Last August, a health care protest rally staged in front of the offices of MI-07 Representative Mark Schauer brought out Jackson County Commissioner Phil Duckham with a swastika sign. You can read more about that in my Huffington Post article. This Thursday, another such rally is scheduled.
So the question is: Will Phil Duckham stage a repeat performance?
A counter protest due to begin a 3:30 pm is planned and, if you have a chance to go, it might be worth a trip. If you take photos of any particularly "interesting" signs or activities, feel free to email me and I will be sure they get published prominently.
The official statement for the counter protest:
Dear Friend-
We urgently need your help. This Thursday, the Michigan Republican Party is planning to hold a health care protest outside Congressman Schauer's district office at 4:30pm. The GOP invitation says, "We need your help to stop Mark Schauer and the liberals from a radical government takeover of health care!"
During a similar protest last August, pro-health care reform activists outnumbered Tea Party protesters by a 4-to-1 margin, and we need your help to do it again. You can watch a video of Mark speaking at last summer's health care rally here.
If you agree with Mark that we need to fix our broken health care system, hold the big health insurance companies accountable, eliminate the prescription drug donut hole, and cut health care costs for working families, then you can show your support by attending a Rally for Health Care Reform this Thursday. Here are the details:
WHAT: Rally for Health Care Reform
WHERE: U.S Rep. Mark Schauer's District Office
800 W Ganson, Jackson, MI 49202
WHEN: Thursday, March 11, 3:30pm
WHY: To send a message that working Michigan families are ready to fight for health care reform
We're in the homestretch of a 62-year battle to fix our broken health care system. Mark is ready to get the job done, but the Party of No and their deep-pocketed friends are willing to do whatever it takes to defend the status quo for another 62 years. We can't let them get away with it.
Come show your support for health care reform and Mark Schauer this Thursday - and don't forget to tell your friends!
Republican hopeful Brian Rooney, a Tea Partier running for the nomination in MI-07, recently received an endorsement from Erick Erickson of RedState.com. Unlike most people who would flee from such an endorsement, Rooney says he is "proud" of it.
"I am proud to have Erick's endorsement," said Iraq veteran Rooney. "RedState.com has become one of the most influential voices in the conservative movement and Erick has been a principled advocate for adherence to our party remaining committed to freedom and liberty. I look forward to working with him to bring common sense back to the Congress."
Erick Erickson, a man who once called Supreme Court Justice David Souter "a goat f*&king child molester", is not someone most people would seek for an endorsement and Rooney's pride is cause for pause.
In addition to his shocking and offensive comment about a Supreme Court Justice (he later said "I felt good at the time saying it"), Erickson has had some other quite provocative things to say.
Referring to then-Senator Barack Obama, Erickson called him "the only member of the Illinois State Senate to speak in favor of infanticide during his tenure there".
He has also said the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to President Obama was given because "the Nobel Committee had affirmative action quotas it had to meet".
Proud of this endorsement, Mr. Rooney? Really? That, I would suggest speaks volumes about your judgment and your fitness to hold any office, much less a seat in Congress. Or, more accurately, your LACK of judgment and LACK of fitness.
As I have talked about here before, I'm keenly watching the Republican contenders for MI-07. One of the top two candidates likely to win the Republican primary already held the seat for one-term: Tim Walberg.
On the City Pulse radio show February 3rd, former Republican Congressman Joe Schwarz, a Republican, said Mark Schauer has been a more effective legislator than Tim Walberg was during his tenure as the Representative of MI-07. The show can be listened to HERE. This section kicks in around 17:35.
Transcript:
Kyle Melinn: You've taken a look at two different people who have represented the 7th Congressional district that you once represented - Tim Walberg and Mark Schauer. Who do you think's done a better job or did a better job representing that district?
Joe Schwarz: Mark Schauer.
Kyle Melinn: Okay, why's that?
Joe Schwarz: I think Mark Schauer has made a legitimate effort at trying to represent the whole district and is far more aware of what the real issues that the voters in the 7th district care about might be than Tim Walberg. I think Schauer in his year has proven himself to be a more effective Congressman for the 7th district that Walberg was in his two years.
Given that Walberg defeated Schwarz in the GOP primary in 2006 due in large part to a huge influx of outside money (i.e., The Club for Growth) and that he actually endorsed Schauer in the 2008 General Election, it's not totally surprising. It is, however, gratifying and encouraging.
Brian Rooney reports today that he has been endorsed by Dominos Pizza founder Tom Monaghan.
"I am proud to announce my support for Brian Rooney for the United States Congress. I believe his principled and unwavering convictions and new perspective promise to better serve Michigan's interests and help return responsible leadership to Washington, D.C.," said 7th District resident Monaghan.
