Bill Lucas did in 1986. Once the onion got peeled back, it was obvious that he could not hold his own in a debate, much less a discussion. And once his handler disappeared, he was out of a yob. Better to have remained as Chief of the Detroit Police Department. But if he was hell bent to run for the Big Seat in Michigan, he should have done so as a Democrat. Think about THAT! He would have easily got the Detroit vote, along with other major Michigan cities. He would have given the Gretch a run for her money, and possibly sent her packing.
Yep, the canoe trip to Wisconsin would have looked good!
The demo’s have become the personification of evil. Anything they passionately want of late is directly prohibited by the Constitution. The SCOTUS nominee-in-waiting doesn’t believe in Natural Rights or can she define what a Woman is. GF grief! Whisky Tango Foxtrot?! AG Garland refuses to enforce federal law that prohibits demonstrators from harassing SCOTUS justices in their homes and Congress has zero authority to investigate the so-called “insurrection” or any other partisan crap. The government has become a tyranny with the mass media happily leading the way. The Tree of Liberty is fast becoming a dried twig.
Concerned Citizens are relying on the Republican Party’s success in Nov., both Nationally and Statewide to thwart the Progressive Democrat party radical socialist and cultural agendas, which aim to deconstruct the Nation’s Foundation and Constitution system . Is there hope for success?
Honestly, the Michigan Board of Elections is corrupt.
Texas Democrats tried the whole James Craig signature ploy against Greg Abbott and they got laughed out of court.
From what I’ve seen for polling, due to the national environment, the governor’s race has mostly been rated as a Toss-up or Tilt D. So it seems that some still think the Republicans have a chance, though a slim one.
It appears that Tudor Dixon may be the one who wins the primary, and she’s expected to get Trump’s endorsement. What are your thoughts on Dixon?