A more than plausible argument could be made that the most invisible man in Barry County government over the last dozen years has been Administrator Michael Brown.
Ever since Brown was hired as a sort of “Whiz Kid” in his mid-twenties during the mid-1990s, he’s been forced to take a back seat to the bloated egos of a bad string of chairpersons of the Barry County Board of Commissioners. He had to sit in the back of the government bus during the awful reigns of Jim Bailey (1995-2001), Jeff MacKenzie (2001-2005) and Clare Tripp (2005-2007) and may even have had to sit through some time during the brief, but equally unimpressive leadership of Orvin Moore (1993-1995).
All four of these chairs eventually were retired at the ballot box, and deservedly so. Moore was thrashed by Tim Burd in his re-election bid in the August 1994 GOP primary. Bailey got his comeuppance when he left the board to run for state representative, losing in Republican primaries to Gary Newell in 2000 and once again to Brian Calley in 2006. MacKenzie was sent packing in his re-election bid by Michael Callton in the 2004 GOP primary and Tripp’s reign was mercifully ended this past August by Mark Englerth.
So what we have here is a failure of leadership in this county over 14 years. What we have here actually is the history of hubris of elected public officials who have tried to micro-manage nearly every aspect of county government, all the while they should have turned to their professionally trained and well compensated expert, Michael Brown.
Word on the street is that the new Board of Commissioners that will be seated on Jan. 2 may finally adopt a very different philosophy of governance. It seems from what I'm told that the likely new chairman, Mike Callton, plans to lean on Brown’s expertise and experience, and that he will get plenty of support from newcomers Jeff VanNortwick, Mark Englerth and Keith Ferris, along with holdovers Hoot Gibson and Don Nevins.
What I’ve been hearing is that Callton and Company plan to use Brown the same way a city uses a city manager, the same way a school district uses a superintendent. That’s the way it always should have been. It’s incredible that Barry County citizens have allowed laypersons to make the important decisions about budget, property and personnel, all while lacking the necessary expertise (and in some cases basic common sense). A lot of the pre-decision work and eventual recommendations should be done by the hired professional.
Brown for too long has been paid good money to be a glorified office manager. It’s way past time to let him get down to the business of being the manager of day-to-day affairs of Barry County government. Commissioners, meanwhile, should spend far less time in committee meetings and much more time in setting policies, taking Brown’s expertise and recommendations and collectively being “the deciders.”
This shift in responsibility may be somewhat dangerous for "The Invisible Michael Brown," who has been able to survive nicely for more than a dozen years as this figure in the background who does all the research and then gets little if any credit, much less respect. Brown now may have to make recommendations and decisions that may be unpopular and he may have to take on much more serious work.
People tell me that he’s looking forward to the challenge and to being given a chance to see what he can do. I’m looking forward to a changeover that should result in more effective local government. I’m sure there will be some growing pains, but it certainly ought to be better than Barry County’s past 14 years of bad governance.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Tax abatement blues
I know I’ve penned this familiar phrase several times on the blog, but I’ll write it again for a reason: “Don’t piss on my shoes and then tell me it’s raining.” The latest example of this exercise, if not in lying, in bullshit, came to us courtesy of officials associated with two of the oldest industries in Hastings. The front page of the Nov. 30 Hastings Banner carried the story about the Hastings City Council approving Viking’s request of a transfer of the now defunct Tyden Seal’s tax abatement.
For those bereft of Civics 101, a tax abatement is a government unit giving a tax break of up to 50 percent for up to 12 years to a business that is expanding or being established if the move will create jobs. Some people refer to it simply as “corporate welfare.” It has become a way for corporations to pit communities against each other in a race to the bottom where the town willing to shift more of its tax burden to the people who will supposedly gain from the handful of jobs the company is dangling from a stick is rewarded with the extra jobs but sometimes only until the abatement lasts, and sometimes not even, and then it's off to India, China or Kentucky.
Tyden Seal back in 2002 was granted a tax break from the City of Hastings when it built a new plant across the street from Viking and 30 new jobs were promised. However, the Groos family, which owned Tyden and Viking, sold the former to Crimson Investments, an outside firm, in May 2005 and almost exactly a year later Tyden was shut down with its 40 jobs moved to China. Oh, the humanity!
Now comes Viking to the City Council asking to take up Tyden’s tax break, all while the city already is out nearly $78,000 in tax revenue because Tyden (Crimson) did not live up to its end of the bargain for the abatement.
It’s a pea and shell game foisted on the taxpayers of Hastings, who are stuck with a $78,000 bill that Tyden, Crimson or Viking should have paid. It’s deceitful.
Tom Groos, CEO of Viking, was quoted in the Banner as saying Viking didn’t have anything to do with Tyden folding its tent and not repaying the tax abatement, that was the responsibility of Crimson Investments. In the words of the Church Lady, “how convenient” for Viking to sell to an outsider to do its dirty work of shutting down and moving to China. Groos insisted in the Banner story they had no idea Tyden would be shut down. Bullshit.
A little history, please. Tyden was the original industry between it and Viking, founded by Emil Tyden, the inventor of the Tyden Seal cargo lock, in 1897. Tyden brought in other industries to Hastings at the turn of the 20th century and one that paired up with his business was Viking, a manufacturer of commercial and residential fire sprinklers. The two industries worked inside the same building for many years under Tyden, his daughter, Florence Tyden Groos, her son, Richard Groos, and finally Tom Groos. Viking and Tyden were not the same business, but they family and they were tightly connected for many years. The Tyden and Groos families have been famous in past years as philanthropists and community activists, the kind every community needs to thrive. However, the latest generation hasn’t continued that tradition. Tom Groos doesn’t even live in Hastings and his children attend wealthy suburban Forest Hills schools.
I submit that Viking and Tyden started an ambitious project for the latter to move into its own facility across the street four years ago, and when it became painfully apparent things weren’t working out, the decision was made to sell Tyden to a “hit man,” in this case, Crimson Investments, to act as “the bad guy” who shuts down the local plant and packs the jobs off to China. So the Groos family is spared the agony of doing a hatchet job to a 109-year-old business started by the patriarch, Tom Groos’ great-grandfather, and they’re given an opportunity to win back the opportunity to ask for the tax abatement lost by Tyden’s non-compliance. Crimson may be the bogeyman that doesn’t repay the abatemen, but the bottom line is that the citizens of Hastings are stuck with the $78,000 check.
It would have been nice if the Hastings City Council members would have shown its constituents a little spine before eventually caving in. They could have insisted there would be no abatement until the old tax break bill is picked up, regardless of whether it’s by Viking or Crimson. All they did was adopt a wimpy resolution to try to get back the money from Crimson, with no assurance the taxpayers’ money due will ever be collected.
Besides the pea and shell game, I get real tired of poor people getting saddled with taunts of being welfare cheats, charges for which some admittedly are guilty. I get real tired of it because when businesses and industries are welfare cheats the government doesn’t seem to put up much of a fuss, in fact they’ll let ’em back in the tax abatement game. Viking should hang its head in shame for spreading bullshit about its sorry deceit. The City of Hastings should hang its head in shame for not having the guts to insist on fair play.
And I have no proof, but I think somewhere Emil Tyden is not pleased with what has transpired. His business is gone, his family name tarnished and taxpayers have been snookered.
For those bereft of Civics 101, a tax abatement is a government unit giving a tax break of up to 50 percent for up to 12 years to a business that is expanding or being established if the move will create jobs. Some people refer to it simply as “corporate welfare.” It has become a way for corporations to pit communities against each other in a race to the bottom where the town willing to shift more of its tax burden to the people who will supposedly gain from the handful of jobs the company is dangling from a stick is rewarded with the extra jobs but sometimes only until the abatement lasts, and sometimes not even, and then it's off to India, China or Kentucky.
Tyden Seal back in 2002 was granted a tax break from the City of Hastings when it built a new plant across the street from Viking and 30 new jobs were promised. However, the Groos family, which owned Tyden and Viking, sold the former to Crimson Investments, an outside firm, in May 2005 and almost exactly a year later Tyden was shut down with its 40 jobs moved to China. Oh, the humanity!
Now comes Viking to the City Council asking to take up Tyden’s tax break, all while the city already is out nearly $78,000 in tax revenue because Tyden (Crimson) did not live up to its end of the bargain for the abatement.
It’s a pea and shell game foisted on the taxpayers of Hastings, who are stuck with a $78,000 bill that Tyden, Crimson or Viking should have paid. It’s deceitful.
Tom Groos, CEO of Viking, was quoted in the Banner as saying Viking didn’t have anything to do with Tyden folding its tent and not repaying the tax abatement, that was the responsibility of Crimson Investments. In the words of the Church Lady, “how convenient” for Viking to sell to an outsider to do its dirty work of shutting down and moving to China. Groos insisted in the Banner story they had no idea Tyden would be shut down. Bullshit.
A little history, please. Tyden was the original industry between it and Viking, founded by Emil Tyden, the inventor of the Tyden Seal cargo lock, in 1897. Tyden brought in other industries to Hastings at the turn of the 20th century and one that paired up with his business was Viking, a manufacturer of commercial and residential fire sprinklers. The two industries worked inside the same building for many years under Tyden, his daughter, Florence Tyden Groos, her son, Richard Groos, and finally Tom Groos. Viking and Tyden were not the same business, but they family and they were tightly connected for many years. The Tyden and Groos families have been famous in past years as philanthropists and community activists, the kind every community needs to thrive. However, the latest generation hasn’t continued that tradition. Tom Groos doesn’t even live in Hastings and his children attend wealthy suburban Forest Hills schools.
I submit that Viking and Tyden started an ambitious project for the latter to move into its own facility across the street four years ago, and when it became painfully apparent things weren’t working out, the decision was made to sell Tyden to a “hit man,” in this case, Crimson Investments, to act as “the bad guy” who shuts down the local plant and packs the jobs off to China. So the Groos family is spared the agony of doing a hatchet job to a 109-year-old business started by the patriarch, Tom Groos’ great-grandfather, and they’re given an opportunity to win back the opportunity to ask for the tax abatement lost by Tyden’s non-compliance. Crimson may be the bogeyman that doesn’t repay the abatemen, but the bottom line is that the citizens of Hastings are stuck with the $78,000 check.
It would have been nice if the Hastings City Council members would have shown its constituents a little spine before eventually caving in. They could have insisted there would be no abatement until the old tax break bill is picked up, regardless of whether it’s by Viking or Crimson. All they did was adopt a wimpy resolution to try to get back the money from Crimson, with no assurance the taxpayers’ money due will ever be collected.
Besides the pea and shell game, I get real tired of poor people getting saddled with taunts of being welfare cheats, charges for which some admittedly are guilty. I get real tired of it because when businesses and industries are welfare cheats the government doesn’t seem to put up much of a fuss, in fact they’ll let ’em back in the tax abatement game. Viking should hang its head in shame for spreading bullshit about its sorry deceit. The City of Hastings should hang its head in shame for not having the guts to insist on fair play.
And I have no proof, but I think somewhere Emil Tyden is not pleased with what has transpired. His business is gone, his family name tarnished and taxpayers have been snookered.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
"A false Witness will not go unpunished" -Prov. 19:5,9
"lying lips are an abomination to the Lord" – Prov. 12:22
The editorial page of past Saturday’s edition of the Grand Rapids Press was littered with a sizable number of comments on former Mayor John Logie’s call for the impeachment of President George W. Bush. Yes, it looks like, for better or worse, Logie is the talk of the town. The former mayor apparently made his controversial remarks in a public address at Fountain Street Church, a place known in these parts as an island of progressive thought in a sea of members of the Flat Earth Society. Some of the letters to the editor supported Logie, others expressed shock and dismay that a respected local public official would make such an outrageous suggestion.
Logie essentially said that if Bush and his entourage misled the United States into an immoral pre-emptive war of choice against a country that had done no harm to us, then the blood of nearly 3,000 American people and untold numbers of Iraqis is on his hands. This is not to mention other crimes and misdemeanors such as illegal warrantless wiretapping, incompetence in handling the Hurricane Katrina crisis, having disturbing friendships and links with criminal figures such as Kenny Boy Lay at Enron, Congressman Tom DeLay and lobbyist Jack Abramoff, illegally detaining suspected enemies at Guantanamo Bay and overseeing and defending inhumane torture of prisoners of war.
The irony is that I suspect many of the letter writers angry with Logie supported sacking Bill Clinton about eight years ago for the horrible crime of getting a blow job in the White House from a woman other than his wife and then not fessing up to it.
There is yet another irony here, but it occurred a little more than 32 years ago. Not long after Gerald Ford was elevated to the presidency because of the resignation of Richard Nixon, Ford decided to pardon Nixon in a pre-emptive strike against putting a former president on trial for any crimes he may have committed. Much of the country was outraged as a result, and many historians still consider it the biggest reason why Ford was defeated by Jimmy Carter in his bid to be elected president in 1976. Yet, almost immediately after Ford did the controversial deed, he received words of support from a totally unexpected source. The Rev. Duncan Littlefair of Grand Rapids, less than a week after the pardon was announced, preached that the true spirit of Christianity is in its ability to forgive. He essentially argued, “To err is human, to forgive divine.” This sermon backing Ford was reported in national news media, particularly in Time magazine.
Littlefair had been a thorn in the side of Nixon for a long time, openly criticizing his conduct of the presidency and the War in Vietnam. The reverend was regarded by Ford and the Republican Party as a bit of a left-wing crazy who did not share mainstream views of most of West Michigan citizens. Littlefair, at age 89, not long before he died, confessed in writing in the GR Press that he had once helped a terminally ill good friend commit suicide, much like Jack Kevorkian. And guess where Littlefair was pastor? That’s right — Fountain Street Church.
My message to John Logie, if he ever gets a chance to read this blog some day, and for what it’s worth, the ex-mayor’s actions were worthy of the kind of tales John F. Kennedy told in “Profiles in Courage.” John Logie, whom I have regarded as a moderate Republican all these years, is a great American, a true patriot who has shown me the courage to do the right thing in the face of massive criticism. Perhaps there truly is a hero among us, and like Rev. Littlefair, he can come from unexpected places.
