Gee! Oh, Primary...

After a ridiculous year long pre-season that is mostly a fund-raising tour where lobbyists and media conglomerates are allowed to shape the race in advance, the Presidential primary election is finally close at hand. I really doubt most people besides political junkies have followed the race in any way other than hearing the jokes on late night talk shows or a few key moments where media coverage was so saturated over some meaningless non-event which was blown into a major gaffe (most of the above focused on the media's obsession with appearance and inability to deal with substance). So for the most part, the candidates remain a mystery to the majority of American voters and yet in just a month or two this thing could well be over.

Since Michigan has moved up the date of its primary the race may not be over when the show comes to town, but the field will likely have already significantly shifted by then. I have tried to take a look at how the contest might appear when Michigan voters get to have their say in just a couple of weeks. Since the Michigan Democratic primary will be mostly meaningless because the National Democratic Committee thinks Iowa and New Hampshire voters should have a special status conferred upon their ballots that voters in Michigan and elsewhere don't deserve, I have decided to look only for now at the Republican field and what the race will look like Michigan holds it's primary (though I hope to tackle the Democratic field in a future post):


First, the calendar:

JANUARY 2008
* January 3: Iowa (caucuses)
* January 5: Wyoming (GOP caucuses)
* January 8: New Hampshire (primary)
* January 15: Michigan
* January 19: Nevada (precinct caucuses), South Carolina (R primary)
* January 26: South Carolina (D primary)
* January 29: Florida

FEBRUARY 2008
* February 1: Maine (R)
* February 5: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado (caucuses), Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho (D), Illinois, Kansas (D), Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico (D), New York, North Dakota (caucuses), Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah
* February 9: Louisiana, Kansas (R)
* February 10: Maine (D caucuses)
* February 12: District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia
* February 19: Hawaii (D), Washington, Wisconsin

MARCH 2008
* March 4: Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont
* March 8: Wyoming (D)
* March 11: Mississippi

APRIL 2008
* April 22: Pennsylvania

MAY 2008
* May 6: Indiana, North Carolina
* May 13: Nebraska (primary), West Virginia
* May 20: Kentucky, Oregon
* May 27: Idaho (R)

JUNE 2008
* June 3: Montana, New Mexico (R), South Dakota

AUGUST 2008
* August 25-28: Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado

SEPTEMBER 2008
* September 1-4: Republican National Convention in Minneapolis-St.

January 3
Iowa- this seems to be coming down to a contest between Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney. Romney has the advantage of having spent a billion dollars here and planning for this contest for years with many visits to the state. Huckabee has the advantage of a campaign surging at just the right time which is mostly based on his appeal to the most fundamentalist of white Christian voters in the GOP primary which had yet to find a candidate they liked. The most fun thing to watch is how the establishment Republicans in the chattering class are attacking Huckabee in the media, hoping to cut off his campaign at the knees before it gains traction. The Wall Street Republicans have seen none of their preferred candidates taking hold and there's no doubt their ideal candidate would be Romney and Giuliani so that a Romney defeat of Huckabee in Iowa is crucial. But the evangelical voters who make up a large chunk of the base activists in the GOP have found no other candidate to their liking until finding Huckabee acceptable thanks in no small part to his past as a Baptist preacher and his support for putting people who are HIV+ in concentration camps. Expect Huckabee and Romney to finish 1 and 2 with the big surprise who ends up in 3rd- that person then gets to declare themselves the real winner and play the media expectation game. If Huckabee doesn't win Iowa expect the media to declare his candidacy dead or at least mortally wounded. After Iowa it's quite possible Fred Thomspon finally makes official what everyone knew the day after he announced- he never really wanted to be in this thing other than to appease his ego.

January 5
Wyoming- will this really matter? If it does, for some reason I think it becomes mostly a campaign based on national name recognition, money and momentum from Iowa which would seem to help Romney unless he gets 3rd or worse in Iowa. Giuliani as a well known name with money could finish strong. But I'd also expect that the western voters in Wyoming would give a boost to either a strong libertarian like Ron Paul or a deeply fundamentalist candidate like Huckabee. Perhaps because Arizona is in the west and McCain still appeals to a certain independent voter (though it's a caucus which does help to discourage independents from voting) I could see him finishing in the top 3 as well. Still, I doubt the media pays much attention to Wyoming and I wonder whether the candidates are (though a dark horse candidate like Ron Paul usually has to try to win in the contests the top tier consider worthless so he could likely be building a strong grass roots effort and shock the establishment with a win which would come just in time for New Hampshire, a state a libertarian could actually win and rocket into contender status).