Not surprising since Rooney is an employee of Monaghan's at the conservative, Christian-oriented Thomas More Law Center. His backing of Rooney can't hurt in the money department either.
Meet Brian Rooney. Brian Rooney is running for the Republican nomination in MI-07 this year. He has only lived in Michigan since 2007 and he recently moved into MI-07 in order to run for this seat. Even his main Republican opponent, Tim Walberg, doesn't have much nice to say about him:
Walberg questioned if Rooney runs whether he can win over voters if he's just moved into their district.
"He is going to have to move in as a carpet bagger," Walberg said. "Unless you are a Kennedy or a Clinton, you don't do well as a carpet bagger."
At the Western Washtenaw Democrats meeting last Friday, Mark Schauer came out strongly in favor of pushing the Democrats' health care bill through the Senate without the standard requirement of 60 votes.
Ahhh. Finally. A Republican admitting that the threshold to pass legislation through the Senate in this country is no longer the Constitutionally-mandated 51 votes. Now it's 60.
For a Republican liar, you gotta give the guy credit for a brief moment of honesty.
Last night, MI-07 Representative Mark Schauer spoke to the 2010 annual membership meeting of the Western Washtenaw Dems. During his conversation, he came out firmly in favor of a reconciliation path to passing health insurance reform legislation and was outspoken about the atrocious decision by the Supreme Court of the US (SCOTUS) to allow nearly unlimited corporate funding of political campaigns.
We need to push a bill, maybe taking the Senate bill and modifying it, and put into it all the components that can be passed under reconciliation. The long and short of that is that it doesn't take 60 votes. It takes 51. That's actually what our democracy is about. Anybody that complains about that, I'm going to give it to 'em and say it's not 60 votes that's a majority, 51 votes is a majority.
When it comes to protecting the American middle-class and rejuvenating the domestic auto industry, talk is cheap. In Washington these days, it seems like everyone has an opinion about how the auto companies got into this mess.
While I certainly didn't run for Congress to defend the mistakes of the past, what's most important to me is protecting the working families in my district who rely on the auto industry to pay the bills and put food on the table.
For those who don't know, the 7th congressional district is home to the GM Lansing Delta Township Assembly plant, located just off I-69 in Eaton County. This world-class facility is where the GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave, and Saturn Outlook are built.
While the news of GM's bankruptcy filing one week ago today was certainly a tough blow for the state of Michigan, the Delta Township plant will actually be increasing production later this year as the Chevy Traverse is added to the plant's lineup. This is a move I personally advocated for to Fritz Henderson on his first day as CEO of GM.
Last fall I was sent to Congress to get results for my constituents. While I appreciate and welcome the speed with which the new administration has moved to address the nation's ongoing economic crisis, I believe swift action is needed to reform the unfair trade laws that have devastated Michigan's economy.
That's why I joined several colleagues late last week in sending a letter to President Obama outlining our priorities for establishing fair trade policies that will help states like Michigan compete for good-paying jobs. You can read the letter we sent to the White House here.
According to the MEDC, our state has lost 400,000 manufacturing jobs over the past eight years. A report released last fall by the non-profit Economic Policy Institute found that Michigan led the nation in the percentage of jobs lost to unfair trade agreements (7.49%) during 2007.
This is unacceptable - and unsustainable.
Last fall I made a pledge that the first bill I would co-sponsor as a member of Congress would address unfair trade, and that's a promise I kept when I signed on as an original co-sponsor of the Trade Enforcement Act of 2009 in January.
Introduced by Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Sander L. Levin (D-MI), this legislation will combat counterfeiting and piracy, improve import safety, promote market access for American goods and services, and strengthen our trade remedies against unfair trade (you can read more about H.R. 496 here).
In our letter to President Obama last week, my colleagues and I outlined additional priorities for implementing fair trade policies:
Remedying the failed U.S.-China trade relationship by addressing pervasive currency manipulation, which has devastated our manufacturing base.
Improving import safety by creating new import-safety policies to ensure that food and goods coming from China and all countries meet U.S. safety and inspection requirements as a condition of entering our market and homes.
Renegotiating NAFTA and CAFTA to address excessive foreign-investor privileges and private enforcement systems; limits on domestic procurement policy and food-safety protections and more. Additionally, we have urged the President to oppose Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Columbia, Panama and Korea, which represent the "more-of-the-same" trade-agreement model promoted by the previous administration.