The editorial page of past Saturday’s edition of the Grand Rapids Press was littered with a sizable number of comments on former Mayor John Logie’s call for the impeachment of President George W. Bush. Yes, it looks like, for better or worse, Logie is the talk of the town. The former mayor apparently made his controversial remarks in a public address at Fountain Street Church, a place known in these parts as an island of progressive thought in a sea of members of the Flat Earth Society. Some of the letters to the editor supported Logie, others expressed shock and dismay that a respected local public official would make such an outrageous suggestion.
Logie essentially said that if Bush and his entourage misled the United States into an immoral pre-emptive war of choice against a country that had done no harm to us, then the blood of nearly 3,000 American people and untold numbers of Iraqis is on his hands. This is not to mention other crimes and misdemeanors such as illegal warrantless wiretapping, incompetence in handling the Hurricane Katrina crisis, having disturbing friendships and links with criminal figures such as Kenny Boy Lay at Enron, Congressman Tom DeLay and lobbyist Jack Abramoff, illegally detaining suspected enemies at Guantanamo Bay and overseeing and defending inhumane torture of prisoners of war.
The irony is that I suspect many of the letter writers angry with Logie supported sacking Bill Clinton about eight years ago for the horrible crime of getting a blow job in the White House from a woman other than his wife and then not fessing up to it.
There is yet another irony here, but it occurred a little more than 32 years ago. Not long after Gerald Ford was elevated to the presidency because of the resignation of Richard Nixon, Ford decided to pardon Nixon in a pre-emptive strike against putting a former president on trial for any crimes he may have committed. Much of the country was outraged as a result, and many historians still consider it the biggest reason why Ford was defeated by Jimmy Carter in his bid to be elected president in 1976. Yet, almost immediately after Ford did the controversial deed, he received words of support from a totally unexpected source. The Rev. Duncan Littlefair of Grand Rapids, less than a week after the pardon was announced, preached that the true spirit of Christianity is in its ability to forgive. He essentially argued, “To err is human, to forgive divine.” This sermon backing Ford was reported in national news media, particularly in Time magazine.
Littlefair had been a thorn in the side of Nixon for a long time, openly criticizing his conduct of the presidency and the War in Vietnam. The reverend was regarded by Ford and the Republican Party as a bit of a left-wing crazy who did not share mainstream views of most of West Michigan citizens. Littlefair, at age 89, not long before he died, confessed in writing in the GR Press that he had once helped a terminally ill good friend commit suicide, much like Jack Kevorkian. And guess where Littlefair was pastor? That’s right — Fountain Street Church.
My message to John Logie, if he ever gets a chance to read this blog some day, and for what it’s worth, the ex-mayor’s actions were worthy of the kind of tales John F. Kennedy told in “Profiles in Courage.” John Logie, whom I have regarded as a moderate Republican all these years, is a great American, a true patriot who has shown me the courage to do the right thing in the face of massive criticism. Perhaps there truly is a hero among us, and like Rev. Littlefair, he can come from unexpected places.
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Those who don’t learn from history...
As the new and old Barry County Boards of Commissioners examine what to do about the Charlton Park mess in the wake of two millage defeats, the immortal words of Spanish philosopher George Santayana seem appropriate:
On an international scale, our current president’s greatest fault, besides his incompetence and arrogance, is his failure to understand history, what has gone before. He and his cronies have ignored the many painful lessons of futile, far away and colonial wars fought by us in Vietnam, by the French in Indochina, by the Soviets in Afghanistan, by the French in Algeria, even by the British in the U.S. colonies and by so many other conflicts in which the ultimate losers were the people who did not live where the wars were being fought.
On a local scale, the current County Board of Commissioners absorbed a shocking 59 to 41 percent defeat of a millage renewal proposal in the August primary and hastily put together another request for the November general election, only to see that one go down by slightly friendlier numbers, 55 to 45%.
The response of too many Charlton Park supporters immediately after the Aug. 8 results was something like, “Don’t you wanna keep the park open? We’re gonna give you another chance in November, but this time you better say yes, or we’ll hafta shut it down.” With the exception of Mike Callton, nobody on the County Board seemed interested in researching some history to learn just what had happened here and why. It was a lot like the Bush Administration’s refusal to try to understand logically what really caused the Sept. 11 attacks (“Because they hate freedom” is not an adequate explanation). Furthermore, the board didn’t bother to ask a lot of people who voted against the renewal just what their problem was and what it would take to turn around the poll results.
Callton actually learned and explained that the Charlton Park millage renewal didn’t pass by an overwhelming mandate in 1986 or in 1996. Such slim margins should have been warnings long ago to the Parks and Recreation Commission and County Board that the public hasn’t been entirely sold on what some call Barry County’s greatest tourist attraction. He also pointed out that Barry County had exactly zero earmarked millages twenty years ago, but now has five. This is more important than what too many local public officials believe. Please note that all millage requests on the ballot Nov. 7 were defeated.
The commissioners in August were set to go back to the voters in November with exactly the same renewal proposal that went down 59-41 Aug. 8. All that would have done was enable the public to respond with the simple, but effective, “What part of ‘no’ don’t you understand?” At least they had the slightly good sense to roll back the levy from .25 to .2275 mill and reduce the number of years from ten to five. But that, and the larger numbers showing up at the polls in November, just wasn’t enough to make up the difference. There is something fundamentally wrong here, folks, and doing another top-down style campaign on Charlton Park’s behalf is almost certain to doom it. All you have to do is look at history.
There are rumblings that the new board, when it convenes in January, will call for a public hearing or maybe a series of public hearings very simply to ask voters why they’ve said “no” twice, and what it will take to get them to change their minds. Then the board is rumored to be set to make massive changes, if necessary, in the governing of Charlton Park. One more special millage to salvage Charlton Park is a good possibility in August or November of 2007. But before that happens, a lot of changes will be made and some heads may roll.
Don’t forget there still are a lot of people who believe the park should be privatized, even though Irving Charlton deeded the property to the county as a public facility and history shows us that privatizing public services or facilities isn’t always the best option. Private ownership, to my mind, doesn’t have a lot of respect for offering history to children at no cost, rather it would be more interested in making big bucks with little regard to the public's best interests.
My vision for Charlton Park is similar to what Fred Jacobs has advocated in his editorials in the Hastings Banner. I’d like to see a steady stream of school children visiting and touring the park and village on weekdays during the academic year and then use virtually every weekend from April through October for tourist-oriented events such as Civil War re-enactments, bluegrass festivals, car shows or any other money-making adventure that can be imagined. Solid management and some slick promotion might be able to put Charlton Park in the black enough so it wouldn’t have to depend on an earmarked millage. It at least deserves a shot lest this unique attraction fall into the wrong hands and fail to serve as the educational and recreational tool it could be.
The possibilities are great, saving this park is doable. But let’s not live out the warning from Santayana and keep making the same mistakes.
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
On an international scale, our current president’s greatest fault, besides his incompetence and arrogance, is his failure to understand history, what has gone before. He and his cronies have ignored the many painful lessons of futile, far away and colonial wars fought by us in Vietnam, by the French in Indochina, by the Soviets in Afghanistan, by the French in Algeria, even by the British in the U.S. colonies and by so many other conflicts in which the ultimate losers were the people who did not live where the wars were being fought.
On a local scale, the current County Board of Commissioners absorbed a shocking 59 to 41 percent defeat of a millage renewal proposal in the August primary and hastily put together another request for the November general election, only to see that one go down by slightly friendlier numbers, 55 to 45%.
The response of too many Charlton Park supporters immediately after the Aug. 8 results was something like, “Don’t you wanna keep the park open? We’re gonna give you another chance in November, but this time you better say yes, or we’ll hafta shut it down.” With the exception of Mike Callton, nobody on the County Board seemed interested in researching some history to learn just what had happened here and why. It was a lot like the Bush Administration’s refusal to try to understand logically what really caused the Sept. 11 attacks (“Because they hate freedom” is not an adequate explanation). Furthermore, the board didn’t bother to ask a lot of people who voted against the renewal just what their problem was and what it would take to turn around the poll results.
Callton actually learned and explained that the Charlton Park millage renewal didn’t pass by an overwhelming mandate in 1986 or in 1996. Such slim margins should have been warnings long ago to the Parks and Recreation Commission and County Board that the public hasn’t been entirely sold on what some call Barry County’s greatest tourist attraction. He also pointed out that Barry County had exactly zero earmarked millages twenty years ago, but now has five. This is more important than what too many local public officials believe. Please note that all millage requests on the ballot Nov. 7 were defeated.
The commissioners in August were set to go back to the voters in November with exactly the same renewal proposal that went down 59-41 Aug. 8. All that would have done was enable the public to respond with the simple, but effective, “What part of ‘no’ don’t you understand?” At least they had the slightly good sense to roll back the levy from .25 to .2275 mill and reduce the number of years from ten to five. But that, and the larger numbers showing up at the polls in November, just wasn’t enough to make up the difference. There is something fundamentally wrong here, folks, and doing another top-down style campaign on Charlton Park’s behalf is almost certain to doom it. All you have to do is look at history.
There are rumblings that the new board, when it convenes in January, will call for a public hearing or maybe a series of public hearings very simply to ask voters why they’ve said “no” twice, and what it will take to get them to change their minds. Then the board is rumored to be set to make massive changes, if necessary, in the governing of Charlton Park. One more special millage to salvage Charlton Park is a good possibility in August or November of 2007. But before that happens, a lot of changes will be made and some heads may roll.
Don’t forget there still are a lot of people who believe the park should be privatized, even though Irving Charlton deeded the property to the county as a public facility and history shows us that privatizing public services or facilities isn’t always the best option. Private ownership, to my mind, doesn’t have a lot of respect for offering history to children at no cost, rather it would be more interested in making big bucks with little regard to the public's best interests.
My vision for Charlton Park is similar to what Fred Jacobs has advocated in his editorials in the Hastings Banner. I’d like to see a steady stream of school children visiting and touring the park and village on weekdays during the academic year and then use virtually every weekend from April through October for tourist-oriented events such as Civil War re-enactments, bluegrass festivals, car shows or any other money-making adventure that can be imagined. Solid management and some slick promotion might be able to put Charlton Park in the black enough so it wouldn’t have to depend on an earmarked millage. It at least deserves a shot lest this unique attraction fall into the wrong hands and fail to serve as the educational and recreational tool it could be.
The possibilities are great, saving this park is doable. But let’s not live out the warning from Santayana and keep making the same mistakes.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Campaign post mortem Part 1
I've been putting this off mostly because there's so much to say about the past couple of days. So, this is mostly random thoughts as I try to hit as many observations as possible of what has taken place and not delay this any further. I will also be breaking this up into sections since I rambled on a bit and felt it was too long for one post (I'll post my comments on the statewide contests and the local Congressional races in a little while).
Charlton Park millage defeat– It was fairly obvious this one was going down again. The "Friends" of the park didn't mount much of a campaign other than fear tactics about shutting the park and telling voters how stupid we are for not "getting it." To anyone paying attention, it seems pretty obvious that the old gang reaped what they sewed when they ousted the park director and anyone else that wasn't a team player. They drove out several large events that gave the public a reason to use and visit the park and be reminded of its charm — something which might have prompted a few more "yes" votes.
What is needed now is input from the "no" crowd, some sensible reforms, new faces & ideas and a charm offensive that reminds voters of why it's important to Barry County to maintain this great educational tool, link to our past and potentially valuable part of a tourist economy. The new board must enact reforms, reinstill confidence among the voters and put on a charm offensive that restores the understanding among voters about why they chose to help support this resource in the past.
County Board of Commissioners– It's pretty amazing to see the change that has taken over the board over the past two years and I'm pretty confident that we've got a better group of commissioners than we've had for a while. I hope they ask questions, seek input and restore confidence that government can work for its citizens.
I had hoped we could have ended up with at least one Democrat on the board just for the simple fact that having a more relevant Democratic Party in Barry County politics can only help the people achieve better results from their government. Results were encouraging for local Democrats, yet there were only three candidates, none of which were able to crack the 40% threshold due to various dynamics in each of those races. This was an opportunity that somehow slipped away. The Dems must make a commitment to contest every single race and even have a minimum of one contested primary. If they can offer quality candidates at the county level they might even leverage those results in building a party that challenges at higher levels. Otherwise, the Barry County Democratic Party teeters on the brink of continued irrelevancy, a pattern for almost 25 years. This party needs new, more energetic and younger faces.
One of the important things to watch in the county board to be sworn in in January is whether this group can work together effectively. Mike Callton, or whoever ends up as chairman (and how sad this is the first time in over a decade there has not been one woman on the county board), is bound to have their hands full herding the feral cats who may resent Callton's perceived aspirations for higher office. We have a few board members willing to follow but we also have a few that might wander off the reservation and make life rough for the person who needs to show some leadership and a track record when future elections come ‘round. We also have the threat that the “good ole boys” will surely have some new and maybe even some old faces run in two years and try to claw their way back into power. If this board fails to meet its responsibilities to the people who voted for change they may not occupy their chairs for long.
State Rep. & Senate– Suzzette Royston's campaign was able to throw a scare into Pincushion Patty in Eaton County, but it was the same old story in Barry and Allegan. Why didn't she hit Birkholz hard on the casino in Allegan County? One problem is that in a one- party region it's hard to find qualified people from the opposition party willing to take on a quixotic campaign and as long as the long shot odds of winning deter qualified candidates, we will continue to see failure to get positive results, which only creates a perpetual cycle of more defeats.
Doug Kalnbach eclipsed 40 percent in Barry County, which perhaps shows the way for local Democrats — by offering voters a blue collar working class candidate with appeal to constituencies that are typically Republican or don't vote in large numbers (hunters and bikers) while offering enough red meat on economic issues to maintain Democratic support, Democrats could continue to make gains and in another cycle or two compete at the state rep level. Calley performed below the "baseline" number of Republican voters, which showed that some people wished to have a better alternative.
Charlton Park millage defeat– It was fairly obvious this one was going down again. The "Friends" of the park didn't mount much of a campaign other than fear tactics about shutting the park and telling voters how stupid we are for not "getting it." To anyone paying attention, it seems pretty obvious that the old gang reaped what they sewed when they ousted the park director and anyone else that wasn't a team player. They drove out several large events that gave the public a reason to use and visit the park and be reminded of its charm — something which might have prompted a few more "yes" votes.