January 8
New Hampshire- In 2000 the maverick John McCain smashed George W. Bush in New Hampshire and dazzled the media with a no-nonsense yet charming style. That McCain has long since disappeared as he's spent most of the last 8 years sucking up the evangelical right wing voters who killed his campaign last time which might have alienated him from the more socially moderate fiscal conservatives in N.H. Romney has a regional advantage he hopes will propel him to a victory (or at least 2nd place). Have no doubt that the anti-tax independents in New Hampshire will make a great showing for libertarian Ron Paul who will finish in the top 3 if not score a major upset of 2nd or even 1st. If Huckabee didn't win Iowa and doesn't come in 1st or 2nd in N.H. expect his candidacy to be declared over my the media pundits. After New Hampshire expect the race to boil down to Romney, McCain, Paul and Rudy Giuliani who will be bunkered down in Florida waiting to take on the ones still standing (see below). Romney and McCain have the most to lose in New Hampshire and if either one finishes third here they're toast.

January 15
Michigan- One would expect Mitt Romney, son of former Governor George Romney, to do well in Michigan. However, Mitt's dad was a Republican back before the party became dominated by theocrats who would impose a belief test on the office of President, or dog catcher for that matter. Expect John McCain to once again do well in Michigan though it may not be as big as when he broke down John Engler's infamous fire well erected to protect George W. Bush in 2000. I still think Romney has the home town boy advantage and McCain will still do well but the big winner in Michigan will be Ron Paul. Paul's libertarianism seems to be gaining him a lot of support and his campaign has been the only one I've even seen physical evidence of.

January 19
Nevada- Given the extreme anti-immigration rhetoric that the average Republican primary voter demands to hear from the candidates and that only John McCain has really done well to not walk too far out on that ledge, expect McCain who's from neighboring Arizona to do well. Other than that, I haven't a clue other than I'd expect the nationally-well known candidates like Romney and Giuliani's name and money advantages to play well here. Either way the news will probably be obscured by whoever wins South Carolina which also votes on the 19th.

South Carolina- South Carolina has recently been the "fire wall" in the Republican primary. Because of it's size and position in the race, as well as how it reflects the white, right wing and Christianist nature of the Republican base, the state is yet again poised to be a "decider" this time just as it did in 2000 when it dashed McCain's hopes of winning the nomination. I would expect a Baptist preacher like Huckabee to do great here is he is still hanging around and could even make him a front runner if he makes the top 3 in New Hampshire and continues the momentum. However, with a host of other races in big states coming soon after S.C., the state may not have the final say especially with Giuliani waiting in the wings to see who emerges from a brutal early primary season.

January 29
Florida- apparently Giuliani has decided to sit out the early contests and hopes that a big win in Florida will jump start his campaign after the early contests have knocked out most of the also-rans. Most people expect the race to be all but over by this point but I see a good chance that this thing is still confused and Florida could confuse it even more. Since Florida's Democratic primary is an meaningless as Michigan's, you have to wonder if the vote could see an influx of independents and Democrats who help push one campaign over the top. Perhaps the elderly Florida rejuvenate the campaign of the elder statesman John McCain.

In short, this thing is going to be wild and may drag out longer than the Republican establishment would prefer (though it should be over February 5 when a mass of states vote on the same day, including California and enough other states that someone could near the number of delegates needed for victory and begin the calls for the other candidates to drop out). Right now the knives are out against Huckabee who's surging in Iowa but is seen as too evangelical and too liberal on economic issues for the true power brokers in the GOP (listen to what the ivy league pundits on the right like George Will, Charles Krauthammer and others are saying- they truly fear a Huckabee nomination), the financial elite would prefer Romney or Giuliani or even McCain. Expect Huckabee to get "Deaned" in Iowa as every little gaffe and anything short of 1st place will be declared by the media as the end of his campaign- if I were Huckabee I'd avoid an enthusiastic speech in the event of not winning a resounding victory in Iowa. The real test is how much power the theocratic wing of the party has versus the moneyed elite and whether the contest between the two wings turns into something that breaks the party in half and possibly even helps contribute to a third party run (which Ron Paul seems most capable of, unless the candidacy of a Romney or Giuliani fuels a run from a Christian fundamentalist candidate or a win by Huckabee causes Wall Street Republicvans to beg New York Mayor Bloomberg into the contest). Since Reagan, the Republicans have mostly held together a majority coalition but the fault lines have been emerging. In the end, the GOP can hold together if they are united in a trying to avoid a humiliating defeat at the hands of their most hated political enemy- Hillary Clinton.

