Answer 1): By the forensic standards that judge debate performance, it was close to a draw, but Vance was a clear winner in the court of public opinion and even the mainstream “legacy” media, which is ordinarily not disposed to appreciate the Buckeye. This was the best debate performance by any Republican running for president or vice president since at least 2016, when Mike Pence outshone Democrat Tim Kaine. Vance was articulate, polished, handsome, likeable, and he successfully delivered a GOP message that Donald Trump had proven unable to do in both of his debates this year, whether against Joe Biden or Kamala Harris. Republicans everywhere are giddy over Vance’s debate chops.
Question 2): Erstwhile presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is still pursuing his quest in court to be removed from the Michigan general election sweepstakes, despite the fact that absentee ballots have already been mailed out. At this point, could these continuing efforts be aimed primarily at simply publicizing his efforts so that voters know that he wants them to vote for Trump?
Answer 2): Everything RFK Jr. is doing comes down to helping Trump win the election, and the Trump campaign must be giving him directions. For example, Kennedy has filed emergency petitions to remain on ballots in states Trump is less likely to win, like New York, to draw votes away from Kamala Harris, yet he’s demanding to be removed from ballots in key states like Michigan so that undecided voters can vote for Trump. Two different polls on Sept. 30 showed that, in a two-way contest in Michigan, Trump was either ahead or tied with Harris (about 48%-48%). However, in a contest with multiple candidates on the ballot, Harris led Trump (47%-46%) because enough voters picked Kennedy instead of Trump that it allowed Harris to beat Trump in Michigan.
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Question 3): Now that Gretchen Whitmer is out of the national spotlight — at least for the time being — some attention has been refocused on Michigan government, over which she presides. So, does Michigan’s ongoing Dept. of Corrections (DOC) staffing shortage constitute a political black eye for the Whitmer administration? Rep. Sarah L. LIGHTNER (R-Springport) has called for the resignation of Department of Michigan Corrections Director Heidi WASHINGTON, citing a failure to address staffing shortages and dangerous working conditions during her nearly 10 years as head of the department. Is this a fair assessment, or are other factors the root of the problem?
Answer 3): State government has at least two departments that regularly seem to be failing over the years — corrections and child protective services. The DOC staffing shortages are nothing new, but when there are five disruptions in two weeks and the national media starts to cover the story, it should amount to a headache for Whitmer.
There’s plenty of blame to go around, starting with the department itself. The DOC has had a bad reputation as a place to work through several administrations. No one wants these jobs. The people who take them burn out fast, and when they do, there’s very little incentive to stay.
Few in the general public can imagine working 16-hour shifts in a prison, taking eight hours off, and then having to turn around and repeat the process all over again. Yet, those are the conditions under which corrections officers are being asked to work.
Switching directors is unlikely to solve anything. It’s probably not fair to pin the problems facing the department on Director Washington, as she can tackle crises and disruptions only with the scant resources available to her. Interestingly, Washington is the only holdover state department head from the Gov. Rick Snyder years. She is one of the longest-serving cabinet members in recent memory, and her institutional knowledge is invaluable to the state.
All that said, the DOC’s problems are still not a subject of public discussion. Yes, the situation may be dire, but unless something blows up into critical mass — like a scandal or a strike — things are unlikely to change. Whitmer has done nothing visible so far in response to the most recent brouhaha, and that will probably be her modus operandi going forward.
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I agree with you on the outcome of the Vance V Walz, so-called debate. They were polite, but not exactly substantive.
Yes, the department of corrections has had a long-standing need for more staffing, but I’m focused on education in Michigan and frankly it’s a mess. We need to restore organization, oversight and accountability for K-12 and higher education.
Good summary of the RFK Jr situation . I think an equally compelling story would be the Jill Stein one. She will clearly take votes from Harris, particularly in the Dearborn and Hamtramck areas.