What is needed now is input from the "no" crowd, some sensible reforms, new faces & ideas and a charm offensive that reminds voters of why it's important to Barry County to maintain this great educational tool, link to our past and potentially valuable part of a tourist economy. The new board must enact reforms, reinstill confidence among the voters and put on a charm offensive that restores the understanding among voters about why they chose to help support this resource in the past.
County Board of Commissioners– It's pretty amazing to see the change that has taken over the board over the past two years and I'm pretty confident that we've got a better group of commissioners than we've had for a while. I hope they ask questions, seek input and restore confidence that government can work for its citizens.
I had hoped we could have ended up with at least one Democrat on the board just for the simple fact that having a more relevant Democratic Party in Barry County politics can only help the people achieve better results from their government. Results were encouraging for local Democrats, yet there were only three candidates, none of which were able to crack the 40% threshold due to various dynamics in each of those races. This was an opportunity that somehow slipped away. The Dems must make a commitment to contest every single race and even have a minimum of one contested primary. If they can offer quality candidates at the county level they might even leverage those results in building a party that challenges at higher levels. Otherwise, the Barry County Democratic Party teeters on the brink of continued irrelevancy, a pattern for almost 25 years. This party needs new, more energetic and younger faces.
One of the important things to watch in the county board to be sworn in in January is whether this group can work together effectively. Mike Callton, or whoever ends up as chairman (and how sad this is the first time in over a decade there has not been one woman on the county board), is bound to have their hands full herding the feral cats who may resent Callton's perceived aspirations for higher office. We have a few board members willing to follow but we also have a few that might wander off the reservation and make life rough for the person who needs to show some leadership and a track record when future elections come ‘round. We also have the threat that the “good ole boys” will surely have some new and maybe even some old faces run in two years and try to claw their way back into power. If this board fails to meet its responsibilities to the people who voted for change they may not occupy their chairs for long.
State Rep. & Senate– Suzzette Royston's campaign was able to throw a scare into Pincushion Patty in Eaton County, but it was the same old story in Barry and Allegan. Why didn't she hit Birkholz hard on the casino in Allegan County? One problem is that in a one- party region it's hard to find qualified people from the opposition party willing to take on a quixotic campaign and as long as the long shot odds of winning deter qualified candidates, we will continue to see failure to get positive results, which only creates a perpetual cycle of more defeats.
Doug Kalnbach eclipsed 40 percent in Barry County, which perhaps shows the way for local Democrats — by offering voters a blue collar working class candidate with appeal to constituencies that are typically Republican or don't vote in large numbers (hunters and bikers) while offering enough red meat on economic issues to maintain Democratic support, Democrats could continue to make gains and in another cycle or two compete at the state rep level. Calley performed below the "baseline" number of Republican voters, which showed that some people wished to have a better alternative.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Election results coming in
Obviously, many precincts still to report but at this hour we know Granholm, Stabenow, Cox and Land have won the state-wide races. Democrats say they've taken the State House- stay tuned on that one. Closer to home, Charlton Park millage goes down again and it looks like in the county board races that Gibson beats Loftus and Ferris beats Lewis. Once I saw Englerth had beaten Brinkert with all precincts reporting but that number was since removed though now Channel 8 is reporting the same numbers but with 0% reporting. VanNortwick leads Miller with only Johnstown left to report.
Monday, November 06, 2006
Schwarz files as write in for MI-07
Thanks to Sentinel for telling me about this hot news:
I guess I have to take Schwarz's campaign at their word because if they really wanted to spoil this they could have decided right after the primary to do this.
Use the comments for any Election Eve gossip, campaigning, arguments, questions, etc.
AND DON'T FORGET TO VOTE TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7!
Schwarz enters race as write-in candidate in congressional race
11/6/2006, 4:41 PM
The Associated Press
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Joe Schwarz, who lost the Republican primary to Tim Walberg, has filed to be a write-in candidate in his congressional district for Tuesday's election.
"This is not trying to upset the race," Matt Marsden, Schwarz's chief of staff, told the Battle Creek Enquirer. "This is not trying to pull any last minute hijinks."
Marsden said Schwarz supporters have told the congressman, R-Battle Creek, they planned to write in his name on Tuesday. However, without filing as a write-in candidate, those votes would not have been counted. And so Schwarz filed.
...snip...
Walberg is still considered the favorite against Renier, who won only 36 percent of the vote in 2004 against Schwarz and has a limited amount of money.
But in the closing weeks of the campaign, Walberg's support had remained under 50 percent in polling against Renier, an organic farmer from Munith, while dealing with fallout from a campaign staffer who resigned after facing charges that he struck his 9-year-old foster son.
I guess I have to take Schwarz's campaign at their word because if they really wanted to spoil this they could have decided right after the primary to do this.
Use the comments for any Election Eve gossip, campaigning, arguments, questions, etc.
AND DON'T FORGET TO VOTE TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7!
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Negative and Let Live
A common mantra this time every couple of years is how sick and tired people are of "negative politics" and "nasty attack ads" but if it didn't work, they wouldn't keep doing it. I'm astounded how much of simple politics escapes most people- the main things being that attack ads are meant to drive down turnout (so every time people tune out the process because of all those attacks ads they help prove the effectiveness of negative campaigning) and the mistaken notion that all "negative" attacks are of the same ilk. As long as ill-informed voters continue to make bad decisions or avoid the process altogether we won't see the changes we seek in our campaigns, our elections, and our government.
A simple fact of politics that many fail to grasp is the main purpose of the negative ad. Negative attacks are used primarily to try to convince voters who might otherwise consider the opponent that the candidate is somehow corrupt, incompetent, weak or lying, etc. Thus if your opponent is courting the women's vote you either run an ad talking about how weak they are on sex offenders if you're a Republican or how they want to control your uterus if you're a Democrat. Attack ads are meant to turn people off from the process by driving independent and undecided voters away from elections, thus making our modern political process into a contest where the side that can drive the largest turnout of their core constituency to the polls wins. Modern elections are almost entirely decided, not by the so-called "security moms" or "NASCAR dads" or the fence-sitting and indecisive moderates who mostly don't even pay attention to issues beyond today's talking points, but by the most enthusiastic supporters on either side. When Joe Six Pack and Judy Lunch Bucket turn off and tune out due to the mud slinging the media advisors working for the campaigns smile their crooked smiles and go back to their push polling and their direct mail slime operations.
A co-worker mentioned to me today that the only campaign commercials that focus on issues are the negative attack ads and I had to stop and realize that this appraisal was almost entirely true (the one exception that comes readily to mind in this campaign is Tom George's ads for his State Senate campaign focusing on the murder of a man at a Kalamazoo bus station and the bill that resulted- though, obviously this ad is short on hard hitting stances that might alienate voters- George might as well come out and pass a bill proclaiming kittens as soft and cuddly creatures or sunshine a warm and pleasant feeling).
The fact is that most campaigns rely only on two forms of advertising. One is the "bio" ad which I have previously railed against here which tells us which congregation the candidate belongs to, how many beautiful grandchildren they have and how long they've lived in our wonderful community but little in the way of actual substance. The bio ad might mention someone is "for good jobs" or "against more taxes" but these are usually just talking point with little in the behind them beside an attempt to keep voters from thinking too much about what it means and whether it's good for their family or the country. The other form is the attack ad which usually seeks to show the opponent as holding an unpopular position usually by whatever deceptive means are necessary such as taking one item out of an appropriations bill containing thousands of earmarks (such as Mike Bouchard has attempted to do in his attacks on Senator Stabenow despite the fact it was his own party's senior senator from Alaska, Ted Stevens, who forced the "bridge to nowhere" upon us and it was his own party's Senate Majority Leader, Bill Frist, who allowed the measure to be added and the vote to take place with the item in the bill, and President George W. Bush who didn't veto the bill but signed it into law). However, sometimes these negative ads are actually illuminating since often candidates seem to prefer to talk in bland generalities about tough issues which might alienate people.
A disturbingly large number of people vote out of obligation without informing themselves on the issues. I too often hear from people in the last two weeks of a year-long campaign suddenly asking me about campaigns and issues without even a basic knowledge of the complex and difficult issues that stand before us which they should have spent years thinking about or at least a couple of spare hours of their lives, yet they seem perfectly willing and even compelled to go cast a vote based on about five minutes of thought in the last days of a campaign. These voters often go with "their gut" and end up voting for the person with the most money and the slickest ads who told the most comfortable lies. And on the endless cycles goes, leaving these clueless folks to wonder why government seems to broken.
Most people don't seem capable or willing to weed out what is an honest portrayal of the opponent's position and what is an unfair and borderline slanderous attack meant to distort a person's record or position. Politics, it is said, is a contact sport and people can and do get hurt. We have to expect candidates will say anything to get elected but it's up to us, the electorate, to call a fair fight and inform ourselves enough to call proper balls and strikes. A lot is at stake in each election and I ask people to consider if the negative ads they are seeing aren't actually the most substantial part of our current campaign process or if they're just spin meant to take your eye of the ball. If our government of the people, by the people and for the people seems broken, the fault, dear readers, lies not in our stars but in ourselves.
A simple fact of politics that many fail to grasp is the main purpose of the negative ad. Negative attacks are used primarily to try to convince voters who might otherwise consider the opponent that the candidate is somehow corrupt, incompetent, weak or lying, etc. Thus if your opponent is courting the women's vote you either run an ad talking about how weak they are on sex offenders if you're a Republican or how they want to control your uterus if you're a Democrat. Attack ads are meant to turn people off from the process by driving independent and undecided voters away from elections, thus making our modern political process into a contest where the side that can drive the largest turnout of their core constituency to the polls wins. Modern elections are almost entirely decided, not by the so-called "security moms" or "NASCAR dads" or the fence-sitting and indecisive moderates who mostly don't even pay attention to issues beyond today's talking points, but by the most enthusiastic supporters on either side. When Joe Six Pack and Judy Lunch Bucket turn off and tune out due to the mud slinging the media advisors working for the campaigns smile their crooked smiles and go back to their push polling and their direct mail slime operations.
A co-worker mentioned to me today that the only campaign commercials that focus on issues are the negative attack ads and I had to stop and realize that this appraisal was almost entirely true (the one exception that comes readily to mind in this campaign is Tom George's ads for his State Senate campaign focusing on the murder of a man at a Kalamazoo bus station and the bill that resulted- though, obviously this ad is short on hard hitting stances that might alienate voters- George might as well come out and pass a bill proclaiming kittens as soft and cuddly creatures or sunshine a warm and pleasant feeling).
The fact is that most campaigns rely only on two forms of advertising. One is the "bio" ad which I have previously railed against here which tells us which congregation the candidate belongs to, how many beautiful grandchildren they have and how long they've lived in our wonderful community but little in the way of actual substance. The bio ad might mention someone is "for good jobs" or "against more taxes" but these are usually just talking point with little in the behind them beside an attempt to keep voters from thinking too much about what it means and whether it's good for their family or the country. The other form is the attack ad which usually seeks to show the opponent as holding an unpopular position usually by whatever deceptive means are necessary such as taking one item out of an appropriations bill containing thousands of earmarks (such as Mike Bouchard has attempted to do in his attacks on Senator Stabenow despite the fact it was his own party's senior senator from Alaska, Ted Stevens, who forced the "bridge to nowhere" upon us and it was his own party's Senate Majority Leader, Bill Frist, who allowed the measure to be added and the vote to take place with the item in the bill, and President George W. Bush who didn't veto the bill but signed it into law). However, sometimes these negative ads are actually illuminating since often candidates seem to prefer to talk in bland generalities about tough issues which might alienate people.
A disturbingly large number of people vote out of obligation without informing themselves on the issues. I too often hear from people in the last two weeks of a year-long campaign suddenly asking me about campaigns and issues without even a basic knowledge of the complex and difficult issues that stand before us which they should have spent years thinking about or at least a couple of spare hours of their lives, yet they seem perfectly willing and even compelled to go cast a vote based on about five minutes of thought in the last days of a campaign. These voters often go with "their gut" and end up voting for the person with the most money and the slickest ads who told the most comfortable lies. And on the endless cycles goes, leaving these clueless folks to wonder why government seems to broken.
Most people don't seem capable or willing to weed out what is an honest portrayal of the opponent's position and what is an unfair and borderline slanderous attack meant to distort a person's record or position. Politics, it is said, is a contact sport and people can and do get hurt. We have to expect candidates will say anything to get elected but it's up to us, the electorate, to call a fair fight and inform ourselves enough to call proper balls and strikes. A lot is at stake in each election and I ask people to consider if the negative ads they are seeing aren't actually the most substantial part of our current campaign process or if they're just spin meant to take your eye of the ball. If our government of the people, by the people and for the people seems broken, the fault, dear readers, lies not in our stars but in ourselves.
Friday, October 27, 2006
State of the State House/Sense of the Senate
Question: Who will control the State House and Senate in January?
While looking for answers to this question I found this article. Currently, the GOP holds 58 seats in the house and Democrats 49 with 3 vacancies. The article doesn't offer much in the way of facts besides a little history and then some he said/she said quotes from Dianne Byrum and Craig DeRoche. The Republicans have been in control in the 110-seat House since 1997-98. This article by the same reporter does a little better at talking about the real chances of a change in the party controlling the state legislature- not much. The Republican redistricting did a good job at creating many non-competitive districts leaving few areas where Democrats have a chance to pick off the seats they need to retake the House. Meanwhile, the State Senate is in control of the Republicans by a count of 22-16 which means a swing of 3 seats to the Dems could put Lt. Gov. John Cherry in a tie-breaking role should he and Governor Granholm win a second term.
For all the election talk this season I find it odd that there is little discussion of what the state legislature will look like in January. I also wonder why part of Granholm's strategy hasn't been to go after DeRoche and Ken Sikkema more as they stood in her way in order to pave the way for Dick DeVos' challenge. She could have seriously changed the complexion of the race and her party's chances to take over in Lansing in January. As it is, the Dems are close and could pull it off but the deck remains stacked. It would be nice if the media and the pollsters bothered to cover state politics regarding the legislature as much as they do the Governor's race. While the Governor is the CEO of state government, the legislature is where the sausage gets made and the rancid meat being forced up on the people of Michigan over the last several years has left me wanting to cleanse the palette.
