Free Republic

LANSING, MI -- A Republican presidential candidate hasn't won Michigan since 1988, but with 2016 on the horizon, GOP lawmakers are proposing bills that could help a second-place finisher win some electoral college votes here. • Rigging? State Rep. Cindy Gamrat, R-Plainwell, this month reintroduced legislation that would award Michigan's electoral college votes by Congressional District, ditching the winner-take-all model that most states use and diminishing the influence of large cities that can swing a vote. David Weigel of Bloomberg News, calling the bill part of the "electoral college-rigging movement," noted that Republican nominee Mitt Romney would have won nine...

LANSING, MI - Freshman state Rep. Cindy Gamrat, R-Plainwell, has been indefinitely removed from the Michigan House Republican caucus. Gamrat, a tea party favorite, allegedly broke caucus confidentiality rules by posting a comment on Facebook during an off-campus budget workshop on Wednesday afternoon. A source familiar with the situation said Gamrat was not aware that caucus rules were in effect during the workshop but was confronted by House Speaker Kevin Cotter, who later told her she was no longer welcome in GOP caucus meetings. "In no way did I reveal anything confidential from the meeting, and I have never violated...