An important thing to consider is how much the shifting Democratic field shapes the Republican race. The more Hillary Clinton's campaign loses the media-created aura of inevitability the more Republican voters are likely to sense that they don't need to hold their nose and cast their lot with someone "who can beat Hillary" yet isn't tough enough on immigration, taxes, abortion, guns, gays, etc. (Giuliani, I'm looking at you- you too, Romney). However, if Clinton ends up doing well in Iowa it could unite the GOP in their long-running irrational fear of anything associated with the Clinton name.

Another interesting of the aspect of the race to watch is that as much as John McCain seems to be irrelevant now, the fact remains that he has been relatively unscathed by the back and forth attacks of the current front runners (especially between Romney and Huckabee in Iowa which is starting to resemble how Dick Gephart's attacks on Howard Dean took out Dean and let Edwards and Kerry emerge as the front runners after surprising finishes in Iowa in 2004) and could emerge with enough delegates to win the nomination should no one else ever emerge as a true front runner. As much as the GOP has flirted with everyone in the field at various points, McCain could emerge as the standard bearer should no one else grab with enough momentum or delegates to win it outright.

By biggest fear, is that the advanced calendar of this primary election will mean that the race has been decided by the time most people even realize it's time to make a decision. So, hopefully this is a wake up call that this election process is like the tiny pebble at the top of the hill, soon about to become an unstoppable avalanche. The campaign process is broken and needs to be fixed but we can only make our voices heard when he actually show up and vote. Do your homework, research the issues and candidates' records, look past the rhetoric and the rumor and make an informed decision.

State of confusion

Saturday was an interesting news day for Michigan. First, the state legislature, once again acting at the last minute, finally got a bill passed and signed into law both repealing the sales tax on some services 7 hours after it took effect and replacing the lost revenue with a bump in the new Michigan Business Tax. The AP has the story complete with ridiculous headline (once again pushing the false notion the service tax was widely disliked by the public):

The service tax will be replaced by a 21.99 percent surcharge on the taxes businesses will already pay under the new Michigan Business Tax, which takes effect Jan. 1. The surcharge would be eliminated in 2017 if certain economic conditions are met. Many small businesses don't pay the MBT and won't have to pay the surcharge.

At least the bill got a good number of votes from both sides, passing 66-42 in the House and 33-4 in the Senate even if a solution should have come sooner than after the brand new tax had just come into effect, leaving too many businesses in a state of confusion as to whether they would be responsible for collecting the new service sales tax and once again hurting the state's image.

Also, the Democratic National Committee decided to strip Michigan of its delegates due to an effort by Michigan and a select group of states trying to finally strip Iowa and New Hampshire of their undeserved and overpowering influence in the presidential nomination process.

Michigan, with 156 delegates, has scheduled a Jan. 15 primary. Democratic Party rules prohibit states other than Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina from holding nominating contests before Feb. 5.

Despite what I think was a noble effort for a worthy cause, it can only hurt Michigan's influence as it is now totally irrelevant irrelevant as not only will it lose its delegates but most of the major players on the Democratic ticket have asked to have their names removed from the ballot and have promised not to campaign, thus accomplishing the complete opposite of the goal to make Michigan more important in the selection of the 2008 presidential nomination process. The presidential primary has become a joke with states jockeying for better position, leaving the schedule up in the air so long and moving the schedule so far ahead that most people will just be starting to pay attention to the race only to find it already decided with an eternal general election to follow that will leave the country despising both major party candidates once again.

No means no park

When Barry County voters go to the polls Tuesday, November 6, 2007, they will be faced with a simple question: Should Charlton Park remain open?