While looking for answers to this question I found this article. Currently, the GOP holds 58 seats in the house and Democrats 49 with 3 vacancies. The article doesn't offer much in the way of facts besides a little history and then some he said/she said quotes from Dianne Byrum and Craig DeRoche. The Republicans have been in control in the 110-seat House since 1997-98. This article by the same reporter does a little better at talking about the real chances of a change in the party controlling the state legislature- not much. The Republican redistricting did a good job at creating many non-competitive districts leaving few areas where Democrats have a chance to pick off the seats they need to retake the House. Meanwhile, the State Senate is in control of the Republicans by a count of 22-16 which means a swing of 3 seats to the Dems could put Lt. Gov. John Cherry in a tie-breaking role should he and Governor Granholm win a second term.
For all the election talk this season I find it odd that there is little discussion of what the state legislature will look like in January. I also wonder why part of Granholm's strategy hasn't been to go after DeRoche and Ken Sikkema more as they stood in her way in order to pave the way for Dick DeVos' challenge. She could have seriously changed the complexion of the race and her party's chances to take over in Lansing in January. As it is, the Dems are close and could pull it off but the deck remains stacked. It would be nice if the media and the pollsters bothered to cover state politics regarding the legislature as much as they do the Governor's race. While the Governor is the CEO of state government, the legislature is where the sausage gets made and the rancid meat being forced up on the people of Michigan over the last several years has left me wanting to cleanse the palette.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
General election complexion
It hasn’t even been three months since the Aug. 8 primary election, and it seems as though the local political climate has gone from exciting with change in the air to almost boring and irrelevant with a sense of the status quo creeping back into things.
Perhaps the biggest development has been the collapse of the Barry Democratic Party into virtual oblivion, as if it was possible to sink even deeper in terms of lack of influence in local politics. The Dems once again could only muster three candidates for offices on the County Board of Commissioners- two of which seem destined for defeat as it stands today. The others on the ballot seem to fill the usual Democratic opposition role as placeholders of a local party that is virtually powerless and doesn't seem to realize the large task that remains before it- building a strong local party with committed volunteers and a grip on the reality of the situation.
Fourth District candidate John Loftus has been running for a seat on the board for more than a dozen years now, and he’s even more pathetic than he was in days gone by, this time choosing not to even show up for the candidates’ forum. The question then is this: John, if you didn’t intend to be serious about the job, why did you bother to apply? While it's nice to have the slot filled by a "D" in order to keep a race "contested" this has became a sad biannual affair which needs to end- something which might actually spur other Dems in the district to get off their butts and field a real candidate and move the local Democratic Party beyond its existence as a geriatric social club.
The other race that seems a lock for the Republicans is in the Third District, where Democrat Mike Lewis came from virtually nowhere to skyrocket into rarefied air as a potential problem solver and intelligent alternative to the status quo, only to fall from grace after revelations of a pattern of questionable personal activities, some of which were illegal according to a front page article in the Oct. 19 Hastings Banner. The sheer weight of accusations seems to weigh down any attempts to explain them individually as they seem to make up a pattern and while Lewis has admitted wrong-doing he then makes counter charges and offerees defenses that don't seem to square. How such an obviously bright guy can get himself caught up in more than one of these ridiculous situations seems too much to swallow. The beautiful thing is that voters will get to decide for themsleves what they think of all this and if, as Lewis suggests, this is part of an attempt to unfairly trash him then he is allowed to explain that to the masses and find out if they agree. The fact remains that even without these reports Lewis as a Democrat would have faced an uphill battle but now that fight seems a bit harder to overcome. This whole sordid affair is likely to give Republican newcomer, but same old same old Keith Ferris a smooth ride on election night, and it may just be the biggest tragedy of the general election. Would that this election could be only about who had better ideas- Lewis would win hands down since Ferris has offered nothing in his appearances or ads to deserve a vote and Lewis has proven he is willing to stir things up, ask tough questions and look at things in a new way. If Lewis plays any part in stopping the freight train intent on renovating an aging jail which occupies prime retail space for an overblown price then Mike has done more than most local politicians without even being elected. A large part of me wants to suggest you vote for Lewis and then, if he does win, watch him like a hawk and be ready to send him away if he does anything the least bit questionable while in office. Given the corruption and incompetance that has existed in Barry County for years, we could probably do much worse, but can we do better? That is a question to be decided by the voters...
The real race to watch for a County Board seat seems to be between Democrat David Brinkert and Republican Mark Englerth in the Sixth District. Brinkert is the more likable chap of the two, but he somehow hasn’t been able to rid himself of the aura of naiveté that might hurt him as badly as simply having that dreaded and much-maligned “D” next to his name in a conservative district. Englerth certainly has made enough enemies in his stormy tenure as Barry County Republican Party Chairman and in the primary election in which he unseated current Chairmarm Clare Tripp. Rumor has it that Tripp is so bent on revenge she’ll marshal whatever forces at her disposal to seek Englerth’s defeat on Nov. 7. Mr. Englerth likely doesn’t have a lot to worry about. He won the primary pretty handily against a seasoned veteran and he will be on the Republican side of the ballot, which is as good as gold over the last dozen years in Barry County’s one-party system and would especially valuable in an election where many Republicans could come out to attempt to vote out Governor Granholm and Senator Stabenow.
The State Senate and State Representative contests don’t give us much in the way of relief. Republican Patty Birkholz will win the senate race over neophyte Suzzette Royston in a cakewalk and then make her bid for the Senate Majority Leader’s post. Royston just hasn’t been able to connect with voters in three counties, even though she’s a hunter and supports the death penalty. Her campaign is just more of the same and not enough to dethrone a powerful and entrenched politician like Birkholz who has somehow managed to appear moderate enough to not alienate too many voters in the middle.
Brian Calley is as virtually unbeatable as he was in the GOP primary for 87th District State Representative. Democrat Doug Kalnbach was a lot of fun on the campaign trail and at forums, but he really didn’t offer a serious alternative to Calley. Anybody out there think Kalnbach can get 40 percent of the vote? I'd love for the voters in the district to prove me wrong and wipe that smug smirk of Calley's face. The reason why Michigan is in a such a mess is because our state government has been ruled by the Mackinac Center and a right wing cabals of tax cutting loons who'd rather spend time making license plates for Right to Life or giving the ranch to big business than dealing with problems faced by every day people and Calley seems like more of the same instead of the agent of change he claims that he is.
Democrats in this area have to learn the tired old union-style politics doesn’t resonate very well in conservative Bible-thumping West Michigan, where most voters will simply go to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 7, with the opinion, “We like the way things are around here. Why should we change anything?” The Democratic Party seems to be facing a resurgance nationally but that coming tidal wave doesn't seem to be coming close to the GOP's oasis in West Michigan.
Perhaps the biggest development has been the collapse of the Barry Democratic Party into virtual oblivion, as if it was possible to sink even deeper in terms of lack of influence in local politics. The Dems once again could only muster three candidates for offices on the County Board of Commissioners- two of which seem destined for defeat as it stands today. The others on the ballot seem to fill the usual Democratic opposition role as placeholders of a local party that is virtually powerless and doesn't seem to realize the large task that remains before it- building a strong local party with committed volunteers and a grip on the reality of the situation.
Fourth District candidate John Loftus has been running for a seat on the board for more than a dozen years now, and he’s even more pathetic than he was in days gone by, this time choosing not to even show up for the candidates’ forum. The question then is this: John, if you didn’t intend to be serious about the job, why did you bother to apply? While it's nice to have the slot filled by a "D" in order to keep a race "contested" this has became a sad biannual affair which needs to end- something which might actually spur other Dems in the district to get off their butts and field a real candidate and move the local Democratic Party beyond its existence as a geriatric social club.
The other race that seems a lock for the Republicans is in the Third District, where Democrat Mike Lewis came from virtually nowhere to skyrocket into rarefied air as a potential problem solver and intelligent alternative to the status quo, only to fall from grace after revelations of a pattern of questionable personal activities, some of which were illegal according to a front page article in the Oct. 19 Hastings Banner. The sheer weight of accusations seems to weigh down any attempts to explain them individually as they seem to make up a pattern and while Lewis has admitted wrong-doing he then makes counter charges and offerees defenses that don't seem to square. How such an obviously bright guy can get himself caught up in more than one of these ridiculous situations seems too much to swallow. The beautiful thing is that voters will get to decide for themsleves what they think of all this and if, as Lewis suggests, this is part of an attempt to unfairly trash him then he is allowed to explain that to the masses and find out if they agree. The fact remains that even without these reports Lewis as a Democrat would have faced an uphill battle but now that fight seems a bit harder to overcome. This whole sordid affair is likely to give Republican newcomer, but same old same old Keith Ferris a smooth ride on election night, and it may just be the biggest tragedy of the general election. Would that this election could be only about who had better ideas- Lewis would win hands down since Ferris has offered nothing in his appearances or ads to deserve a vote and Lewis has proven he is willing to stir things up, ask tough questions and look at things in a new way. If Lewis plays any part in stopping the freight train intent on renovating an aging jail which occupies prime retail space for an overblown price then Mike has done more than most local politicians without even being elected. A large part of me wants to suggest you vote for Lewis and then, if he does win, watch him like a hawk and be ready to send him away if he does anything the least bit questionable while in office. Given the corruption and incompetance that has existed in Barry County for years, we could probably do much worse, but can we do better? That is a question to be decided by the voters...
The real race to watch for a County Board seat seems to be between Democrat David Brinkert and Republican Mark Englerth in the Sixth District. Brinkert is the more likable chap of the two, but he somehow hasn’t been able to rid himself of the aura of naiveté that might hurt him as badly as simply having that dreaded and much-maligned “D” next to his name in a conservative district. Englerth certainly has made enough enemies in his stormy tenure as Barry County Republican Party Chairman and in the primary election in which he unseated current Chairmarm Clare Tripp. Rumor has it that Tripp is so bent on revenge she’ll marshal whatever forces at her disposal to seek Englerth’s defeat on Nov. 7. Mr. Englerth likely doesn’t have a lot to worry about. He won the primary pretty handily against a seasoned veteran and he will be on the Republican side of the ballot, which is as good as gold over the last dozen years in Barry County’s one-party system and would especially valuable in an election where many Republicans could come out to attempt to vote out Governor Granholm and Senator Stabenow.
The State Senate and State Representative contests don’t give us much in the way of relief. Republican Patty Birkholz will win the senate race over neophyte Suzzette Royston in a cakewalk and then make her bid for the Senate Majority Leader’s post. Royston just hasn’t been able to connect with voters in three counties, even though she’s a hunter and supports the death penalty. Her campaign is just more of the same and not enough to dethrone a powerful and entrenched politician like Birkholz who has somehow managed to appear moderate enough to not alienate too many voters in the middle.
Brian Calley is as virtually unbeatable as he was in the GOP primary for 87th District State Representative. Democrat Doug Kalnbach was a lot of fun on the campaign trail and at forums, but he really didn’t offer a serious alternative to Calley. Anybody out there think Kalnbach can get 40 percent of the vote? I'd love for the voters in the district to prove me wrong and wipe that smug smirk of Calley's face. The reason why Michigan is in a such a mess is because our state government has been ruled by the Mackinac Center and a right wing cabals of tax cutting loons who'd rather spend time making license plates for Right to Life or giving the ranch to big business than dealing with problems faced by every day people and Calley seems like more of the same instead of the agent of change he claims that he is.
Democrats in this area have to learn the tired old union-style politics doesn’t resonate very well in conservative Bible-thumping West Michigan, where most voters will simply go to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 7, with the opinion, “We like the way things are around here. Why should we change anything?” The Democratic Party seems to be facing a resurgance nationally but that coming tidal wave doesn't seem to be coming close to the GOP's oasis in West Michigan.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
WOOD you believe this?
Bob Dylan said “You don’t need a weatherman to tell you which way the wind blows.” Let’s update that for WOOD-TV Channel 8's gang of meteorologists: “You don’t need a rocket scientist to understand the wind in this room blows far to the right.”
The latest evidence of the political hard-right spin from the seemingly harmless weather forecasters surfaced last weekend with a Grand Rapids Press report that Ms. Terri DeBoer, the morning weather woman, was hostess for a fund-raising party for Republican gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos. Big deal, you might say. Ms. DeBoer, just like anybody else, has a right to support the candidate of her choice. Yet we’re told the media is biased to the left. Not so in the Channel 8 (and 41 WOTV which is owned by WOOD-TV) weather section of the newsroom (or in other parts of the building). Unfortunately for viewers, DeBoer's support of the GOP is only one instance of a right wing media with an iron grip on West Michigan that pretends to reflect the community while ignoring any signs to the contrary.
Bill Steffen, one of Ms. DeBoer’s esteemed colleagues, has been going around to elementary classrooms to talk to the kiddies as a celebrity and promoter of 24-Hours News Eight, often bringing "the Weather Bug"- a Volkswagen Beetle painted up with product placement for the local TV channel which makes the parade rounds in West Michigan communities. When the moustachioed meteorologist stops in at private Christian schools he doesn’t hesitate to tell the impressionable young folks that evolution is a bunch of hooey and the Bible’s story of the creation is the literal truth. Steffan even has explained the existence of fire-breathing dinosaurs with one passage from the Bible that described a “dragon” or monster, proving that human beings in biblical times co-existed with the huge reptiles. Steffen also has given several night-time lecture presentations about the myths of evolution as opposed to the truths in the Bible in explaining where we came from and how. If Steffan's "science" is any indication, now we know why the weatherman always gets it so wrong.
A milder “sin” was committed by the affable and mild-mannered Craig James one evening when he talked about prospects of rain for the Promise Keepers’ march the following day. Why would he care? Is he as concerned about the precipitation when Michigan Pride, the state's major gay equality group, has an event planned? He's probably too busy praying for a deluge of around 40 days and 40 nights.
