Gongwer, in an article entitled "FY '10 Plus 28: Senate Appears to Kill Dillon's Revenue Strategy," details the failure of Dillon's fling with Bishop:
A controversial tax on physicians failed overwhelmingly Wednesday in the Senate, scuttling not only the plan to use the tax as a way of triggering hundreds of millions in federal Medicaid money but also House Democrats' hope of passing revenue increases to restore some of the budget cuts they just approved.
. . .
Further, Wednesday's vote signals the apparent end of Mr. Dillon's strategy to pass budget bills based on cuts and then try to pass revenues as a way of restoring some of those reductions, Mr. Switalski said.
Gongwer describes Dillon's embrace of Mike Bishop, Dillon's flawed strategy on the Dillon-Bishop agreement, which Dillon has never made public or shared with other Democrats, and notes that Dillon is "at a loss" on what to do next:
House Speaker Andy Dillon (D-Redford Twp.) whose surprise decision to embrace the Senate Republican concept of closing a $1.2 billion deficit in the 2009-10 budget with only spending cuts and federal stimulus money, and no tax increases until after the Legislature had passed budget bills was at a loss as to what House Democrats would do now. He had sold House Democrats on the idea of passing new revenues and a supplemental to restore some of the cuts.
Suckers.
The Skubick has more. Check out how the Capitol's senior correspondent describes the Dillon-Bishop relationship:
For months House Democratic Speaker Andy Dillon and Sen. GOP leader Mike Bishop have walked pretty much arm and arm through a budget writing minefield and for a moment it looked as though they would emerge with their trusting relationship intact.
Forget that.
Apparently Andy's man-crush is waning. Gongwer again:
Mr. Dillon said he's "not happy" with Mr. Bishop's actions and added "it doesn't help" their relationship
Mike Bishop took Andy Dillon and his House Democratic Caucus to the cleaners. Mike Bishop wins. Andy Dillon and Michigan citizens lose.
Even Dillon now recognizes the problems resulting from his failed agreement, as quoted by Gongwer, Dillon says:
"And now we have a serious problem with the (Department of Community Health) budget ... nursing homes closing, a lot of kids are going to get thrown off Medicaid."
Andy Dillon has led House Democrats over a cliff like lemmings. They should have listed to Granholm, who has consistently helped Democrats win elections in Michigan since 1998, Back to Gongwer, one last time:
Ms. Granholm had viewed Mr. Dillon's strategy with skepticism, questioning why majority Republicans in the Senate would support revenues once budgets based on spending cuts had cleared the Legislature.
Skubick also agrees that Dillon got this one wrong and Granholm called it right:
And who is that over there whispering, "I told ya so?" Why it's governor Jennifer Granholm who somewhere along the line probably warned Dillon not to trust Big Mike.
With Senate Republican Floor Leader Alan Cropsey leading the Senate Obtructionists' faltering crusade to say thanks but no thanks to a bridge to somewhere, here's some "Alaska-style fiscal responsiblity" that Mike Bishop (R-Tanning Salon) can believe in.
There hasn't been any action on Rep. Arlan Meekhof's bill allowing citizens to carry tasers. That's curious. Meekhof told To The Point that people were just giddy to get the "non-lethal" stun-guns in their hands. Why the delay? Could it be they're worried about our (cough-cough) safety?
Taser International Inc., the largest stun-gun maker, lost a $6.2 million jury verdict over the death of a California man who died after police shot him multiple times with the weapon. The defeat is the first for Taser in a product- liability claim.
A San Jose, California, jury yesterday said Taser had failed to warn police in Salinas, California, that prolonged exposure to electric shock from the device could cause a risk of cardiac arrest. The jury awarded $1 million in compensatory damages and $5.2 million in punitive damages to the estate of Robert Heston, 40, and his parents.
Lawbreakers aren't the only victims to sue the company.
Taser has settled at least 10 cases involving injuries to police officers during training, company lawyer Doug Klint told Bloomberg News last year.
Yikes! If police are getting injured during training sessions, just imagine how many average citizens could be hurt or killed by these so-called "non-lethal" weapons.
On the other hand, Meekhof and friends probably figure what's the big deal? There have only been six deaths in Michigan since 2001 resulting from law enforcement use, so a few more at the hands of average citizens won't matter.
News that former Mayor Archer is considering a run for governor is generating lots of attention across Michigan. This post by a Republican blogger at The Michigan Review is interesting because he/she apparently feels Archer would win votes from more than just Democrats. Note the respectful tone the author uses to describe Archer too.
But help is on the way for Michigan democrats, who are now hoping that Detroit's two-term Mayor of the 1990s, Dennis Archer, will run for governor. Archer was a prolific bridge-builder, as he brought suburb-city relations to their best condition since, well, probably ever. He doesn't have as many economic developments in the City to hang his hat on as the current Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick does, but he also doesn't have Kilpatrick's personal issues. Archer was known for his clean-living, stability, and ability to manage budgets. He is seen as well-connected with the business community.