Now, some will muddy the waters and insist that it's about accounting or oversight or budgets or taxes or whatever their particular grudge/issue, but those people are still concerned about the "sins of the father" rather than what faces us now. They obsess about what went wrong in the past, aren't contributing to fixing the problems now, and have no vision of the future.

You see, it's very simple: no matter what you think about what went on at the park before or what will happen in the future, all that stuff is irrelevant when you go to vote Tuesday. If you vote "no" then the park closes and it doesn't matter how much you are for the park while being against the who, how and when of everything to do with the park. You aren't voting "no" to protest the failures of the past, you're voting to close a valuable asset that hasn't been used to its potential in the past but is on the road to get there NOW thanks to the hard work and dedication of many volunteers. With no other means of remaining open, a "no" vote would assure the end of a unique treasure that is finally on the road to being what many of us think it could be.

The "no" voters seem intent, willing, and able to deny the vast change in the direction of the park in the last year. Of course, the park isn't "fixed" yet, but the "no" voters haven't helped by sitting at the sidelines and throwing rotten tomatoes. If you can't see that the park added events, improved the way it operates, and extended a hand to the volunteers and event organizers who had been shunted aside in the past, then you aren't paying attention. We also can't let our anger at what's gone wrong before blind us to what is going right now. I have seen first hand the hard work and dedication that has gone into correcting the course of the park and I feel those efforts deserve support. A small minority have tried to make the perfect the enemy of the good and point out how things aren't where they should be, but I see a group who's only had a year and has made a lot of progress which shows no signs of letting up as long as voters continue their support.

Last year, a "no" vote was needed to upend the corrupt structure of the Parks and Rec board, but the time has come to recognize that the only way to move forward and to continue to fix and improve the Park is to vote yes. Now, with a new board in place and a renewed commitment to the park, $10-$20 is a small price to pay to allow the continued operation and future improvement of the park.

Of course you may not agree with every decision made in the operation or improvement of the park, but voting "no" doesn't help that. Voting "no" simply closes the park and removes the hope that one day it can be a self-funded educational tool and tourist attraction. If you want to improve the park or change it's direction you can join the Parks Board, volunteer at the park, run for County Board, or you can keep lobbing rotten tomatoes at those doing the job, but the only message a "no" votes sends is to close Charlton Park. Let's send a different message- that we care about the future while we seek to preserve and educate about the past. Let's show that we appreciate the diligent and determined efforts of countless volunteers who are committed to improving and maintaining the park. Say "yes" to Charlton Park.

Remember to vote on Tuesday, November 6.

Pass the budget, not the buck - Part 2

State Rep. Brian Calley’s most recent column in the Hastings Banner is another reminder of what’s wrong in Lansing.

I was told by former Banner Editor David T. Young that when he was approached by newly-annointed State Representative Brian Calley about running a column that Calley assured the Banner, which previously had refused to run columns and articles from politicians because they too often were campaign propaganda, that the column would be non-partisan and stick to informing readers of what was happening in Lansing. At first, Calley stuck to his promise, but like everything else he says, that vow was issued with forked tongue and slowly but surely we see the real politician poking out from behind the gleaming white teeth and the humble, aw shucks prose of the supposedly simple man sent into the lion’s den who reports back weekly on how awful and partisan the process is- and by some coincidence it’s always the Democrats’ fault.

Calley’s newest column proceeds to convince us that the horrible state budget stalemate is the fault of House Democrats and the Democratic Governor as he compares the state budget negotiations to going out to eat with your wife and watching another married couple argue. As usual, he’s got it all wrong as he hides behind his supposedly bipartisan persona while he sticks to the party line, he says one thing but then does another.

Citing the fact that not ALL Democrats are voting for the proposed tax increases to fix an almost $2 billion structural hole in the budget, mostly caused by massive and continued tax cutting in the 90s (and then obviously made worse by the cyclical downturn in fortunes of the “Big 3” US automakers and not due to the phantom menace of high taxes since Michigan ranks in the middle of tax burden and at the very top for reliance on auto manufacturing), our State Representative informs us that the Republicans are merely innocent bystanders unable to help along the process and held victim to the bickering Democrats who don’t agree on a solution. This is not the whole truth and nothing but the truth and Calley knows it, he just doesn’t expect or want YOU to know it.