We shouldn’t be surprised when noting the right wing fundamentalist bias in the Grand Rapids media. The Grand Rapids Press is probably an even worse offender. Was anyone surprised at the GRP’s endorsement last Sunday of DeVos over Granholm, an “editorial” complete with just about all of Dick’s talking points in his flailing campaign to blame the governor for everything that’s gone wrong in the last four years rather than throw even a little bit of the blame to a derelict, dishonest and do-nothing Republican legislature that did all it could to keep the Governor from succeeding or looking good in order to elect one of their party's main benefactors to the job? Ever since Dick Posthumus was embarassed by the former Attorney General the plan has been in motion by the West Michigan Mafia- Get Granholm Gone.
It should be noted emphatically that GRP Editor Mike Lloyd is a close friend of Dick and Betsy DeVos. In fact, when Lloyd’s wife was killed in a traffic accident not long ago, guess who gave a moving eulogy for the deceased at her funeral? That’s right. Dick and Mike are more than just casual friends or acquaintances, they’re best buddies. And friends don’t let friends get defeated by Democrats when their Republican power brokers and it comes time to support them for something as important as running for governor and making Grand Rapids the unofficial capital of Michigan- or at least entrenching it as the power base for the state GOP's right wing flank.
A good example of the Press' over-the-top bias was shown when documentary film-maker, and well-known subject of right wing vitriol, Michael Moore came to Fulton Street Church and the Grand Rapids Press' account of the event focused nearly exclusively on then-state GOP chair Betsy DeVos' personal views on Mr. Moore's personal hygiene. The Press has also run countless articles on the DeVos campaign- putting very minor stories front and center in the paper in an effort to boost Mike Lloyd's personal friend- the beady-eyed billionaire with his sights on the Governor's mansion.
Channel 8 and the Grand Rapids Press are doing a fine tag team job in the service of the DeVos for Governor campaign. So look out kid because the right wing spin is blowing so hard out of the Grand Rapids media outlets that it threatens to turn into Hurricane Betsy- a Category 5 storm which would blow away environmental regulations, reproductive freedom and privacy, educational equality and opportunity and anything else that stands in the way of the DeVos family and their rich cohorts capturing the levers of government and using it to line their pockets at your expense.
The latest evidence of the political hard-right spin from the seemingly harmless weather forecasters surfaced last weekend with a Grand Rapids Press report that Ms. Terri DeBoer, the morning weather woman, was hostess for a fund-raising party for Republican gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos. Big deal, you might say. Ms. DeBoer, just like anybody else, has a right to support the candidate of her choice. Yet we’re told the media is biased to the left. Not so in the Channel 8 (and 41 WOTV which is owned by WOOD-TV) weather section of the newsroom (or in other parts of the building). Unfortunately for viewers, DeBoer's support of the GOP is only one instance of a right wing media with an iron grip on West Michigan that pretends to reflect the community while ignoring any signs to the contrary.
Bill Steffen, one of Ms. DeBoer’s esteemed colleagues, has been going around to elementary classrooms to talk to the kiddies as a celebrity and promoter of 24-Hours News Eight, often bringing "the Weather Bug"- a Volkswagen Beetle painted up with product placement for the local TV channel which makes the parade rounds in West Michigan communities. When the moustachioed meteorologist stops in at private Christian schools he doesn’t hesitate to tell the impressionable young folks that evolution is a bunch of hooey and the Bible’s story of the creation is the literal truth. Steffan even has explained the existence of fire-breathing dinosaurs with one passage from the Bible that described a “dragon” or monster, proving that human beings in biblical times co-existed with the huge reptiles. Steffen also has given several night-time lecture presentations about the myths of evolution as opposed to the truths in the Bible in explaining where we came from and how. If Steffan's "science" is any indication, now we know why the weatherman always gets it so wrong.
A milder “sin” was committed by the affable and mild-mannered Craig James one evening when he talked about prospects of rain for the Promise Keepers’ march the following day. Why would he care? Is he as concerned about the precipitation when Michigan Pride, the state's major gay equality group, has an event planned? He's probably too busy praying for a deluge of around 40 days and 40 nights.
We shouldn’t be surprised when noting the right wing fundamentalist bias in the Grand Rapids media. The Grand Rapids Press is probably an even worse offender. Was anyone surprised at the GRP’s endorsement last Sunday of DeVos over Granholm, an “editorial” complete with just about all of Dick’s talking points in his flailing campaign to blame the governor for everything that’s gone wrong in the last four years rather than throw even a little bit of the blame to a derelict, dishonest and do-nothing Republican legislature that did all it could to keep the Governor from succeeding or looking good in order to elect one of their party's main benefactors to the job? Ever since Dick Posthumus was embarassed by the former Attorney General the plan has been in motion by the West Michigan Mafia- Get Granholm Gone.
It should be noted emphatically that GRP Editor Mike Lloyd is a close friend of Dick and Betsy DeVos. In fact, when Lloyd’s wife was killed in a traffic accident not long ago, guess who gave a moving eulogy for the deceased at her funeral? That’s right. Dick and Mike are more than just casual friends or acquaintances, they’re best buddies. And friends don’t let friends get defeated by Democrats when their Republican power brokers and it comes time to support them for something as important as running for governor and making Grand Rapids the unofficial capital of Michigan- or at least entrenching it as the power base for the state GOP's right wing flank.
A good example of the Press' over-the-top bias was shown when documentary film-maker, and well-known subject of right wing vitriol, Michael Moore came to Fulton Street Church and the Grand Rapids Press' account of the event focused nearly exclusively on then-state GOP chair Betsy DeVos' personal views on Mr. Moore's personal hygiene. The Press has also run countless articles on the DeVos campaign- putting very minor stories front and center in the paper in an effort to boost Mike Lloyd's personal friend- the beady-eyed billionaire with his sights on the Governor's mansion.
Channel 8 and the Grand Rapids Press are doing a fine tag team job in the service of the DeVos for Governor campaign. So look out kid because the right wing spin is blowing so hard out of the Grand Rapids media outlets that it threatens to turn into Hurricane Betsy- a Category 5 storm which would blow away environmental regulations, reproductive freedom and privacy, educational equality and opportunity and anything else that stands in the way of the DeVos family and their rich cohorts capturing the levers of government and using it to line their pockets at your expense.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
PDWM forum available online
The Progressive Democrats of West Michigan recently hosted a forum with Doug Kalmbach and Brian Calley, candidates for the 87th state house seat, and Suzzette Royston who is challenging Patty Birkholz for a job in the State Senate. The forum is now available via the World Wide Web. The direct link is here. Or go to Google and click on "video" (at the top) and search using the name of any of the candidates. This is the entire hour-long forum with no edits so you'd better have a high speed connection before attempting to view this.
Renier within striking distance in MI-07
According to this article, a new poll shows Sharon Renier closing in on uber-fundamentalist Tim Walberg for the race to fill Joe Schwarz' seat in Michigan's 7th Congressional District which covers Calhoun and Washtenaw Counties. The poll gives Republican Tim Walberg a 43 to 35 percent lead over Democratic Party nominee Sharon Renier. The upside for Renier, despite being down by 8 points in this poll, is that her name recognition is only at 23% with Walberg being recognized by more than twice as many voters. The poll was conducted by Chicago-based company Glengariff Group Inc. shows Renier actually holding the lead among independent voters 36 to 33 percent, with 28 percent undecided.
Walberg's poor showing and Renier's surprising strength in the traditionally GOP-held district are likely due to the bloody GOP primary with many local Republicans witholding support from Walberg as well as the national shift from the Republican Party to Democrats in the wake of numerous Republican Party blunders and scandals. While most pundits are still counting on the seat remaining in the hands of the GOP, a growing momentum in local and national polls toward Democrats may just swamp the nation and create a Congressional rout like the Republicans experienced in 1994 and the Democrats had post-Watergate. Stay tuned...
Walberg's poor showing and Renier's surprising strength in the traditionally GOP-held district are likely due to the bloody GOP primary with many local Republicans witholding support from Walberg as well as the national shift from the Republican Party to Democrats in the wake of numerous Republican Party blunders and scandals. While most pundits are still counting on the seat remaining in the hands of the GOP, a growing momentum in local and national polls toward Democrats may just swamp the nation and create a Congressional rout like the Republicans experienced in 1994 and the Democrats had post-Watergate. Stay tuned...
Sunday, October 08, 2006
County commission forum- softballs & sour grapes
Many have been criticial of the Barry County Board of Commissioners held Thursday, Sept. 28 at Thomas Jefferson Hall in Hastings, which included joint appearances by three Republican candidates for the County Board of Commisisoners, two Democrats and one independent. There were supposed to be eight next to the podium, but Democrat John Loftus was a no-show because he had “other priorities.” This “forced” Republican Hoot Gibson, the only incumbent in attendance, to watch from the audience rather than debate an empty chair. Gibson really didn’t miss much. The whole sordid affair was as pathetic as the perennial candidacies of Loftus.
Local Republicans have been critical of the forum because of the perception moderator Barbara Cichy, who is also chairwoman of the Barry County Democratic Party, set up Sixth District GOP candidate Mark Englerth with a loaded and esoteric question about “what makes a good taxpayer?” Some complain Englerth is notorious for being late with his tax payments on properties he owns and characterize him as a bit of a slumlord. Englerth has defended himself against such accusations earlier on this blog. The subject is certainly fair game but Cichy should have been out in the open in asking it instead of appearing to try to "sandbag" Englerth.
Meanwhile, some GOP faithful aren’t happy that Cichy unsuccessfully went after Englerth, but at the same time gave Democrat Mike Lewis, a candidate for Third District, a pass on his storied past. Lewis readily admits he served a prison term more than a dozen years ago for armed robbery, but insists he’s a changed man now, like Saul of Tarsus turning into the Apostle Paul, on the straight and narrow, now working as a business analyst, is an ordained minister and is general manager of a weekly newspaper.
Yet trouble still seems to follow Lewis around, just like it did the ever-embattled late Yankees Manager Billy Martin. Lewis somehow played a role in a some kind of scam involving cashing bogus money orders a little more than a year ago, one of his children was a victim of an alleged molestation and his and his wife’s restaurant failed. Billy Martin, in his book, “Number One,” consistently insisted he never started any of those many fights, that he was “just hanging around, doin nuthin, and then this guy comes up and makes trouble.” Lewis, like Billy Martin, is strangely gifted in certain areas, and just as Martin was an astonishingly good baseball manager, Lewis has the tools and intelligence to be a terrific county commissioner. He seems to be too smart to get involved in the problems that have followed him. I just don't know if there's not too much baggage for most voters to ignore- it would be nice to think the public is forgiving but often forgiveness is something we praise in others but practice very little on our own.
Back to the forum...
It did appear Cichy was setting up Englerth for a nasty sneak attack on taxes and it raised questions as to why lame duck commissioners Clare Tripp and Sandy James were in the audience that night. Some suggested to me they were tipped off to the possibility Englerth would have to answer a very difficult question and they wanted to see him squirm. I have no reason yet to doubt that assertion. At times, furthermore, it looked like Brinkert was being set up to read prepared statements rather than answer questions from the heart. One has to wonder if Cichy might not have tipped off her pal Brinkert about what questions would be asked- something that would certainly be a bit unseemly and taint the respect the forum has had- despite being held on the Democrats' home turf for so many years.
GOP boosters have railed against the Dems for trying to stack against Republicans at these forums and have suggested they no longer should come to such a tainted event. That’s interesting because the Barry County GOP has been the party of complacency, a party that hasn’t lifted a finger to have its own forum all these years. It’s well known in these parts that if you can win in the August Republican primary, you are virtually invincible in November (from what I hear, the voicing of this conventional wisdom is what got the Hastings Banner folks booted from the role of moderating these Democratic-hosted events by drawing the ire of the Dem Party elites who wish it wasn't true). Brian Calley is already showing up to photo-op type events rather than Gary Newell, just like Terry Geiger did in 1994 for Bob Bender. And do you really think Patty Birkholtz is worried about her opponent?
And yet the local GOP never bother to host their own forums- perhaps wishing they would just go away so they can run without bothersome questions from the public and the press, forcing them to actually defend their positions and run for the offices they aspire to instead of merely accepting their anointments and taking office. Some say this complacency is possible because the electorate votes dependably straight party for the status quo while others say it’s because the Dems never put up anybody worth voting for. This local one-party system has allowed people like Sandy James, Jim Bailey and Clare Tripp to take on the “R” and not carry any water for the party, just for themselves, because once you have the “R” next to your name on the ballot, you’re elected. In fact, it doesn't even matter if your positions are really even in synch with the GOP- as long as you've got the label you're virtually assured a win in November.
The only non-R or non-D at the forum was Ron Miller, and like Admiral William Stockdale’s most famous quote at the 1992 vice presidential debates, he very well could have asked, “What am I doing here?” without shocking anyone. Miller gave voters absolutely no reason to choose him over Jeff VanNortwick, the primary winner over the now bitter Tom Wing, who has announced his support for the independent challenger. Miller failed to voice any reason he was running so it looks as if Miller is nothing but a stooge put in place by digruntled Wing supporters to carry the torch and try to unseat the guy who beat their man.
Along the same lines, the embittered Tripp reportedly has taken a sudden shine to Brinkert and is reaching out to the Democrat to help defeat Englerth, the man who beat her in August. Brinkert will surely benefit from having a number of people turned off by Englerth's loud-mouth and abrasive style while Englerth will benefit from being a Republican in Barry County.
Two August primary sore losers, Wing and Tripp, are really showing sour grapes in continuing their fight after the intra-party primary. Calley told everyone during the state representative primary he’s tired of all the negative attacks and wants people to get along, especially since he was the undisputed leader and he won. Can our new state representative be a healer? I think Tripp and Wing will go their graves hating Englerth and VanNortwick like the different religious sects in the Middle East and the Balkans hate one another. I don’t think it’ll stop, because a fire in the street ain’t like a fire in the heart. Does Calley have the clout to bring Tripp and Wing back into the fold and help heal the rifts in the local GOP or is he too busy planning his inauguration party to bother?
I guess I really don't have anything else to say- pick your poison here, folks.
Local Republicans have been critical of the forum because of the perception moderator Barbara Cichy, who is also chairwoman of the Barry County Democratic Party, set up Sixth District GOP candidate Mark Englerth with a loaded and esoteric question about “what makes a good taxpayer?” Some complain Englerth is notorious for being late with his tax payments on properties he owns and characterize him as a bit of a slumlord. Englerth has defended himself against such accusations earlier on this blog. The subject is certainly fair game but Cichy should have been out in the open in asking it instead of appearing to try to "sandbag" Englerth.