Nothing is official yet, but if he runs, he can count on an extremely united front of Southeast Michigan democrats, indepedants, and some crossover Republicans. The general election could be a polarizing east v. west Michigan battle, but everyone knows what side has more people.
And what about a possible Archer-DeVos matchup?
If Archer ran against someone of Dick Devos' caliber you can be sure that thousands of Republicans, including this one, would cross party lines, especially at a moment when so many people realize that Michigan needs a city-builder more than anything else, or else young people will continue to flee for Chicago and New York.
DeVos wouldn't stand a chance against an articulate, intelligent man like Archer. I can just see the debate now. DeVos would go into meltdown.
I found this video over on OaklandPolitics.com. I think we need to see what the Republicans are saying so we are ready to fight back against their rhetoric. Here goes Brooks again. First he petitions for the elimination of the SBT without a replacement for the revenue, now he wants to do the same thing with the services tax. He complains about it without offering a solution.
The House tweaked the SCHIP bill to address some of the concerns Bush and other Republicans used as an excuse to vote against the program. They hope to vote on it again today. Here are some of the changes:
It clarifies the language on the claim that was made that people making $83,000 a year could receive SCHIP; that was patently not true, and it is clarified in the legislation that it is not so.
It addresses who is eligible for the legislation and clearly defines eligibility and that does not include illegal aliens. They are not entitled to benefits. In fact, you cannot get benefits in our country unless you have been here for five years and legally so. The bill makes that very clear.
The third category of complaint was that more adults were receiving the benefits than should and the previous legislation phased out adults receiving benefits over two years. Those are adults that are members of families that are receiving SCHIP. Over one year this new bill will phase out those adults without children who are eligible to receive these benefits in some states, as they have received the opportunity to do so in the past.
I'm not too optimistic this revised bill will pass. Bush - and those Republicans who still fall in line behind him (see the men on the right sidebar) - will find some excuse to vote against it. Maybe they'll use the same excuse as before, that people who aren't really eligible will be helped by the program and waste taxpayer money. Considering the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could total $2.4 trillion through the next decade, that argument seems pretty weak.
Actually, the president's war has created a whole new class of welfare queens that we should be more concerned about - private contractors - and Erik Prince Is the 21st Century Cadillac Queen according to this blogger:
Reagan's welfare Cadillac queen was a myth. Prince and his company are shamefully real.
Prince's Blackwater is shamefully real, but so are the 47 million uninsured children and adults in this country. The way I see it, this vote will paint a clear picture of where their priorities lie. What will it be Republicans - help for uninsured children or more wingnut welfare?
He claims the evangelical Republican population is starting to fracture in churches and communities throughout the area:
At Mars Hill Bible Church, a Grandville mega-church founded by the popular Rob Bell, politics are off the table. Period. The church, which draws upwards of 10,000 people on any given Sunday, even sponsors groups for gay Christians. Mars Hill staff estimate they've passed out roughly 40,000 of the popular "Love Wins" bumper stickers, and, according to my own rough observation, the stickers are already more prevalent than any sort of "Jesus is Pro-Life" automotive statement.
Calvin College - the institutional heart of the conservative Christian Reformed Church - is similarly showing signs of fragmentation. When President Bush arrived on campus in 2005 to deliver the commencement address, he was greeted by two full-page letters in the conservative-leaning Grand Rapids Press. Collectively, the letters were signed by more than 800 students, faculty and staff, and included such condemnation as: "Your deeds, Mr. President - neglecting the needy to coddle the rich, desecrating the environment and misleading the country into war - do not exemplify the faith we live by."
Hmm...neglecting the needy? Does that include voting to uphold Bush's SCHIP veto in order to coddle the private insurance industry?
East Grand Rapids shows evidence that voters aren't lining up behind Republicans and their talking points either.
East, as it is known, voted for Democrat Jennifer Granholm in her successful 2006 re-election bid, upsetting hometown Republican tycoon Dick DeVos. The city was also the only West Michigan community in the 2004 election to vote against a Michigan constitutional amendment that would expressly ban gay marriage.
You can only throw around terms like "values" and "morals" for so long before you have to back those words up with actions. It's no surprise the tide is starting to turn against the Republican Party, what's surprising is that it took so long. I guess that's a testament to how great a job the GOP did of selling their snake oil to the voters.
Five Democrats have indicated they will change their minds and vote yes when the House attempts to override Bush's SCHIP veto today. No Republicans have changed their minds. They still remain out of touch with what Americans want.
