Posted on 10/31/2005 6:17:27 PM PST by Clintonfatigued
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard on Monday became the third Republican to announce a primary bid for the seat of Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow (news, bio, voting record) next year.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
This is an interesting developement. Bouchard appears to be the strongest candidate in the general election. But Keith Butler did announce first, in spite of heavy odds against him. Input from Wolverine State Freepers (Dan, for example) is encouraged.
I would love to see her defeated. She's awful.
If he can get his own county machine going first maybe he will have a chance. Oakland County went for Kerry, IIRC.
I think Butler still has the best chance. If he can siphon just a few percent from Detroit, AA, Flint, etc. it might take him over the top.
I prefer Butler, but if Bouchard wins I'll still vote for him.
I just wish we had a better choice than DeVos for Governor.
He did, he changed his mind.
A sheriff race is much different than an issues driven US Senate race. Bouchard was a state senator in a district that was then marginally GOP and today marginally democrat (if not redistricted), so he has won in tough areas before.
But while Oakland is important, so is its neighbor Macomb which also swings, but is much different politicalwise than Oakland. Spence Abraham is from Oakland and won there and lost in Macomb back in 2000. Mike Cox in his AG race won both Oakland and Macomb and won statewide.
The question is if Bouchard can do both. I don't enough enough about him to have an informed opinion on it.
I wasn't that positive on DeVos until I saw him speak in person a couple of times. I think he can actually win.
Regardless if he's affiliated with Amway or not, the libs will be out in force with all sorts of "pyramid schemes" to feed the media.
I'll wait and see what happens, but most voters in Michigan are just plain "stuck on stupid" when it comes to politics. Jesus could return tomorrow and it would be "Bush and Engler's fault."
Clueless Jenny still has Detroit, Flint, Saginaw solid, and the RINO liberal whites (Oakland County and West Wayne County) where the population density resides. She also gets a large chunk of "up north" via Bart Stupak--a lot of them will march off a cliff to follow big tax anti-Christian pro abort Bart. Besides, she proclaimed Alpena and T.C. "cool cities". There are still a lot of people who subscribe to the crappola that Jenny is hurting because of evil John Engler's legacy. Throw in the MEA and the UAW and its more of the same I'm afraid.
Has "Little Debbie" Stabenow been in office that long already. Geesh; seems like she was just elected.
The ultra-liberal, welfare state of Michigan gets closer to becoming a Red State every election. But when it comes to state offices and Congressional / Senatorial Candidates, they love liberal women; even foreign born ones like their governor.
Why? I'm not challenging you just wonder what your perception is. I enjoyed wife Betsy personally witnessed in person introducing the President a couple of times in the last campaign.
They do a lot for the party in MI (whatever that is these days). The bottom line is Granholm is the worst and must be replaced.
The MI republican party is on the deserved craplist of the RNC and has been forever, and earned.
You're so-o-o-o close I hear crickets. MI is a red state but we have a couple of big cancers and pathetic leadership.
I don't have anything against DeVos, but there's a big perception problem that he's going to have to overcome. I'm going to wait and see regarding his platform, but at this point I think Granholm will win simply because most of Michigan voters are stupid, willfully so.
The thing that might tip the balance is Detroit. Most people across Michigan are aware the city sucks the lifeblood out of the state and are growing more and more disgusted with the mayor campaign every day. The latest "lynching" ad by Kilpatrick supporters has outraged a lot of people and the corruption is getting a lot of media play. If the DeVos campaign can tie the state's atrocious economy to Jenny and her hand-in-pockets relationship with Detroit, then we stand a chance.
I just saw this:
"Butler, DeVos say they oppose affirmative action ballot issue
11/1/2005, 2:43 a.m. ET
By TIM MARTIN
The Associated Press
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A proposal that would ban some affirmative action programs in Michigan has taken a major step toward making it onto the ballot, but two prominent Michigan Republican candidates have come out against it.
The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled Monday that a state elections board should allow the proposal to appear on the November 2006 ballot. The ruling is a victory for the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, which backs the proposed constitutional amendment to ban racial and gender preferences in government hiring and university admissions.
On Monday, Republican gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos and GOP U.S. Senate hopeful Keith Butler both issued statements saying they oppose the MCRI proposal, while GOP Senate candidate Jerry Zandstra said he supports it.
Butler, who is black, had repeatedly declined to answer earlier questions on whether he supported or opposed the ballot proposal. Monday was the first time he announced his position. He strongly denounced the proposal in a news release.
"This proposal is wrong for Michigan. We still live in a society where some among us still need assistance," Butler said.
"I do not support quotas or set aside programs for anyone," he added. "This proposal will, however, terminate many worthwhile programs including, any Michigan program that aims to increase opportunities for women including recruitment, training, and outreach programs in public education, and employment."
DeVos, expected to be the lone Republican to challenge Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm, also released a statement saying he opposed the proposal.
"I am particularly concerned that this initiative may have the unintended consequence of negatively impacting programs aimed at helping women in education," DeVos said in a statement. "It may also restrict girls-only and boys-only schools that have proven to be successful."
Zandstra, of Cutlerville, said he was ready to debate Butler and the other GOP Senate candidate, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard, over the merits of the ballot proposal.
"Congratulations to MCRI for their hard work in getting on the ballot," Zandstra said in a statement. "I am a strong believer in racial equality and meritocracy."
Zandstra, Butler and Bouchard all are seeking the GOP nomination to face incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow. A spokeswoman for the Bouchard campaign didn't have a comment on the issue Monday.
The Board of State Canvassers failed to approve or reject the MCRI's petitions this summer, prompting the group to seek court action to get on the ballot.
The elections board is obligated to certify the petitions, the three-judge panel said in its ruling. The court said there is no dispute that the form of the petition is proper and that the MCRI collected enough signatures to make the ballot.
"We had faith all along this would be the result," MCRI executive director Jennifer Gratz said. "We applaud the court's decision."
An opposition group — The Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration & Immigrant Rights and Fight for Equality by Any Means Necessary (BAMN) — said Monday it plans to appeal to the state Supreme Court. BAMN also plans a federal court suit to try and stop the initiative.
Dave Waymire, spokesman for an opposition group called One United Michigan, said it is ironic the court ruling came out as the nation mourns Rosa Parks, whose refusal to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Ala., city bus helped galvanize the modern civil rights movement.
"It would return us back to the 1940s in civil rights law," Waymire said of the MCRI proposal. "We are prepared to fight vigorously."
State elections bureau staff had recommended to the canvassers that the petitions be certified. But a vote to approve the petitions failed to win a bipartisan majority of the four-person board, which has two Democrats and two Republicans.
Canvassers also deadlocked on motions to throw out the petitions and to investigate allegations of fraud.
Opponents of the proposal have said an undetermined number of signatures were gathered through misrepresentation, with many black people tricked into signing a petition they thought would protect affirmative action and civil rights. MCRI denies the fraud allegations.
The court of appeals ruling said the canvassers do not have the authority to investigate the fraud allegations. The panel included judges Henry Saad, Mark Cavanagh and Kathleen Jansen."
I agree about the perception notion. The welfare/union class doesn't want a successful businessman and employer to run a state with such high unemployment.
Amazing a state with the highest unemployment would reward its governor with a second term, just amazing.
If I remember correctly, Mike Cox won very narrowly after a recount.
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