Meanwhile, some GOP faithful aren’t happy that Cichy unsuccessfully went after Englerth, but at the same time gave Democrat Mike Lewis, a candidate for Third District, a pass on his storied past. Lewis readily admits he served a prison term more than a dozen years ago for armed robbery, but insists he’s a changed man now, like Saul of Tarsus turning into the Apostle Paul, on the straight and narrow, now working as a business analyst, is an ordained minister and is general manager of a weekly newspaper.
Yet trouble still seems to follow Lewis around, just like it did the ever-embattled late Yankees Manager Billy Martin. Lewis somehow played a role in a some kind of scam involving cashing bogus money orders a little more than a year ago, one of his children was a victim of an alleged molestation and his and his wife’s restaurant failed. Billy Martin, in his book, “Number One,” consistently insisted he never started any of those many fights, that he was “just hanging around, doin nuthin, and then this guy comes up and makes trouble.” Lewis, like Billy Martin, is strangely gifted in certain areas, and just as Martin was an astonishingly good baseball manager, Lewis has the tools and intelligence to be a terrific county commissioner. He seems to be too smart to get involved in the problems that have followed him. I just don't know if there's not too much baggage for most voters to ignore- it would be nice to think the public is forgiving but often forgiveness is something we praise in others but practice very little on our own.
Back to the forum...
It did appear Cichy was setting up Englerth for a nasty sneak attack on taxes and it raised questions as to why lame duck commissioners Clare Tripp and Sandy James were in the audience that night. Some suggested to me they were tipped off to the possibility Englerth would have to answer a very difficult question and they wanted to see him squirm. I have no reason yet to doubt that assertion. At times, furthermore, it looked like Brinkert was being set up to read prepared statements rather than answer questions from the heart. One has to wonder if Cichy might not have tipped off her pal Brinkert about what questions would be asked- something that would certainly be a bit unseemly and taint the respect the forum has had- despite being held on the Democrats' home turf for so many years.
GOP boosters have railed against the Dems for trying to stack against Republicans at these forums and have suggested they no longer should come to such a tainted event. That’s interesting because the Barry County GOP has been the party of complacency, a party that hasn’t lifted a finger to have its own forum all these years. It’s well known in these parts that if you can win in the August Republican primary, you are virtually invincible in November (from what I hear, the voicing of this conventional wisdom is what got the Hastings Banner folks booted from the role of moderating these Democratic-hosted events by drawing the ire of the Dem Party elites who wish it wasn't true). Brian Calley is already showing up to photo-op type events rather than Gary Newell, just like Terry Geiger did in 1994 for Bob Bender. And do you really think Patty Birkholtz is worried about her opponent?
And yet the local GOP never bother to host their own forums- perhaps wishing they would just go away so they can run without bothersome questions from the public and the press, forcing them to actually defend their positions and run for the offices they aspire to instead of merely accepting their anointments and taking office. Some say this complacency is possible because the electorate votes dependably straight party for the status quo while others say it’s because the Dems never put up anybody worth voting for. This local one-party system has allowed people like Sandy James, Jim Bailey and Clare Tripp to take on the “R” and not carry any water for the party, just for themselves, because once you have the “R” next to your name on the ballot, you’re elected. In fact, it doesn't even matter if your positions are really even in synch with the GOP- as long as you've got the label you're virtually assured a win in November.
The only non-R or non-D at the forum was Ron Miller, and like Admiral William Stockdale’s most famous quote at the 1992 vice presidential debates, he very well could have asked, “What am I doing here?” without shocking anyone. Miller gave voters absolutely no reason to choose him over Jeff VanNortwick, the primary winner over the now bitter Tom Wing, who has announced his support for the independent challenger. Miller failed to voice any reason he was running so it looks as if Miller is nothing but a stooge put in place by digruntled Wing supporters to carry the torch and try to unseat the guy who beat their man.
Along the same lines, the embittered Tripp reportedly has taken a sudden shine to Brinkert and is reaching out to the Democrat to help defeat Englerth, the man who beat her in August. Brinkert will surely benefit from having a number of people turned off by Englerth's loud-mouth and abrasive style while Englerth will benefit from being a Republican in Barry County.
Two August primary sore losers, Wing and Tripp, are really showing sour grapes in continuing their fight after the intra-party primary. Calley told everyone during the state representative primary he’s tired of all the negative attacks and wants people to get along, especially since he was the undisputed leader and he won. Can our new state representative be a healer? I think Tripp and Wing will go their graves hating Englerth and VanNortwick like the different religious sects in the Middle East and the Balkans hate one another. I don’t think it’ll stop, because a fire in the street ain’t like a fire in the heart. Does Calley have the clout to bring Tripp and Wing back into the fold and help heal the rifts in the local GOP or is he too busy planning his inauguration party to bother?
I guess I really don't have anything else to say- pick your poison here, folks.
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Club for Growth to get pruned?
Here's part of the complaint:
Schwarz has called for Club for Growth to lose it's PAC status and basically be forced to cease operations. For me, that's only the first part. If Walberg gained his spot on the ballot through violations of campaign finance laws then he should lose that slot. One of the major problems with our election laws is that even if Schwarz's allegations are proven true, Walberg's primary victory will still stand. Time and again we see how in politics cheaters are allowed to prosper and it's helping to create the rot in our political process that all of us can recognize the symptoms of. Some people hate sports analogies in politics, but if the offense commits pass interference in football and scores a touchdown it gets called back and they receive an extra penalty (either loss of yards or loss of down if I recall correctly). If the allegations of illegal coordination are true, Tim Walberg should lose his spot on the ballot or a special election should be called if he wins in November to replace him. I also think we should look at jail time for campaign officials and candidates found in violation of election and campaign finance laws. The sanctity of our electoral system is the fundamental part of our democracy- without free and fair elections we cannot maintain the open society based on justice and equality our country's founders created.
You can get more info here.
Support Walberg's opponent: Sharon Renier.
SCHWARZ FILES NINE-POINT F.E.C. COMPLAINT AGAINST CLUB FOR GROWTH
The Schwarz for Congress campaign committee today filed a formal, nine-point complaint with the Federal Election Commission, the federal agency charged with maintaining the integrity of elections, against Club for Growth Inc., the Club for Growth Inc. PAC, and the Walberg for Congress Committee. The nine point complaint outlines violations including:
• The illegal coordination of campaign resources between Club for Growth Inc. and at least four Club for Growth-endorsed candidate committees including Walberg for Congress.
• Club for Growth Inc. and Club for Growth PAC funneling illegal campaign contributions to the Walberg for Congress committee.
• Club for Growth Inc.'s failure to register as a political action committee and failure to file legally mandated reports of receipts and disbursements.
• The violation of federal campaign law by Walberg for Congress committee for accepting in-kind contributions in excess of $5,000.
"Whether you are Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, everyone must adhere to our nation's campaign finance laws," said U.S. Rep. Joe Schwarz (R-Battle Creek). "As a Congressman, I have sworn to uphold the laws of the United States and when I have found clear evidence of any laws being broken, I must report that Club for Growth has flagrantly violated the laws, not only in Michigan but in races across the nation."
"In multiple races around the country in this election cycle, Club for Growth and candidate campaign committees employed the same vendors, including Red Sea LLC (and its subsidiary Basswood Research), National Research Inc. and Blue Point Consulting," Congressman Schwarz said. "If the club and its candidates share the same pollsters, media buyers and consultants, it is pretty obvious there is coordination occurring."
The complaint found that in addition to sharing vendors on the Walberg for Congress Committee, Club for Growth shared consistent vendors with the Laffey for Senate campaign in Rhode Island, the Sharron Angle for Congress campaign in Nevada, and the Bill Sali for Congress campaign in Idaho.
(snip)
The Federal Election Commission is presently suing the Club for Growth in the U.S. District Court for the District of
Columbia (FEC v Club for Growth) to force the club to cease and desist from a number of the practices that form the basis of the complaint by the Schwarz for Congress committee.
Included in this federal complaint are charges that Club for Growth has failed to properly register as a political action committee. The organization seeks to influence elections and does so by illegally funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars to campaign committees. According to the non-partisan Michigan Campaign Finance Network, 85.8 percent of Walberg for Congress campaign funding was funneled through the Club for Growth.
Schwarz has called for Club for Growth to lose it's PAC status and basically be forced to cease operations. For me, that's only the first part. If Walberg gained his spot on the ballot through violations of campaign finance laws then he should lose that slot. One of the major problems with our election laws is that even if Schwarz's allegations are proven true, Walberg's primary victory will still stand. Time and again we see how in politics cheaters are allowed to prosper and it's helping to create the rot in our political process that all of us can recognize the symptoms of. Some people hate sports analogies in politics, but if the offense commits pass interference in football and scores a touchdown it gets called back and they receive an extra penalty (either loss of yards or loss of down if I recall correctly). If the allegations of illegal coordination are true, Tim Walberg should lose his spot on the ballot or a special election should be called if he wins in November to replace him. I also think we should look at jail time for campaign officials and candidates found in violation of election and campaign finance laws. The sanctity of our electoral system is the fundamental part of our democracy- without free and fair elections we cannot maintain the open society based on justice and equality our country's founders created.
You can get more info here.
Support Walberg's opponent: Sharon Renier.
Friday, September 29, 2006
That's debatable- Gubernatorial version
Govenor Granholm and challenger Dick DeVos will have their first of three planned debates Monday night on WKAR Channel 23 which will also be aired on Michigan Public Radio live at 8 pm. Monday, October 2. Unfortunately for fans of intelligent questions, Tim Skubick is hosting.
From the WKAR press release:
Additional debates are:
WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids on October 10, 2006
WXYZ-TV in Detroit on October 16, 2006
The format of the debates is as follows:
From the WKAR press release:
The Debate for Governor 2006
Monday, October 2 at 8 p.m.
WKAR-TV and 90.5 WKARWKAR Confirms Statewide Gubernatorial Debate on Public Television and Radio
Governor Jennifer Granholm and Dick DeVos have accepted WKAR-TV's debate proposal. The live, one hour statewide debate between the incumbent Democratic governor and the Republican challenger will air Monday, October 2, at 8 p.m., on PBS stations throughout Michigan.
WKAR will also repeat the debate on Saturday, October 7, at 6 p.m.
(snip)
Beginning Tuesday, October 3, the television special will be available for online viewing at WKAR.org, and the MPRN radio coverage will be available as a downloadable podcast.
(snip)
Additional debates are:
WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids on October 10, 2006
WXYZ-TV in Detroit on October 16, 2006
The format of the debates is as follows:
The Grand Rapids debate would be a joint production by WOOD-TV and WDIV-TV, with a panel of reporters from both stations questioning the candidates, and it will made available to all NBC affiliates in Michigan for simulcast. The debate at WXYZ-TV will be a town hall format with a live audience and moderated by a panel of reporters, and it will made available to all other ABC affiliates in Michigan for simulcast.
To forgive divine
Hastings and Barry County recently endured a tragedy that could have been avoided with a little common sense and application of appropriate theology by someone who professes loudly, proudly and arrogantly to be a Christian.
The sad and shocking story of the fall from grace of Pennock Hospital CEO Harry Doele was told by local and area newspapers and on nearby metropolitan TV stations. Doele, a pharmacist by trade, indeed has been accused of stealing a pain killing drug from the Pennock pharmacy, which if true is a violation of law and he must be punished (and Doele is reported to have pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor charge yesterday in court). However, it appears the already-inflicted punishment isn’t fitting the alleged crime, a common affliction in our “git tuff” society these days. Because of his weakness in committing a crime that harmed no one, he has lost his job and has been disgraced in the community he lived and worked in for more than 30 years, in addition to whatever penalty he faces in court.
The Pennock Board of Directors, led by High Priest Bruce Gee, one of the most self righteous among the local Pharisees, has deemed that Pennock’s CEO has committed a crime, shall be punished and must be exiled. Gee, a local attorney who subscribes heavily to the paternalistic “spare the rod and spoil the child” religious philosophy not unlike Pat Robertson, has successfully helped coordinate Doele’s fall from grace and banishment. It’s all a tragedy because this was a golden opportunity for Gee and his brethren to practice their professed Christian faith by publicly acknowledging their CEO’s problem and rebuking him, but then extending him the hand of compassion and forgiveness if he rehabilitates himself. No less than Banner Publisher Fred Jacobs has suggested this same idea in a recent “In My Opinion,” but to no avail.
It’s my impression Doele hasn’t been the kind of hard-ass executive we’ve become too accustomed to lately. Unlike his predecessor, Dan Hamilton, who employed a leadership style reminiscent of Attila the Hun, Doele used a kinder, gentler approach in which he seemed to believe if most everyone who worked at or did business with Pennock actually liked the place, they’d work their behinds off for its benefit. Pennock’s public image got a big boost when Hamilton took a hike a couple of years ago and Doele took over the top spot. I don’t know if he was truly a good boss, but he certainly was highly thought of within the ranks of employees and in the community from people I've spoken with.
Apparently things began to unravel for Doele when he suffered an injury in one of those “Iron Man” competitions he often used to compete in. He later suffered another injury in a traffic accident and was seen wearing a neck brace in public last spring. The medication he’s accused of stealing treats pain and discomfort. While we clearly must recognize Doele violated the law and his position, I fail to see how putting him out to pasture is the appropriate response. If he’s as good an administrator and public relations man for Pennock as I’ve heard, let’s insist he make restitution, pay a fine and perform community service. Then let’s have him rehabilitated and bring him back to work. If we really believe the immortal words of Christ, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone,” then we should put the philosophy into practice.
Yes, I know there are those who say lesser known or liked individuals wouldn’t get such a break. I believe everyone should be given a second chance, especially if the individual has something to offer. I believe the alcoholic who loses his or her job should be given a chance to he healed of the disease and be returned to the work place. Punishment and banishment too often leads to the offender to continue to commit the offenses and cost society even more later in the prison system or perhaps in public assistance. Common sense and true Christian theology call us to recognize the offense, punish the offender appropriately and then make them and society whole again. I suppose that sounds like namby-pamby liberal thinking. Yet it makes better sense philosophically and economically than the way of the Pharisees.
