Posted on 11/21/2004 6:32:12 PM PST by ClintonBeGone
The CITY of Grand Rapids is liberal (loaded with Demo-type minority groups), but the suburbs are gonzo conservative by about a 70-30 margin. Overall Kent County (mainly Congressman Vern Ehler's district) is conservative and next-door Ottawa County (mainly Intellignece Committee Congressman Pete Hoekstra's district) is even better.
Ottawa County and Kent County as a whole is the right-wing havens of Michigan(West MI). GR City is treading dem and went for Gore and Granholm.(albeit narrowly) There's a strong peace undercurrent there as well as a lot of RINOs.
The GR Burbs are all 60%+ which counteracts the city.
BTW - I think GR is almost 40% minority as well. (20% Black and Hispanic each).
Unfortunately yes. How do we save them? Zell Miller, Joe Lieberman, and James Trafficant comes to mind. Trafficant is in jail, while Toricelli gets a warning.
Just another - How Can We Fool Them Today - story.
But a good thought none the less! :-)
I'm afraid to say at this point that trying to reform the Democrat Party is like trying to preach the virtues of chastity in a whorehouse.
All those great Dutch-American names. Now I miss my hometown.
And Republicans are!!? How come I don't remember that from the last two Republican conventions?
Yes, you raise a valid point.
The UAW does NOT dominate national Democrats! Clinton, Gore, and Kerry were all barely tolerable to the UAW.
Joe Lieberman supported the war. On Domestic policy, is outrageously left-wing. He told the Hartford Bishop, when he was running against RINO Sen. Weicker that the Bishop was morally obliged to instruct Catholics to vote for him, because he was pro-life. After he got elected, he essentially told the bishop to eat sh!t and die.
Anyone that believes this is on crack. Isn't the UAW part of the AFL-CIO? If so, John Sweeny is calling the shots.
My hometown went for Gore AND Kerry?!?!? Say it isn't so!! I didn't know that. The Grand Rapids I remember was very Conservative, and I miss it a lot. How it must have fallen in recent years. Glad to hear the suburbs are still Conservative - they will have to work on taking back the city as well.
Well either way, even in it's present state, GR still looks like "Conservative Central" when compared to my present place of dwelling - The San Francisco Bay area (spit)!!
I think GR is a victim of it's own success. Back in the 1980's, the city's "niceness" was noted by many from out of the area (possibly too many of those darn "All American City" awards!!), and it began a massive growth spurt - which continues to this day (I get back for occasional visits). A large number of those transplants came from the Detroit metro area - fleeing Detroit to a nicer city, with a lower cost of living, and good "family values". Unfortunately, it seems that many of them have brought their Detroit political values with them. More's the pity. Why can't they just move to Canada instead, like any other self-respecting Bush-hater?!?!
...in the end they're still democrats.
The UAW is affiliated with the AFL-CIO, but, like the Teamsters, does make independent political endorsements. For instance, the UAW and the Teamsters endorsed Rep. Bonior for MI Gov. in 2002, while the NEA (MEA) and AFL-CIO endorsed Granholm. The UAW resented Clinton supporting "Right-to-work" legislation, NAFTA, GATT, and we cool on the details of his national HMO scheme. They held all these things against Gore, plus noted he was the administration pointman on NAFTA against Perot, and his environmental plans would have destoryed the Michigan car industry. Also, they saw Tennessee as stealing auto jobs from Michigan, to non-union outfits, with Gore's support.
To put a more fine point on it (I had to verify this), the UAW left the AFL-CIO in 1967-1968. IN 1982, the UAW rejoined the AFL-CIO, but many locals retained ties only to the national UAW and not to the national AFL-CIO. In 2000, Indiana and Kentucky locals withdrew from the AFL-CIO. In 2001, The AFL-CIO was forced by UAW and Teamsters to support drilling in the ANWR.
I wish them well.
I would vote for a pro-life RAT before I would vote for a pro-abortion Republican.
Gephardt was "pro-life" until he got national ambitions.
You remember him, the former potential speaker of the House?
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