I was in Hamtramck yesterday for a Trump watch party. They counted 400 attendees at their just-opened office on the corner of Joseph Campau and Pulaski Streets where the old Attic Bar used to be. People came from Oakland County and Grosse Pointe – but by far the most attendees were City of Hamtramck residents of the Muslim faith.
This is the only campaign office for Donald Trump in Wayne County.
The Mayor of Hamtramck appeared. So did some City Council members.
I spoke with some residents that appeared that were Polish-Americans who were pleased that the President’s campaign team thought enough of the city to open a campaign office in downtown Hamtramck.
Some residents kept their Hill Harper primary election signs up in recognition of the U.S. candidate who bothered to campaign in the city. Harper easily outpolled Elissa Slotkin in August – despite Slotkin receiving 76% of the statewide vote.
According to polling, however, it is clear that Jill Stein is doing well among Arab-American and Muslim voting segments in Michigan and elsewhere.
Hi Bill, thanks much for the entertaining TBR this week . . . once again,
wrt Q#1: So, I believe there is no such thing as winning or losing a debate except in high school debate clubs. While trials at law should entertain lively debates, it just doesn’t happen with the current state of our Judicial system thanks to the current liberal dominance of the BAR association and liberal dominance of Blue State inner city judicial systems. A good dose of Alan Dershowitz would do this cesspool some tangible good. Instead, he can’t stand the smell of Harvard’s current law program. Again, I’m sure it’s just me.
Putting all of my first paragraph aside, I am tremendously heartened by the emergence of J D Vance onto the political stage. Finally, a young, smart, savvy orator that can articulate a secular conservative message reasonably logical enough for all to relate to. Should Trump win this November, I totally look forward to a new era in responsible government emerging in the following 4 years.
wrt Q#2: I feel bad for RFK Jr. Won’t be a significant factor one way or another. Now bordering on a tragic figure. ‘Nuff said.
Bill, I really would enjoy responding to topics such as the cause of the MI employment numbers heading in the undeniably wrong direction.
Or, the MI House bringing forth bills bringing back union-ish dues skims for home health care workers. A total shame.
Or the continued collapse within our state’s once sparkling educational system . . .
wrt Q#3: MI DOC ranks very low wrt to correction systems in other states as long as it isn’t compared to total disasters in some states like New York’s, Illinois’ or Georgia’s. One standing stone department head can do nothing with a system that is dominated by political hack-ism. I wish the state of MI would get politics out of faith based behavioral release programs and let them work like in other states. Thousands of inmates could conceivably have shortened sentences given the right objective standards.
Thanks Bill, keep up the overproduction!!
Nice article, Bill. And timely.
QUESTION 1: A VP debate is similar to buying a car for the spare tire (when they had real spares and not the donuts they call spares now). The real question is if one of these guys must become President, who seemed more Presidential. Listening to the debate (I prefer to listen first then watch it later courtesy of You Tube or a rerun), Vance did much better than Walz, so in that regard, he won. He did a better job than Trump arguing for the Trump cause; he was amiable, friendly, and looked like someone you actually might want to invite to a party. Walz, not so much. And it was worse for Walz when I watched it.
QUESTION 2: RFK, Jr. had to go to the Natural Law Party to get on the ballot. His campaign – as well as the campaigns of Jill Stein and Cornel West – has been subject to quite a bit of lawfare. First to keep him and them off the ballot, then to keep him on. His ongoing court struggles are just a symptom of this. He won the first two rounds here in Michigan, but not the final round. And that round is the one that counts. But given all the publicity attendant to this, we should not hold our breath waiting for the thousands and thousands of votes cast for him.
QUESTION 3: MDOC is an ongoing dumpster fire and train wreck. Everyone knows the solution to the problem of MDOC and the CPS workers requires money. And neither party, or at least those elected and serving, seem intent to do anything about it other than talk. The problems do pre-date Heidi Washington and replacing her would be activity masquerading as accomplishment as replacing her will not fix the staffing and funding problems.