A new CBS News poll finds an overwhelming majority of Americans (8 in 10) support legislation that would expand the children's health insurance program, including large majorities of Republicans, Democrats and Independents, and they'd even be willing to pay more in taxes to see that happen.
These are the questions they were asked:
WOULD YOU FAVOR OR OPPOSE EXPANDING S-CHIP?
Favor - 81%
Oppose - 15%
WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO PAY MORE TAXES TO EXPAND S-CHIP? (Among those who favor expanding S-CHIP)
Yes - 74%
No - 17%
In a press conference yesterday, Bush said he was relevant. He's not relevant and neither are the Republicans who continue to vote with him and against the wishes of their constituents. Here in Michigan, that includes Dave Camp, Peter Hoekstra, Joe Knollenberg, Thaddeus McCotter, Mike Rogers, and Tim Walberg.
In fact, their actions are beyond relevant. Laughable is how the Freep describes Republican efforts to naysay the SCHIP expansion program. They go on to say that conservatives have been blowing a lot of smoke and distorting a lot of facts. In other words, they're using children to play their games of politics.
If the Republicans vote no today, they're not only irrelevant, they don't deserve to be in office.
Blackwater USA has garnered lots of media attention lately because of the unprovoked shooting of innocent civilians by their private security forces. What the mainstream media hasn't really touched on is just how influential founder Erik Prince and his extended family are (including the DeVos's) in the world of politics, so independent media source Media Mouse does the job for them:
Blackwater USA founder Erik Prince, a native of West Michigan's Holland, hails from the politically influential Prince family. For years, the Prince family has been influential in both Michigan politics and national politics by distributing hundreds of thousands of dollars to primarily Republican candidates for office. These contributions to candidates come in addition to significant contributions to nonprofit organizations seeking to shape the public policy agenda in Michigan and the United States. While those contributions are not the focus of this article, Prince family foundations including the Edgar & Elsa Prince Foundation, the Freiheit Foundation, and the Eagle Foundation have disbursed millions of dollars to rightwing organizations.
Read the full article. The money trail is an eye-opener. Are all those donations worth it? In Erik Prince and Blackwater's case it appears to have paid off. Check out this information from Mother Jones: Blackwater by Numbers: A Statistical Index
Value of Blackwater's federal contracts in 2001: $736,906
Value in 2002: $3.4 million
Value in 2003: $25 million
Value in 2004: $48 million
Value in 2005: $352 million
Value in 2006: $593 million
Total value of all Blackwater contracts at the end of 2006: $1 billion
Percentage growth since 2001: 80,453
And what's Blackwater's profit margin? 10.5 percent
Paul Krugman makes a good point in the NY Times about the right-wing smear campaign being waged against 12-year-old Graeme Frost:
What followed should serve as a teaching moment.
(Click the link to get the full background, but briefly, Frost is the boy who suffered severe brain injuries in a car accident and receives ongoing medical care through the SCHIP program. He and his family are now being attacked by conservatives as liars and frauds, erroneously I might add.)
So what exactly can we learn from this? Krugman explains:
All in all, the Graeme Frost case is a perfect illustration of the modern right-wing political machine at work, and in particular its routine reliance on character assassination in place of honest debate. If service members oppose a Republican war, they're "phony soldiers"; if Michael J. Fox opposes Bush policy on stem cells, he's faking his Parkinson's symptoms; if an injured 12-year-old child makes the case for a government health insurance program, he's a fraud.
Meanwhile, leading conservative politicians, far from trying to distance themselves from these smears, rush to embrace them. And some people in the news media are still willing to be used as patsies.
Politics aside, the Graeme Frost case demonstrates the true depth of the health care crisis: every other advanced country has universal health insurance, but in America, insurance is now out of reach for many hard-working families, even if they have incomes some might call middle-class.
And there's one more point that should not be forgotten: ultimately, this isn't about the Frost parents. It's about Graeme Frost and his sister.
I don't know about you, but I think American children who need medical care should get it, period. Even if you think adults have made bad choices - a baseless smear in the case of the Frosts, but put that on one side - only a truly vicious political movement would respond by punishing their injured children.
Congress is expected to vote on overriding President Bush's veto next week, but they're still short the number of votes needed. I think children who need medical care should get it too. If you agree, please click over to JenniferGranholm.com/SCHIP and ask your legislators to override the president.
Why haven't Republicans Dave Camp, Peter Hoekstra, Joe Knollenberg, Thad McCotter, Mike Rogers, and Timothy Walberg spoken out against the vile smear attack directed at Graeme Frost and his family by right-wingers? Are they so desperate to defend Bush's SCHIP veto that they're willing to stand by while a child gets smeared?
(Graeme Frost is the 12-year-old boy who recently shared his story about being involved in a severe car accident and receiving medical care because of the Children's Health Insurance Program.)