I won’t disagree with everything Calley says, but much of it is partisan spin with just enough truth to convince those not following along at home. While it’s true House Democrats haven’t supported the Governor the entire way (thank goodness one political party still believes in allowing it’s members to dissent and actually represent their constituents as opposed to
enforcing solid party discipline and marching in “lock step”... or is that goose step), the real problem is that at every turn the State Senate which is controlled by the Republican Party has refused any measure that would close the budget hole and pushed the crisis to the brink in a game of chicken. Remember that despite getting less votes across the state in the combined Senate races, the GOP ended up with control because of redistricting much like a President can gain the White House despite losing a popular vote (and yes, this is the way the system works and I use it only to point out that more voters elected to give control of the state economy to Democrats and that the state GOP should understand this in regards to their negotiating position). Senate Leader Bishop has stubbornly refused any tax increase despite the Republican Party not having enough votes to do anything but be a road block to any real compromise, Bishop has continually and doggedly done everything to stand in the way of any real solution, instead offering only meager cuts in spending to departments that have already faced year after year of cuts of increases less than that of the rate of inflation- a defacto cut by any measure.

Also remember that it is a Republican former state legislator who has threatened and organized a well-funded and coordinated recall campaign for anyone in Lansing who dares to vote with the people and patch up the gaping budget hole with the increases in revenue that will end this yearly madness of last minute budget stop gap measures and quick fixes once and for all. This recall threat and the obvious stance of the Republicans which is to try to force Democrats to push through a tax increase with ZERO support from them (an impossible task given the GOP control of the Senate) has forced 8 Democratic members of the House to refuse to vote either way without some measure of bipartisan support, but yet there is NO Republican willing to cross party lines to vote for a tax increase and so we still have no deal less than a week away from a government shutdown. Democrats rightfully smell the GOP trying to shirk their responsibility to deal with the mess and know they are going to be left holding the bag. Why should the Democrats act like the responsible adults who get stuck cleaning up the mess just so the GOP can use it as a bludgeon against them in the next election?

And so now some are calling for half measures to move the goalposts and put off the big decisions for another day- something which the Governor has said she will not allow. While some in Lansing are trying to do the right thing and face up to their responsibility, our State Rep. Brian Calley takes the tough stand and declares his support for.... more of the same. How disappointing and yet how predictable, and the whole reason we're in this mess.

In his tenure in Lansing, Calley has become a pro of coming to town and donning some “dungarees” and fresh-out-of-the-box sneaker and walking among us common folk, shaking hands & kissing babies and telling us what we want to hear. He writes his weekly column as if he were Jimmy Stewart, aghast at the awful partisianship in Lansing while he votes straight party line and does everything he can to ingratiate himself to leadership to further his attempts to move up the ladder and take the next step to State Senate. If you hate career
politicians then you might want to know that Calley has said to confidants that he never wishes to go back into banking and has made it known his eyes are on the prize- a cushy seat in the State Senate which is surely no more than another stop along to bigger and better things and many more years making a nice living from the government his philosophy constantly demeans and diminishes.

Where Calley’s dishonesty becomes most apparent is his lack of acknowledgement of the role the state GOP has played in all of this. Even IF House Democrats ALL voted for a tax increase would Senate Majority Leader Bishop allow ANY Republicans in the Senate to vote with Democrats and pass a tax increase? If you think so I've got a bridge across the Straights of Mackinac to sell you. Democrats only control 2/3rds of the process and without ANY Republicans willing to muster the fortitude and political courage to pass the solution the people of Michigan understand is needed then NOTHING gets done. So, instead of blaming the Governor and the House Democrats, maybe Calley should have used the time he took to write his partisan screed this week and called up Mr. Bishop and told him to quit standing in the way of a solution.