Fixing these shortcomings in our trade laws won't be easy, and it won't happen overnight. But at a time when our country is facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, we can't afford not to take action to level the playing field for our businesses and workers to get our economy back on track.
I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress and President Obama to create American trade and globalization policies that promote our shared goals of economic justice, poverty alleviation, healthy communities, human rights, and a sound environment.
Please share your thoughts in the comments section, so I can take your message to Washington and fight for Michigan.
Congratulations to State Senator Mark Schauer (D - Battle Creek) for winning the Democratic nomination in Michigan's 7th Congressional District.
He will challenge incumbent Congressman Tim Walberg in the general election on November 4.
Schauer issued the following statement
"Tonight marks the starting gun for our sprint to changing Washington in November. Voters now have a clear choice between someone who will roll up their sleeves to help turn Michigan's economy around, one job at a time, and the current Congressman who is making things worse. I have a strong record of working with Democrats and Republicans to save and create jobs, I'll support an energy plan that puts the needs of consumers ahead of record profits for Big Oil companies, and I'll get started on day one fixing what's broken in Washington."
Today Sen. Mark Schauer was highlighted in a Wall Street Journal story about the foreclosure crisis facing Michigan:
In Michigan, housing is driving a wedge between Republican Rep. Tim Walberg and his opponent, Democrat Mark Schauer, a state senator. Mr. Walberg voted against legislation that would have toughened oversight of mortgage lenders, while Mr. Schauer is pushing proposals to stiffen oversight of loan officers and ease foreclosure rates among veterans. "It is a huge economic issue in Michigan," Mr. Schauer said.
This is not the first time Schauer's efforts to combat the foreclosure crisis have been highlighted by the national media. Here's what Jay Newton-Small of Time Magazine wrote last November:
After Walberg's narrow victory in 2006 (a race in which he outspent his opponent by $1.2 million to $46,000), the Democrats this time have recruited a top-tier opponent: State Senator Mark Shauer, who has championed the predatory lending issue in the state legislature, co-sponsoring legislation that would tighten oversight on loan officers and support programs to help homeowners refinance their mortgages. Schauer plans on campaigning on the issue and accuses Walberg of turning his back on people in need. "The people in Michigan are struggling, and we're doing what we can to help at the state level," Schauer said. "But Washington and my opponent need to step up."
Yesterday Sen. Schauer had this to say about President Bush's new plan for foreclosures:
"It's about time that Washington realized we have a foreclosure crisis in this country. Unfortunately, the solutions proposed by the Bush Administration and their supporters appear to be more of a short-term band-aid, when at least in Michigan, we need a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. I'll continue to push for real, comprehensive solutions to this crisis because people are suffering and our future is at risk."
Communities across this district have been hit particularly hard by record foreclosures and Schauer is working to help struggling consumers. People from the 7th district are hungry for change and ready for a Congressman who will represent the interests of south central Michigan, not the failed policies of the Bush administration that helped create this foreclosure crisis in the first place.
Here's what you can do to support Sen. Schauer's people-powered campaign:
(I loves me some Mark Schauer. You should too. - promoted by wizardkitten)
Today we are pleased to announce that the Schauer for Congress campaign raised more than $350,000 in our first full quarter of fundraising. With more than half a million dollars cash on hand, we are now in a strong position to carry our message of economic diversification and job growth throughout the 7th district.
This is big news. No Democratic candidate has raised this much money for their entire campaign in the past several election cycles. With nine full months left before election day, we are prepared to go the distance with Tim Walberg's financial backers from the extreme Club for Growth.
Sen. Schauer is leading a people-powered movement to win the 7th district. This quarter we took in more than 680 total contributions, with 93 percent of individual contributions coming from Michigan donors.
People from Calhoun, Jackson and Eaton counties are hungry for change and ready for a Congressman who will represent the interests of south central Michigan, not the failed policies of the Bush administration.
Here's what you can do to sustain the momentum and support Sen. Schauer:
*Visit www.markschauer.com and join our email list *Join the Mark Schauer for Congress Facebook page to show your support
*Subscribe to our YouTube videos *Support our grassroots effort by making a contribution through ActBlue
Join us, and together we can send a proven leader to Washington who will fight to move Michigan forward.
As I have talked about here before, I'm keenly watching the Republican contenders for MI-07. One of the top two candidates likely to win the Republican primary already held the seat for one-term: Tim Walberg.
Cross-posted at 
Last night, MI-07 Representative Mark Schauer spoke to the 2010 annual membership meeting of the 
When it comes to protecting the American middle-class and rejuvenating the domestic auto industry, talk is cheap. In Washington these days, it seems like everyone has an opinion about how the auto companies got into this mess.