It was bad enough when they turned Terri Schiavo's plight into a three ring circus, but this really steps over the boundary of everything decent and sacred. Ironically, as John Cole points out, its almost like they turned on one of their own.
Saul Anuzis has been circulating a memo which cites a GOP poll that indicates that the majority of Michigan residents agree with his goofball positions. In the memo, Anuzis said cutting a deal with Granholm "would be foolish", and "we could be badly hurt unless we move expeditiously to shift the blame to her."
"The GOP strategy is and always has been to shutdown government and use the devastating consequences for political gain by blaming it on Democrats," Brewer said. "This is reprehensible, and an absolute slap in the face to the people of Michigan. I call on House Minority Leader Craig DeRoche (R-Novi) and Bishop to denounce this memo and get to work solving our dire fiscal crisis."
"I think there's a school of thought out there that says it's easier to justify a vote on a tax hike if it occurs in the midst of a crisis" and waiting until the end of September would fit that definition as stories of shutting down the government came into play.
punish Governor Granholm for beating Dick DeVos, and to hurt her due to their personal dislike of her
stir up public opinion against GOP political opposition such as MESSA and other public servant unions
Which, if they can depress the Democratic vote in the Detroit area, stir up public opinion against the Governor, and weaken the unions, they will strengthen their position for the next 2 election cycles.
House Rep Fulton Sheen said that a government shutdown was preferable to revenues, according to sub only MIRS News.
Sheen's comments came at a tax policy workshop at the Mackinac Republican gathering this weekend. Sen. Nancy Cassis and House Rep. Lorence Wenke were in attendance and did not challenge the statement.
(Sweet. He gets a pep talk from Gingrich the day before the vote.
- promoted by Z)
Senate Obstructionist Leader Mike Bishop (R-Hair Gel) has revealed his playbook. He wants to be Michigan's own Newt Gingrich. Just like Newt shutdown the federal government in 1995, Mike Bishop appears ready to do the same in Michigan.
The Detroit News reports that Bishop met with Gingrich this past weekend and likes what he hears. After Gingrich spoke, Bishop commented:
"He's talking my game," whispered Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop near the end of the talk. Bishop intended to meet privately with Gingrich later today.
Let's hope that the so-called Democratic Speaker of the House, Andy Dillon, finally realizes that his "good friend" Mike Bishop is no friend.
Note: I really did try to come up with a better title. I really did. Really. But I couldn't come up with one, and this title is true, imho
Chuck Yob has dropped his candidacy for another term on the Republican National Committee. In his announcement, he had this to say:
It will be an interesting test to see whether Anuzis and Cox choose to continue to attack other party leaders now that I am no longer a candidate for re-election or whether they choose to attempt to bring the party together. ...
If we are not successful in 2008 I encourage our party activists to take a long and hard look at electing a party chairman who is focused on defeating the Democrats rather than defeating incumbent national committee members, Republican state legislators, and other party leaders.
For the most part, I have 3 words for this:
I. Don't. Care.
But there are a few things I would point out.
First of all, Anuzis has been non-stop in his attack of Governor Granholm. His war on the Governor, supported by the Michigan right-wing bloggers, has been very effective.
See, the right depends on symbols, and Governor Granholm is a symbol for the Democrats. Beat her up enough in the press and you beat back support for her legislation and the Democratic legislation originating in the legislature. You also make people want something different when it comes time to elect the next Governor. Something different, like a Republican.
Saul also did some good things with 'victory centers' and gotv efforts during the election. I think their ground game going into the election was superior to ours.
Finally, Saul has a blog to communicate with the public. It would be pretty good if he didn't copy & paste so much text. (By 'pretty good', I'm not referring to his opinions ... his opinions turn my stomach) He throws his opinions out there and he provides a bunch of resources for his anti-Granholm bloggers. It's a real asset for the Michigan GOP.
Does all this make him a good Chair? Bah. I don't care if the guy is a good Chair or not. He's done dumb things too. But I think Yob's criticism is either unfair or based on ignorance. Anuzis' anti-Granholm strategy is a good strategy for Michigan Republicans, and probably gets them farther than anyone realizes.
(Thanks SO ... let's ask these folks how they feel about Mike Bishop's hourly wage. - promoted by Christine)
During the first six months of 2007, the Michigan Senate under the "leadership" of Mike Bishop worked a total of 66 session days and about 120 total hours, averaging barely more than 90 minutes of work per session day.
At Mike Bishop's $105,650 annual salary, that means that he was paid more than $440.50 per hour for the Senate's work in the first six months of this year. This does not include additional payments to Bishop for his $12,000 annual "expense allowance" or the additional tax money he receives to pay for his office expenses and staff.
$440.50 per hour. That's working out pretty well for Mike Bishop, but how's that working out for you?