It appears Harry Doele will not be welcome to come back to Pennock again, unless it’s as a patient. About the only chance he had of saving his job would have been to suck up to Gee, go to his church, cry crockodile tears like Jimmy Swaggart produced to his flock after being caught with a prostitute, get down on his knees and beg profusely for forgiveness, testify in front of the congregation like Brian Calley did and tell everyone he’s found the Lord. Even then I’m not certain Gee and his ilk would offer him the gift of compassion and forgiveness.
When the news about Doele broke, Gee and the Pennock Board of Directors refused to comment on or acknowledge their CEO’s resignation, demonstrating the customary corporate evasion of the truth. Now they’re searching for a new leader and won’t even consider bringing Doele back. I hope they don’t go back to the Hamilton school of leadership. As I said earlier, this is a sad story in which everybody is a loser — Doele, the hospital, the board and ultimately the community.
I can't help but wonder how a good man like the Rev. Michael Anton, a Pennock Board member, feels about all of this?
The sad and shocking story of the fall from grace of Pennock Hospital CEO Harry Doele was told by local and area newspapers and on nearby metropolitan TV stations. Doele, a pharmacist by trade, indeed has been accused of stealing a pain killing drug from the Pennock pharmacy, which if true is a violation of law and he must be punished (and Doele is reported to have pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor charge yesterday in court). However, it appears the already-inflicted punishment isn’t fitting the alleged crime, a common affliction in our “git tuff” society these days. Because of his weakness in committing a crime that harmed no one, he has lost his job and has been disgraced in the community he lived and worked in for more than 30 years, in addition to whatever penalty he faces in court.
The Pennock Board of Directors, led by High Priest Bruce Gee, one of the most self righteous among the local Pharisees, has deemed that Pennock’s CEO has committed a crime, shall be punished and must be exiled. Gee, a local attorney who subscribes heavily to the paternalistic “spare the rod and spoil the child” religious philosophy not unlike Pat Robertson, has successfully helped coordinate Doele’s fall from grace and banishment. It’s all a tragedy because this was a golden opportunity for Gee and his brethren to practice their professed Christian faith by publicly acknowledging their CEO’s problem and rebuking him, but then extending him the hand of compassion and forgiveness if he rehabilitates himself. No less than Banner Publisher Fred Jacobs has suggested this same idea in a recent “In My Opinion,” but to no avail.
It’s my impression Doele hasn’t been the kind of hard-ass executive we’ve become too accustomed to lately. Unlike his predecessor, Dan Hamilton, who employed a leadership style reminiscent of Attila the Hun, Doele used a kinder, gentler approach in which he seemed to believe if most everyone who worked at or did business with Pennock actually liked the place, they’d work their behinds off for its benefit. Pennock’s public image got a big boost when Hamilton took a hike a couple of years ago and Doele took over the top spot. I don’t know if he was truly a good boss, but he certainly was highly thought of within the ranks of employees and in the community from people I've spoken with.
Apparently things began to unravel for Doele when he suffered an injury in one of those “Iron Man” competitions he often used to compete in. He later suffered another injury in a traffic accident and was seen wearing a neck brace in public last spring. The medication he’s accused of stealing treats pain and discomfort. While we clearly must recognize Doele violated the law and his position, I fail to see how putting him out to pasture is the appropriate response. If he’s as good an administrator and public relations man for Pennock as I’ve heard, let’s insist he make restitution, pay a fine and perform community service. Then let’s have him rehabilitated and bring him back to work. If we really believe the immortal words of Christ, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone,” then we should put the philosophy into practice.
Yes, I know there are those who say lesser known or liked individuals wouldn’t get such a break. I believe everyone should be given a second chance, especially if the individual has something to offer. I believe the alcoholic who loses his or her job should be given a chance to he healed of the disease and be returned to the work place. Punishment and banishment too often leads to the offender to continue to commit the offenses and cost society even more later in the prison system or perhaps in public assistance. Common sense and true Christian theology call us to recognize the offense, punish the offender appropriately and then make them and society whole again. I suppose that sounds like namby-pamby liberal thinking. Yet it makes better sense philosophically and economically than the way of the Pharisees.
It appears Harry Doele will not be welcome to come back to Pennock again, unless it’s as a patient. About the only chance he had of saving his job would have been to suck up to Gee, go to his church, cry crockodile tears like Jimmy Swaggart produced to his flock after being caught with a prostitute, get down on his knees and beg profusely for forgiveness, testify in front of the congregation like Brian Calley did and tell everyone he’s found the Lord. Even then I’m not certain Gee and his ilk would offer him the gift of compassion and forgiveness.
When the news about Doele broke, Gee and the Pennock Board of Directors refused to comment on or acknowledge their CEO’s resignation, demonstrating the customary corporate evasion of the truth. Now they’re searching for a new leader and won’t even consider bringing Doele back. I hope they don’t go back to the Hamilton school of leadership. As I said earlier, this is a sad story in which everybody is a loser — Doele, the hospital, the board and ultimately the community.
I can't help but wonder how a good man like the Rev. Michael Anton, a Pennock Board member, feels about all of this?
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Minus the unions?
One of the most drawn-out dramas in the past 25 years has been the decline and fall of the labor union movement in this country. It’s been a sad saga about a once-proud tradition of protecting ordinary working Americans against the excesses and abuses of yesterday’s robber barons and today’s corporate chief executive officers. But unions today supposedly make up only about 12% of the U.S. work force and the numbers continue to decline mostly due to a conceerted effort to demonize them and to make non-unions workers resent the higher wages and better benefits that unions members receive instead of realizing theat they wouldn't have what they've got without generations of people who fought and agitated and even died for such things as a 5-day work work, paid time off, sick leave, vacations, health care benefits and more.
The watershed event came in August 1981, when Ronald Reagan screwed PATCO (the air traffic controllers) to the wall by threatening to fire them and then actually firing them. And since that event, middle class American workers’ wages have stagnated, corporate salaries have exploded, the pendulum of power has swung back to management and we see people losing their jobs all around us because of that phenomenon known as the global marketplace, "free" trade and outsourcing. Furthermore, in order to maintain lifestyles, American families have sent mothers into the work force outside the home, helping to break down that venerable institution.
Another chapter in this pathetic story was written closer to home earlier this month when Hastings teachers were no-shows en masse for the annual Business, Industry and Education luncheon, which each year kicks off the academic year with a boring speech by some corporate executive who usually wants public schools to serve as job training programs to serve business interests. Though billed as a chance for educators, business people and local muckey-mucks to network and gain valuable information, it’s really turned out over the years to be just a way for public schools to perform public relations exercises by sucking up to the wealthy.
Conspicuous by their absence from the BIE luncheon Sept. 6, the teachers were advised by their union leaders not to be present to protest the lack of progress on a new contract after the old one expired June 30. This move aroused the ire of J-Ad Graphics Publisher Fred Jacobs, co-founder of the event with former Superintendent Carl Schoessel. Jacobs wrote an “In My Opinion” piece in the Sept. 14 Hastings Banner that was critical of the teachers’ collective decision, maintaining they were sending the wrong message to students, administrators and businesses.
But what the teachers did in protest Sept. 6 did absolutely nothing to hurt the educational process. They did not strike, which these days is considered illegal by state law. They did not refuse to show up in the classrooms and teach local children. In other words, what they did was not really disruptive to the educational process we cherish, or at least we say we do. What they did, however, was thumb their noses at administrators and business leaders in an effort to call attention to their anger over a lack of a new contract. And now that they’re forbidden to strike, it’s little things like being no-shows for the BIE that are all that’s left for them to fight back.
Reaction among the working stiffs in Hastings and environs has not been positive toward the teachers. Many folks these days resent educators (and other union members) because they still have pretty good health care benefits and they’re getting raises, however small, while too many Joe Lunchbuckets are accepting wage freezes or cuts, or they’re being downsized. It’s interesting that while entertainers, athletes and corporate executives continue to enjoy skyrocketing compensation, ordinary working people are angry instead at the likes of teachers and want to bring them down to the same pay and benefit levels they must endure. The people at the top have found a way to divide and conquer.
Not very many unions go on strike these days, not even the auto workers, because they fear they’ll lose their jobs to someone overseas who will do the same work for a lot less in wages and benefits. Talk about a race to the bottom! The good side of that process is prices for manufactured goods will go down significantly at places like Wal-Mart and all those electronic and computer gadget prices continue to slide.
I'm not going to say that unions haven't been without their problems- bloated adminstrations and corrupt leaders have done their part to bring us to where we are at this point in history. But it's funny how often unions get blamed for the state of the American economy while we ignore corrupt politicians, corporate lobbyists and overpaid CEO salaries' part in all of this. While the winners slice up the spoils, we peasants fight over the crumbs. And the modern age robber barons laugh all the way to the Swiss Bank account.
The Hastings teachers reportedly have been asking for 3 percent raises and would probably settle for 2%. Interestingly, administrators settled for 2 and 3 percent and no one cried fowl, but Superintendent Chris Cooley said it’s easier to handle those increases in the budget because they are much fewer in numbers. Message: There’s too many of you, so you get smaller raises than the few, the proud, the elite- which Cooley happens to be one of now.
Some people around town are critical of the teachers by saying they’ve got “that damned union mentality.” Funny, that mentality a century ago was a big reason for creating the most prosperous society in human history, a distinction now apparently in grave peril. And when we’re no longer number one in the world, we’ll probably blame unions instead of corporate greed and a beholden and complicit government that made a lot of stupid decisions on debt and on war and peace.
The watershed event came in August 1981, when Ronald Reagan screwed PATCO (the air traffic controllers) to the wall by threatening to fire them and then actually firing them. And since that event, middle class American workers’ wages have stagnated, corporate salaries have exploded, the pendulum of power has swung back to management and we see people losing their jobs all around us because of that phenomenon known as the global marketplace, "free" trade and outsourcing. Furthermore, in order to maintain lifestyles, American families have sent mothers into the work force outside the home, helping to break down that venerable institution.
Another chapter in this pathetic story was written closer to home earlier this month when Hastings teachers were no-shows en masse for the annual Business, Industry and Education luncheon, which each year kicks off the academic year with a boring speech by some corporate executive who usually wants public schools to serve as job training programs to serve business interests. Though billed as a chance for educators, business people and local muckey-mucks to network and gain valuable information, it’s really turned out over the years to be just a way for public schools to perform public relations exercises by sucking up to the wealthy.
Conspicuous by their absence from the BIE luncheon Sept. 6, the teachers were advised by their union leaders not to be present to protest the lack of progress on a new contract after the old one expired June 30. This move aroused the ire of J-Ad Graphics Publisher Fred Jacobs, co-founder of the event with former Superintendent Carl Schoessel. Jacobs wrote an “In My Opinion” piece in the Sept. 14 Hastings Banner that was critical of the teachers’ collective decision, maintaining they were sending the wrong message to students, administrators and businesses.
But what the teachers did in protest Sept. 6 did absolutely nothing to hurt the educational process. They did not strike, which these days is considered illegal by state law. They did not refuse to show up in the classrooms and teach local children. In other words, what they did was not really disruptive to the educational process we cherish, or at least we say we do. What they did, however, was thumb their noses at administrators and business leaders in an effort to call attention to their anger over a lack of a new contract. And now that they’re forbidden to strike, it’s little things like being no-shows for the BIE that are all that’s left for them to fight back.
Reaction among the working stiffs in Hastings and environs has not been positive toward the teachers. Many folks these days resent educators (and other union members) because they still have pretty good health care benefits and they’re getting raises, however small, while too many Joe Lunchbuckets are accepting wage freezes or cuts, or they’re being downsized. It’s interesting that while entertainers, athletes and corporate executives continue to enjoy skyrocketing compensation, ordinary working people are angry instead at the likes of teachers and want to bring them down to the same pay and benefit levels they must endure. The people at the top have found a way to divide and conquer.
Not very many unions go on strike these days, not even the auto workers, because they fear they’ll lose their jobs to someone overseas who will do the same work for a lot less in wages and benefits. Talk about a race to the bottom! The good side of that process is prices for manufactured goods will go down significantly at places like Wal-Mart and all those electronic and computer gadget prices continue to slide.
I'm not going to say that unions haven't been without their problems- bloated adminstrations and corrupt leaders have done their part to bring us to where we are at this point in history. But it's funny how often unions get blamed for the state of the American economy while we ignore corrupt politicians, corporate lobbyists and overpaid CEO salaries' part in all of this. While the winners slice up the spoils, we peasants fight over the crumbs. And the modern age robber barons laugh all the way to the Swiss Bank account.
The Hastings teachers reportedly have been asking for 3 percent raises and would probably settle for 2%. Interestingly, administrators settled for 2 and 3 percent and no one cried fowl, but Superintendent Chris Cooley said it’s easier to handle those increases in the budget because they are much fewer in numbers. Message: There’s too many of you, so you get smaller raises than the few, the proud, the elite- which Cooley happens to be one of now.
Some people around town are critical of the teachers by saying they’ve got “that damned union mentality.” Funny, that mentality a century ago was a big reason for creating the most prosperous society in human history, a distinction now apparently in grave peril. And when we’re no longer number one in the world, we’ll probably blame unions instead of corporate greed and a beholden and complicit government that made a lot of stupid decisions on debt and on war and peace.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Yeah, I got a problem with that!
Some readers of this blog may have gotten the impression over the last several months that I don’t like GOP Michigan gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos. Some readers would be right — I despise DeVos. Allow me to explain. DeVos is a filthy rich billionaire, which by itself is not necessarily a bad thing. My problem isn's even as much about how I suspect he and his family and the VanAndels have obtained their enormous wealth- through deceit and flim flammery- but more about how he has used that wealth to further a toxic, extremist agenda.
First, if you really think the Amway-Alticor empire is driven simply by sales of soap and household products, I’ve got some expensive Enron stock I want to sell you. Amway-Alticor has made its massive fortunes by deceiving people into thinking they too can get rich by becoming succesful Amway distributors. I think the appropriate word here recalls P.T. Barnum’s immortal “There’s a sucker born every minute.”
