Posted on 02/16/2005 6:42:32 AM PST by PrincipledObjection
PORTLAND TOWNSHIP - Voters will not cast ballots to decide the next Michigan governor's race for nearly two years, but the contest is already heating up.
Three Republican candidates for the state's highest office spoke at a Lincoln Day Dinner hosted by the Ionia County Republican party Tuesday evening at Wagon Wheel Restaurant near Portland. They were joined by several local and state legislators.
All three candidates presented a common theme: Gov. Jennifer Granholm is a weak leader who must be voted out of office.
Nancy Cassis, a former three-term state representative and current state senator from Oakland County, faulted Granholm for flip-flopping and failing to make tough decisions needed to improve Michigan's economic woes.
Cassis promised to be a strong, decisive leader if elected, not afraid to make difficult decisions. She described herself as a conservative who will stand up for the unborn and traditional values.
"The divisions are deep and test us," Cassis said. "I am stepping forward. Let us strive to finish the work we are in."
She implored fellow Republicans to return the party back to its roots with Abraham Lincoln, whom Tuesday's dinner honored.
"Values, faith and morality are the foundations on which our party is based," Cassis said. "The party of Lincoln will retrieve (the governor's) office."
Jack Hoogendyk, who is beginning his second term as a state representative from Portage, said Granholm is "unable to lead."
He pointed out Michigan has the highest unemployment rate of any state at 7.3 percent and was the only state to experience a net loss of jobs in 2004, while the rest of the United States enjoys modest economic recovery.
Through it all, Granholm continues to offer tax-and-spend policies, adding $500 million in new taxes and proposing the largest spending plan in state history last week, Hoogendyk said. She even pledged to initiate a new zero-based budgeting process this year, but it didn't deliver the spending reform she promised.
He listed a number of other promises she has made and broken during her time in office, including one to maintain higher education spending without cuts. He also listed several issues in which Granholm's view differs from a majority of residents, such as partial birth abortion.
"We have a governor I don't think we can trust," he said.
Last Friday, Granholm said she would consider placing a copy of the Ten Commandments in the State Capitol, but withdrew her offer Tuesday after receiving pressure from the American Civil Liberties Union over the weekend, Hoogendyk said.
"The governor won't stand up for what she believes in and what the people of the state believe in," he said. "My question is, what does she stand up for?"
"We need a governor who has convictions and is willing to stand up for them. We need a governor who grew up here and knows what the people believe. We need a govenor who will walk the talk," Hoogendyk said.
His record shows he is the right man for the job, he said.
Valde Garcia, a former state representative for eastern Ionia County and current state senator who has not officially announced his candidacy, put forth a plan to fix Michigan's economy by investing in life sciences and education, and lowering taxes on businesses.
Granholm promised to increase funding for a Life Sciences Corridor, but actually cut its funding. She promised to invest in education, but has repeatedly cut its funding, Garcia said. She also promised to work with Republicans on a bi-partisan basis, but does not take their input into account.
Plus, Granholm's plan to restructure the Single Business Tax penalizes the fastest-growing businesses by increasing their taxes - while decreasing taxes on fledgling industries, he said.
"This governor says one thing and does another," Garcia said. "The state is moving forward rudderless."
He emphasized that Republicans can easily beat Granholm in two years. In order to do so, he said Republicans need to reach out to hispanics and veterans - two groups which typically favor Democrats.
"It's about what you stand for and believe in. We must put our words, actions and money behind Republicans," Garcia said. "We've got to take the fight to our opponent."
He compared Granholm to a ball of cotton candy.
"It might look good and taste good, but there's not much substance to it. And, if you ask your doctor, it's not good for you either," Garcia said.
Gov. Granola, the communist from Berkeley, has angered property owners, smokers, Christians, ordinary taxpayers, and businesses. Plus the state is bleeding entrepreneurs, young people and dollars.
So what's her solution to people and businesses fleeing the state due to her oppressive mis-management? Well, raise taxes and fees on those remaining to feed the Marxist monster infesting Lansing and pay off the con-artists in the big cities who elected her.
And her lunatic state land use plan, also known as utopian soviet socialism, and tapping taxpayers to build "cool cities" illustrates she is at best daft.
Granola is a Marxist engaging in socialist engineering by trying to dress up the state in utopian clothing paid for by hard working individuals.
Her understanding of free enterprise and markets is about on a level of a three-year-old child given a gas tank and matches to play with.
Michigan was the 34th worst state to run a business in 2003. I imagine the state has fallen farther in 2004 to among the 10 worst states in the nation.
The only thing a left wing Canadian female should be allowed to manage are hot dogs boiling on a stovetop.
Who's going to point out that Jenny-baby is a wetback Canuck?
What is she doing in office? Why was she elected? Was there voter fraud? You need to work to get her out of office. Why doesn't somebody pay attention to voter fraud in that state? I know if voter fraud happened in my home state we would be up in arms and I would be working to put hidden cameras in city halls.
She's also tinkled off at least one cranio-rectosis case I know (young, angry, phony class warfare rhetoric 24-7), claiming that Granholm's idea of charging prison inmates for coffee (would save $500,000 a year per the guv) is "so typical" of her, hurting "the working man".
If she's uniformly lost the radicals, she is going to get her ass beaten. And her Republican successor (assuming that it is someone worthwhile) will move right in to take credit for the economic recovery in Michigan (which is obviously going to have to grow out of continued US economic recovery).
All fair questions, Dixie.
IMO, Detroit and some surrounding suburbs are engaged in massive voter fraud. The anecdotal stories of fraud are mountainous.
Unfortunately, the republican leadership is afraid to challenge the union thugs and the crooked bureaucrats because they might be called "racist." Well, whoop-dee-doo. So what? I'm more interested in seeing an investigation to clean out the big city snake pits than worrying about the left wing Marxist media calling people racist.
Michigan has a good conservative supreme court. We need to use it by challenging the Marxist thugs in the next election.
"It seems like eventually even that type of voter will eventually get clued in to the fact that she hasn't accomplished anything during her first term."
I love an optimist. ;') At least California got a movie star foreigner for governor. (':
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