MDOC staffing has gotten significantly worse since March 31, 1997, when defined benefit pensions went away for newly hired state employees (state police excepted). It worsened when the Republican legislature and Gov. Snyder got rid of retiree health insurance for new hires after January 1, 2012, in lieu of a 401k separate from the pension 401k. Starting pay for Corrections Officers (COs) is $22.77 per hour with LOTS AND LOTS of MANDATORY overtime. A 40-hour work week for a CO is not a dream, it’s a hallucination. Given the lack of a real pension and retiree health insurance; the pay and the mandatory overtime that makes homelife more than a wee bit difficult; how many of TBR readers would like to be a CO? Or encourage their children, grandchildren, cousins, nieces, nephews or family friends become one? Not many I would guess. I couldn’t get them interested in becoming a disability examiner, a job with better pay, almost no mandatory overtime, and a much less stressful work environment.
The solution is easier said than done and that is improving compensation. The union for the COs, Michigan Corrections Organization usually asks for more pay, but they don’t get. Keeping CO numbers up is NOT a goal of the State. To at least try to fix this some of the problems with compensation, state senator Ed McBroom has been trying to get statutory changes that would put the COs in with the state police for pension purposes which would give them real pensions and retiree health insurance. But that hasn’t gone too far. This is because both parties look at the ultimate consequences of repealing both the 401k provisions that Gov. Engler and Gov. Snyder put in as being something they don’t want.
His fellow Republicans probably see this as an expense that would make future tax cuts less likely and lead to other state employees, beginning with CPS workers wanting it to. (If CPS workers get the real pension, Civil Service would have to create a specific classification of CPS worker instead of treating it as a higher paid subcategory of Social Services Specialist classification). This would ultimately lead to a need to hike taxes and not cut them.
His Democratic colleagues see it as making it harder to give free school lunches to the children of millionaires (that’s what universal school lunches mean), funding pickle ball courts and other spending benefits given their favorite constituencies who felt slighted during the years of Republican rule. Last week’s effort with supplementals was such an attempt to make a quick fix prior to the election. Apparently, COs and CPS workers are not among those constituencies.
And such changes would be an ongoing expense that creates what budget folks would call an unfunded liability because the legislature would not set aside the requisite amount of money needed to fund them. So we can look forward to more of this in the future.
Compared to Trump and Harris, we all woh big time…..
ANSWER 1) The debate demonstrated what occurs when two gentlemen meet in a public forum to rationally discuss issues. It was refreshing to watch and probably left most viewers with the feeling that if it were possible to exchange VP selections for Prez nominees they would do so in a heartbeat. JD clearly won the debate based on style and substance. His refusal to capitulate when the two broads turned off the microphone proved that he was not going to tolerate censorship from the US version of Pravda. Goofy Walz left no doubt that the post-mortem version of Don Rickles has been reincarnated. Gracious though he was, the continual stumbling through answers showed he’s not yet ready for prime time.
Winning usually doesn’t mean much in a VP debate, but when voters go to the polls that watched the debate, it will be in their subconscious mind who was more confident and likeable. Considering that this race will be won by a whisker, that raises the importance of the overall debate.
ANSWER 2) In a word, Yes. On a practical basis RFK, Jr. has put the Natural Law Party into a conundrum. NLP needs a certain percentage of votes to retain ballot access and RFK, Jr.’s continual efforts to be removed from the ballot and encourage voters not to vote for him could jeopardize this. Even though NLP has another candidate for a statewide race, this might not be enough to carry them over the top. If that happens, the initials RFK will stand for Rat Fink Kennedy.