As long as the Republicans in Lansing are in the majority in the Senate they can effectively block any budget deal so to blame Democrats for the lack of a deal is not wrong, it’s a blatant lie and I’m calling Calley out on it. Instead of blaming the people who’ve proposed as REAL solution to our problem how about Mr. Calley remember all his talk of bipartianship and
actually follow his own suggestion. Instead of offering partisan spin, Mr. Calley should offer the cold hard truth to his constituents even if it hurts his obvious career ambitions. All of us get up and go to work and do our jobs without complaining, maybe it’s time for our highly paid “welfare cases” in Lansing do the same... or maybe next time they come to us asking for our votes we’ll tell them they’ve taken enough of our money and done too little to earn another paycheck. Maybe instead of whining about how mean-spirited and partisan everything in Lansing is, our State Rep. should stand up and cross party lines and do what’s right.

Brian Calley comes to town and says he’s for your local domestic violence shelter, more funding of mental health treatment, and whatever else he thinks you want to hear but then he goes to Lansing and votes party line in favor of a rabid right wing agenda of tax cutting government down to the size it can be drowned in a bath tub until our schools are failing and bridges are falling down. I wouldn’t mind Mr. Calley being such an anti-tax idealogue, I just wish he wouldn’t lie about it. I also wish he and his cohorts would do their ONLY constitutionally-mandated job and PASS A BUDGET instead of putting it off for another day. When it comes to fixing the budget mess, there's no better time than right NOW!

Pass the budget, not the buck

President Harry Truman is known for the sign he placed atop his desk in the Oval Office, reminding everyone that "The Buck Stops Here." If only the politicians in Lansing were as willing to take responsibility...

An October 1 deadline draws near. By that date the Michigan House and Senate will have needed to pass the state budget with the signature of the Governor or the state faces a government shut down. The Attorney General has decreed that absolutely no money can be spent without a balanced budget signed into law. As of now the state is almost $2 billion short of making ends meet. Lansing, so far, has yet to deal with the situation and mostly what we've seen so far has been grandstanding and theatre, more of the same.

The Republican-controlled Senate has time and time again insisted that the state's budget should be balanced through spending cuts and have rejected several plans and compromises to deal with the budget shortfall through revenue increases. A last desperate measure by Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop to pass the buck and make the voters decide was foiled last week, and so here we are, right where we were so many months ago when I last commented on the situation. Frankly, I'd put off saying anything else, assuming that the "paid professionals" in Lansing would finally come to some resolution. Especially since the best solution has been sitting on the table for quite some time.

In a previous post here, I called for the legislature to roll back a small portion of the Engler income tax cuts for at least a temporary period of time. Since then many others have come out in favor of the same method for putting our state budget back in the black. Other plans have been floated but none is as elegant or as easily wiped away, should more prosperous times return. Raising the sales tax or adding a new service tax were both equally flawed solutions and harder to do away with.

Though, to be honest I doubt any tax increase will be temporary. Michigan's financial situation is not just a product of "lean times" or a temporary manufacturing downturn as much as it is a product of continued and excessive rounds of revenue cuts as part of a deliberate "starve the beast" mentality among right wing conservatives in the state and the result of the lust for globalization among the country's rich elite who lobby Congress for trade deals that cut the American worker off at the knees and move production to foreign countries, robbing us of our ability to pay our mortgages or our taxes.

Michigan's attempts to to transform itself from an auto manufacturing state to whatever comes next won't be quick or easy, but it also cannot be done without an investment in education and infrastructure. Both have been slowly rotting away as the people have been sold the snake oil of lower taxes and smaller government which come at "no cost" much like those "no interest" and "no money down" home loans. Those little tax refund checks sure feel good but they don't last. Meanwhile, the state is failing to educate it's workforce and it's citizens while the roads and schools crumble. It's time to quit passing the buck and deal with the mess we've created.

Some would say that it's foolish to expect that common sense will rule and that people will see how the "feel good now" tax cuts of the past created this mess and that it's time to own up to our collective responsibilities. Then again, outside of a small and timid group of corporate puppets and timid bureaucrats in Lansing, most people I talk to seem to understand the need to own up to our responsibility to properly fund schools, roads, health care, etc. But yet, the interest groups are already threatening to recall politicians who vote for tax increases, and timid politicians who cling to their cushy jobs and look to take the next step up the ladder of sucking on the public teat are feeling the heat. So, it's fair to ask if we expect politicians to make the tough and correct choices, isn't it time for the voters to do so as well?

For too long citizens have returned to office the very politicians who traded the milk cow of American industry for the magic beans of a Flat Earth. We've voted the guys who offered prosperity without cost and glory without sacrifice. I have no doubt that whatever form the final budget takes in Lansing, there will have to be some form of increased revenue (even the Senate conceded as much when it offered only a meager package of cuts which fall far short of the $2 billion needed). When the time comes, there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth as anti-tax, anti-government special interests threaten recall and primary challenges. We can only hope that our elected representatives belly up and do what's right. But when our time comes will we support the ones who were responsible and wise or will we once again support the short term solutions and the easy answers?

I ask the lawmakers in Lansing to do what's right and pass the budget, then I ask for the voters of Michigan to support them when they show courage and make them accountable if and when they pass the buck.

Nine Won One more time...

When I wrote my last post to this blog a little over a month ago, I guessed that the blaring news headlines of a new rock solid set of charges against our much-maligned Barry County 911 director would likely vaporize into little more than the newest chapter of the long saga of The Wall of Blue - the system that Mr. Nystrom has used time and time again to attack his accusers and shield himself from the prying eyes of the public. Last year I wrote my first post on Director Nystrom's ability to avoid punishment for his many misdeeds and here we are today with some still not realizing that the very illegal or unethical payments Mr. Nystrom is accused of making to his dispatchers is part of that Wall. How ironic is it that the very people we are supposed to call when we are being robbed are the ones who are picking our pockets?

Very simply for those who still can't grasp the basic facts in this case: Why would anyone rat out the guy who's been giving them taxpayer money that they hadn't earned and weren't entitled to receive? How many of those people would go public, knowing that not only would they likely have to pay that money back but that they'd also have to answer why they took it in the first place? Why did those payments take place in a manner not exactly legal or ethical when there would have been almost no objection from any quarter had they been necessary and well-earned?

That Nystrom's defenders have no answers for any of those questions leaves me convinced that the taxpayers of Barry County just got screwed again. It's in many ways similar to the way Scooter Libby obstructed justice by lying before a Grand Jury in the CIA leak case and then got his sentence commuted by the very forces his lies were helping to protect- how do you prosecute a case when all the witnesses are willing to lie and their lies are condoned by the people in power that they are protecting?

I find it almost surreal that most of Nystrom's defenders have used the line that he personally didn't benefit from the misuse of public funds- as if stealing from someone is OK as you long as you don't keep the money. Is it much of a stretch to understand that those payments are obviously part of his system of favors and punishment that the director has used to keep his Wall intact? While there is no doubt many incorrect allegations have been hurled at the director, it's also true that men and women of reason have to be able to separate unrelated arguments, and the truth or falsehood of the most recent allegations have nothing to do with past incidents, investigations and cover-ups.

The real problem here is that the public has been robbed not just once, but twice. First, Nystrom took money (correct me if I'm wrong, but I've seen very few people argue- even Nystrom himself- against the actual charges but instead they choose to dismiss it as just being nice to public employees who worked hard to keep us safe which has nothing to do with Nystrom's guilt or innocence but makes a neat way to deflect attacks without really mustering a real defense) which was not his to spend on dubious overtime expenses which had no reason to exist "off the books" other than to serve as hush money and to protect his personal fiefdom. Second, Nystrom has received a generous payoff which is his own hush fund, given to him by his long-time enablers on the County 911 Board- the very people who should have discovered the misappropriation of public money and DONE SOMETHING about it! This smacks of yet another corrupt crony Christmas gift which seems to be a proud tradition in local politics. I'm not sure what is more offensive- the bribe to go away quietly or the fact that so many prominent figures are forcing us to eat this turd and tell us how good it tastes!

That the voters have been let down by their elected leaders is the real story. Once again, instead of doing what was right, Nystrom and the 911 Board have failed in their duty to wisely use taxpayer money for the greater good. Nystrom's payments to dispatchers could have been done through legal and ethical means, but they weren't and he should have to face consequences for those actions instead of receiving an early retirement gift and a loud and boisterous defense from his pack of enablers who hide behind talking point as if they were members of the Bush administration- how many more times do we have to hear any complain about our County 911 system countered by the old saw that "we have the best system in the state." Talking points work best when they confuse the issue and distract people from the real matter.