ANSWER 3) This continuing problem at the DOC gives the Grinch not one, but two Black Eyes. The solution to the problem is extremely simple and obvious. Improve pay, benefits, and working conditions and job burnout disappears. But in order to do that, more DOC guards have to be hired, which Witchmer refuses to do. None of this disaster can be laid at the desk of Heidi Washington. So why is the DOC, one of the largest departments in the State, being treated so shabbily? Spending money on the DOC simply doesn’t fit in with her plans, as it gives her no future benefit.
By now, it should be clear to even the most casual observer that the creature residing on Moores River Drive has sold out to the New World Order and its scheme for Global Governance. Why else would she capitulate to the Chicoms Gotion invasion? And there was absolutely no reason to invite a card carrying member of the CCP to Michigan, unless she is looking for her next position in Government.
Since she is salivating for higher office, may I suggest that she apply for a position with the People’s Republic of China. The deplorable results from closing down our State in 2020 are still being felt. The ongoing DOC calamity conclusively proves that she has abandoned her constitutional obligations as Governor. She’ll fit in perfectly in the land of the rickshaw. Let’s just hope she knows how to use chop sticks.
I always wondered how the tiny Natural Law Party presence in Michigan felt about their euphoric rise with the RFK, Jr candidacy eventually becoming a legal battle for his removal from the Michigan ballot.
RFK jr. could not get on the ballot and saw the Natural Law Party as the only port in a very stormy sea. Not all political marriages of convenience work out for the good.
Doug Dern in Hartland Township, Michigan leads what is the only vestige of the U.S. Natural Law Party thst had been founded by John Hagelin in 1992..
The Natural Law Party of Michigan has received enough votes to stay on the Michigan statewide ballot and survives as a “ballot access party” that allows candidates to circumvent the signature petition process and be nominated by Dern and his wife at their “convention” in his law office.
The Michigan Natuarl Law Party currently has no enunciated platform and has opposed attempts for RFK, Jr. to be removed from the Michigan ballot due to prejudice to the party in not having a candidate to perpetuate votes to keep the party on future election balots in Michigan. The Courts have sided with Dern and the State of Michigan in leaving RFK jr on the ballot – and it conceivable that ballot presence may decide Michigan.
Are the Experts ever wrong ? One Ridiculous answer
Wins the VP debate for T.W. can you Guess it
Pundits ? ——Oh rack your Scholarly Brains
One showed the Ivy League Hillbilly
Was full of it and destroyed his credibility totally .
What Response was it? Oh, come on even you Trumpets Yeah— know this one the 2020election!! Oh !!!!!Da !
Q1). Definitely Vance won this. It’s clear that Walz is easy to anger and at a loss for his words.
Q2). It came too late in the game for RFK Jr. to withdraw in many States is my impression.
Q3). MDOC has had longstanding problems. I worry greatly about early releases of very dangerous criminals such as Donald Gene Miller (Book – Killing Women by Ret. Detective Rod Sadler.). This inmate will be released in 2031 at the maximum time, hopefully not before that.
MDHHS is currently led by Director Elizabeth Hertel. Her husband is running for Congress, Curtis Hertel-D.
MDHHS, specifically CPS, is a very broken organization whereby Director Hertel farms out abuse and neglect cases to Private Organizations and there’s no oversight happening. Kids languish in the system completely unnecessarily.
It’s incredibly sad!
At the time of my retirement from the State (not in CPS) in January 2019, CPS had a 25% annual turnover rate. I suspect it is probably near the same percentages now. It is extremely hard to effectively run any agency, let alone CPS, if you’re replacing one worker in four every year.
1) The Vice Presidential debate was really a sneak preview of the 2028 Presidential debates. The Republicans are showing off the depth of their bench.
2) RFK, Jr. is still incensed that DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas tried to kill him by denying him SS protection. Political skullduggery has consequences.
3) Never overlook DTMB and MDoT when you are compiling the incompetent organs of the State of Michigan.
It was refreshing and informative to experience a National political debate with parameters learned in High School and College ! No “yelling”, for the most part and a courtesy shown via exchanges of ideology and policy beliefs between the participators.