Finally, it seems like we've been most let down by a County Prosecutor who I warned was not up to the job from what I saw in the election campaign. Prosecutor Evans led with his chin and got sent to the mat. Whatever his motives or reason for going public with the case when he chose, it now appears obvious he wasn't ready to press charges. He now seems to be hinting he and the Sheriff will not sign off on the deal, which has been called a golden parachute in the local paper's editorial. I have no sympathy for Prosecutors who choose to try their case in public- it's one of the reasons voters sent a previous prosecutor packing. Evan's opponent likely lost because she was seen as too close to the corrupt system voters were already tired of. But if Evans is unable to effectively manage a case of public corruption then what good is he? Perhaps the biggest lesson from all this is that sometimes people just aren't up the job and that being incompetent is perhaps just as bad or even worse than being corrupt.

If voters want to take their anger out on anyone over this, how about the 911 Board which has always defended Nystrom, instead of doing their job to protect the public from waste, fraud, corruption and abuse? I'd suggest starting with Nystrom's loudest defender, Hastings Township Supervisor Jim Brown. This Brownie is not doing a "heckuva job" since he's loudly trying to tell us what a good deal we got. The only way it would be a good deal is if Brown himself resigned or if the sensible voters of Hastings Township started making some noise about their elected official's involvement in defending the misuse of public funds. I know there's a remedy for when elected officials shirk their responsibility to the public, do you recall? Hastings Township voters are in a unique position to have their voices heard on this issue and they should let Jim Brown know his days of defending the misuse of their money are over.

And should anyone still be confused- acquittal, or lack of prosecution, does not equal innocence. Since OJ Simpson never got convicted does that mean he didn't kill two people? Ken Lay never served a day in prison but he's still known as the guy who defrauded Enron investors. The people who see the lack of prosecution as evidence of innocence need to understand that there is no connection between the two, except that it's one more sign the Wall of Blue is still holding strong.

Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall

If you live in Barry County or if you've been reading this blog, chances are you know a little bit about the controversy over our County 911 Director, Charlie Nystrom. Nystrom has been charged with wrong doing in the past but nothing has ever seemed to stick. Today, Nystrom was placed on one week of administrative leave due to Prosecutor Tom Evans alleging Nystrom gave several 911 employees overtime pay which they were not entitled to to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money.

In previous instances, Nystrom has been accused of much but there was always a lack of solid proof, a "blue wall" of defenders and a feeling that the accusations from some were nothing more than a combination of personality conflicts, sour grapes and small town politics. However, if the allegations presented by Evans and Sheriff Dar Leaf turn out to be true, Nystrom's critics will finally be vindicated.

In the past Nystrom has personally tried to defend himself on this blog and the Barry Home Companion in the guise of "Truthseeker," often by accusing me of being part of the local paper which has been a fierce and unrelenting critic of Nystrom, even after he was cleared of other allegations in a probe by the Michigan State Police. Nystrom used the investigation's result as a way to portray himself as the victim of a witch hunt conducted by the paper and this blog.

However, the State Police probe was discounted by many in the community due to Nystrom's close ties to many State Police, including former post commander and current 911 Board Chair Ron Neil. In fact, when the 911 board allowed Nystrom's lawyer access to his office, it conveniently was Neil who was allowed to escort him. It's amazing to me that no one else on the board saw the potential for mischief and forced someone more impartial to take part in the visit. I can't help but wonder if once again the wall surrounding Nystrom will protect him and keep the truth from coming out.

Despite the media coverage I can't help but feel like I've seen this film before. The allegations once again sound grave but Evans has yet to press any charges and hints he may not, despite his calling this a case of "embezzlement." At this point, despite having gone public with the inflammatory charge, the investigation has only interviewed a mere 2 of 11 dispatchers. Eyewitness accounts from today's meeting has said that Evans and Leaf were less than convincing in their presentations. Could it be that once again critics of Nystrom have gone public with their allegations without enough evidence to convict?

I'd like to think that this time the people responsible for defending their claims will have the weight of evidence on their side. And this time, I'm hoping that those who've spent so much time defending Nystrom finally decide to do right by the citizens of this county, who deserve to have their public officials be watch dogs in the use of tax dollars, not using it to pay off their buddies and buy their silence. The most recent allegations against Nystrom could be the final crack in the Wall of Blue or All the King's Men just might find a way to fix their boss and return to business as usual.