A little more than 30 years ago an ambitious hair-lipped salesman named Glenn W. Turner was busted by federal authorities for running an illegal pyramid scheme. His “Dare to Be Great” motivational tapes made the rounds and he tried to sell his flock a lot of elusive dreams about becoming wealthy. Since I read of Turner’s awful fate, I’ve wondered what the difference between him and Amway was. As a friend once told me, “Somebody found a box of soap.” Never in my life have I been approached by anyone who has attempted to sell me an Amway product. However, I have been asked more than once to become an Amway distributor, with promises of making a nice tidy sum to supplement my low-paying full-time job. Of course, I declined after being given a folksy and friendly pitch by a couple hoping to climb the ladder in the corporation by selling a distributorship to some unwary sucker like me. I’ve been told by several in the know that Amway takes distributors to retreats, herds them into a huge lecture hall and then has a few of the blessed people at the top of the pyramid give them pep talks that look and sound a lot like religious revival services.
I’ve since learned the average Amway distributor makes about $56 a month, despite all the talk of riches and economic rewards that come to those who apply themselves and the principles of the corporation. What most suckers don’t seem to understand is that only a very few will make the big bucks at Amway-Alticor.
I’ve seen the slick marketing used in Alticor-Amway’s TV ads that suspiciously follow DeVos for Governor spots though each side is claiming independance from the other to avoid campaign finance law violations. Both sets of commercials try to tell us DeVos didn’t lay off those 1,400 Michigan workers and send their jobs to China. Yet it was quite a coincidence, that 1,400 lost their jobs the same time the billionaire DeVos invested big bucks in China so he could sell products (not made in Michigan, but in a China plant) in the world’s largest market. These slick pros doing the ads for Amway and DeVos also want us to think those 1,400 were let go gently through benign processes such as attrition or early retirements. I know a man who was an engineer at Alticor for five years. One day, without warning, as he returned from lunch, he was met by two security officers who escorted him out of the building and to his car, not even letting him clean out his desk. The man had done nothing wrong. His job had been eliminated.
Let’s not forget Dick DeVos has spent a lot of money on toxic causes such as the attempt to enact a voucher system to steal money from public education to find fundamentalist Christian madrassas, which thankfully was turned away by voters soundly a few years back. Let’s not forget his wife, Betsy, who has been strangely AWOL during her husband’s campaign for governor, was chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party and was quoted in the Grand Rapids Press not long ago as saying one of the reasons for this state’s economic trouble is Michigan workers are paid too much- an unfortunate admission of something most of the hard core right wing int his country believe. DeVos has been one of the country's most generous donors to radical right wing fringe groups seeking to rewrite out tax laws to makes themselves even wealthier and to gain control of our electoral system to force through their extremist agenda which is nothing short of a fundamentalist Christian rule in this country and an attempt to rewrite the Constitution and the history books to make it so. Here's just one example of the place DeVos holds in the Republican power structure:
In case you don't recognize him, that Karl "Turd Blossom" Rove on the left side of that photo rubbing elbows with Dick and Betsy DeVos. That photo is the best reminder that Dick DeVos in the Governor's mansion would be Michigan's version of George W. Bush in the Oval Office- a mistake we can avoid making if enough people bother to inform themselves, wake up and realize that a lot of the problems we are facing are ones created by Republicans in order to create a Neo Con Utopia in which everyone is "responsible " for their own education, retirement, health care, roads and whatever over "socialist" programs can be privatized to line some contributor's pockets.
DeVos has spent a great deal of time trying his damnedest to blame Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm for this state’s horrible economy, as if one individual can do that much damage as a Democrat in a sea of Republicans running Michigan. Since John Engler’s election as governor in 1990, the GOP has been in the majority in Lansing, sometimes dominating it with the governor’s chair, both houses in the State Legislature and the Michigan Supreme Court. Republicans have just about owned this state politically for the last 16 years and yet DeVos has the gall to suggest it’s all Granholm’s fault. And Dick and Betsy DeVos have been the prime movers and shakers. Dick is right- what they're doing in Lansing isn't working, but the recipe they're cooking with was written by Dick DeVos and a handful of other radical Republicans who refuse to see their policies are failures, the corrupt rule a horrible mistake.
Furthermore, it’s been difficult for Granholm to govern effectively when she must deal with snakes and sons of snakes who don’t want anything positive to happen to make her look good. A do-nothing legislature that wants to see her packing her bags rather than serve the people has been all too common in the last four years. When she was elected, Granholm faced a 63-47 GOP majority in the House and a 23-15 GOP majority in the Senate. If we were playing “Clue,” the guilty one eventually should be identified as the stonewalling, feet dragging legislators with an agenda to make the governor appear to be ineffective.
Then there are people who point to the wonderful philanthropy of the DeVos and VanAndel families. Just look at DeVos Children’s Hospital, the VanAndel Arena, DeVos Place, DeVos Hall, and the list goes on. There comes a time when a robber baron decides to use his massive fortune to put his name up in lights to get a sense of immortality. It also gets him out of paying taxes on the money while buying some really good PR. Sort of a win-win situation.
I agree with those who have expressed disappointment in Granholm, but I think she’s had to deal too often with people who don’t want her to succeed and I think Dick DeVos is not much more than a filthy rich smooth salesman who hasn’t really discussed issues and his plans.
To answer the man at the end of those new ads for Amway: Yeah, I got a problem with that!
First, if you really think the Amway-Alticor empire is driven simply by sales of soap and household products, I’ve got some expensive Enron stock I want to sell you. Amway-Alticor has made its massive fortunes by deceiving people into thinking they too can get rich by becoming succesful Amway distributors. I think the appropriate word here recalls P.T. Barnum’s immortal “There’s a sucker born every minute.”
A little more than 30 years ago an ambitious hair-lipped salesman named Glenn W. Turner was busted by federal authorities for running an illegal pyramid scheme. His “Dare to Be Great” motivational tapes made the rounds and he tried to sell his flock a lot of elusive dreams about becoming wealthy. Since I read of Turner’s awful fate, I’ve wondered what the difference between him and Amway was. As a friend once told me, “Somebody found a box of soap.” Never in my life have I been approached by anyone who has attempted to sell me an Amway product. However, I have been asked more than once to become an Amway distributor, with promises of making a nice tidy sum to supplement my low-paying full-time job. Of course, I declined after being given a folksy and friendly pitch by a couple hoping to climb the ladder in the corporation by selling a distributorship to some unwary sucker like me. I’ve been told by several in the know that Amway takes distributors to retreats, herds them into a huge lecture hall and then has a few of the blessed people at the top of the pyramid give them pep talks that look and sound a lot like religious revival services.
I’ve since learned the average Amway distributor makes about $56 a month, despite all the talk of riches and economic rewards that come to those who apply themselves and the principles of the corporation. What most suckers don’t seem to understand is that only a very few will make the big bucks at Amway-Alticor.
I’ve seen the slick marketing used in Alticor-Amway’s TV ads that suspiciously follow DeVos for Governor spots though each side is claiming independance from the other to avoid campaign finance law violations. Both sets of commercials try to tell us DeVos didn’t lay off those 1,400 Michigan workers and send their jobs to China. Yet it was quite a coincidence, that 1,400 lost their jobs the same time the billionaire DeVos invested big bucks in China so he could sell products (not made in Michigan, but in a China plant) in the world’s largest market. These slick pros doing the ads for Amway and DeVos also want us to think those 1,400 were let go gently through benign processes such as attrition or early retirements. I know a man who was an engineer at Alticor for five years. One day, without warning, as he returned from lunch, he was met by two security officers who escorted him out of the building and to his car, not even letting him clean out his desk. The man had done nothing wrong. His job had been eliminated.
Let’s not forget Dick DeVos has spent a lot of money on toxic causes such as the attempt to enact a voucher system to steal money from public education to find fundamentalist Christian madrassas, which thankfully was turned away by voters soundly a few years back. Let’s not forget his wife, Betsy, who has been strangely AWOL during her husband’s campaign for governor, was chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party and was quoted in the Grand Rapids Press not long ago as saying one of the reasons for this state’s economic trouble is Michigan workers are paid too much- an unfortunate admission of something most of the hard core right wing int his country believe. DeVos has been one of the country's most generous donors to radical right wing fringe groups seeking to rewrite out tax laws to makes themselves even wealthier and to gain control of our electoral system to force through their extremist agenda which is nothing short of a fundamentalist Christian rule in this country and an attempt to rewrite the Constitution and the history books to make it so. Here's just one example of the place DeVos holds in the Republican power structure:
In case you don't recognize him, that Karl "Turd Blossom" Rove on the left side of that photo rubbing elbows with Dick and Betsy DeVos. That photo is the best reminder that Dick DeVos in the Governor's mansion would be Michigan's version of George W. Bush in the Oval Office- a mistake we can avoid making if enough people bother to inform themselves, wake up and realize that a lot of the problems we are facing are ones created by Republicans in order to create a Neo Con Utopia in which everyone is "responsible " for their own education, retirement, health care, roads and whatever over "socialist" programs can be privatized to line some contributor's pockets.
DeVos has spent a great deal of time trying his damnedest to blame Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm for this state’s horrible economy, as if one individual can do that much damage as a Democrat in a sea of Republicans running Michigan. Since John Engler’s election as governor in 1990, the GOP has been in the majority in Lansing, sometimes dominating it with the governor’s chair, both houses in the State Legislature and the Michigan Supreme Court. Republicans have just about owned this state politically for the last 16 years and yet DeVos has the gall to suggest it’s all Granholm’s fault. And Dick and Betsy DeVos have been the prime movers and shakers. Dick is right- what they're doing in Lansing isn't working, but the recipe they're cooking with was written by Dick DeVos and a handful of other radical Republicans who refuse to see their policies are failures, the corrupt rule a horrible mistake.
Furthermore, it’s been difficult for Granholm to govern effectively when she must deal with snakes and sons of snakes who don’t want anything positive to happen to make her look good. A do-nothing legislature that wants to see her packing her bags rather than serve the people has been all too common in the last four years. When she was elected, Granholm faced a 63-47 GOP majority in the House and a 23-15 GOP majority in the Senate. If we were playing “Clue,” the guilty one eventually should be identified as the stonewalling, feet dragging legislators with an agenda to make the governor appear to be ineffective.
Then there are people who point to the wonderful philanthropy of the DeVos and VanAndel families. Just look at DeVos Children’s Hospital, the VanAndel Arena, DeVos Place, DeVos Hall, and the list goes on. There comes a time when a robber baron decides to use his massive fortune to put his name up in lights to get a sense of immortality. It also gets him out of paying taxes on the money while buying some really good PR. Sort of a win-win situation.
I agree with those who have expressed disappointment in Granholm, but I think she’s had to deal too often with people who don’t want her to succeed and I think Dick DeVos is not much more than a filthy rich smooth salesman who hasn’t really discussed issues and his plans.
To answer the man at the end of those new ads for Amway: Yeah, I got a problem with that!
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Election Reform, part 2
In a previous post I presented some suggestions on how to make voting less cumbersome to get more Americans to take part in the most important process in our democracy- voting. I present here some more suggested changes that could tweak the system but this time I focus less on making voting easier but on actually making it more effective...
Cooked down, my sequel proposals are to prohibit judges from using their incumbency advantage on the ballot, to quit voting on positions of functional government officials who must have a certain amount of job expertise and to enact some form of proportional representation or cumulative votingsystem.
In the interests of electoral fairness, let’s lose the incumbent designation for judges on the ballot. We don’t allow any other people seeking office to tout themselves as incumbents, so why should judges get such special privileges? All I ask is that Circuit Court Judge James Fisher be referred to on the ballot as simply “James Fisher.” Judges get plenty of publicity so that voters are likely to know who they are anyway, certainly as opposed to some sacrificial lamb opposing them.
It is no secret that in West Michigan, if you’re a Republican and an incumbent, the chances of you being ousted at the polls are about as good as mine trying to hit a home run off Justin Verlander. In the Detroit area, Democrats enjoy the same unfair advantages. The dealer a long time ago handed the good cards to those already in power and left those brave or foolish enough to challenge with lousy hands. It’s time to level the playing field.
Though it’s been said before elsewhere, I call for eliminating the process of electing at all for the so-called “county elected offices” of register of deeds, clerk, treasurer, sheriff, prosecuting attorney, drain commissioner and surveyor. One of my biggest worries is that an electorate that doesn’t pay attention will elect unqualified bozos, and maybe they already have, to one of more these jobs, which really should be appointed by an elected County Board of Commissioners. Many of us, myself included, have little clue what a drain commissioner or register of deeds does or better yet what makes a good one, yet we’re charged with the solemn task of selecting such an animal. Even worse is when somebody running for prosecuting attorney or sheriff can be a demagogue or slick political salesman, but not a competent or effective professional, and the masses of the clueless easily will choose the former over the latter because they’re nice people and give us false promises to “get tough on crime” rather than promise us fair justice for all. Sometimes deciding things by a vote of the people isn’t in our best interests. Plato cautioned us about mob rule mentality.
We also need to take a look at the very nature of how we elect people to office. There are many other ways to distribute votes and elect politicians that would not interfere with the plan our Founding Fathers set into motion- in fact many of the problems I seek to address are "add ons" that came later such as gerrymandering which haven't been dealt with with by the 2 major parties simply because it helps both of them consolidate their power into their geographical bases and it leads to a government that only works as a re-election machine for incumbents. Proportional representation offers a way for people who dislike our current two-party system where both parties seem to be offshoots of one Corporate Party to have a bigger say in who gets sent to represent them. Proportional representation exists in many different forms and likely it would tough in our current atmosphere to enact such a plan let alone choose just one but it would allow for so-called "fringe" groups to have their voice heard who aren't currently being served now. Cumulative voting would allow minorities to not be completely silenced by the majority and would also perhaps provide a sensible and simple method to eliminate the "need" to gerrymander districts to reduce the power of minorities which results in skewed districts where minorities represent only a small number or an overwhelming majority producing the "wasted vote effect." These methods could be effective in breaking the 2 major parties' stranglehold on votes and power and produce a more effective government and a less divided nation.
Consider these ideas along with the proposals I advocated earlier to make it easier for all of us to vote. Let's make it so incumbents don't get an unfair advantage, let's clear the clutter off the ballot and make it so citizens aren't having to worry about who they should elect dog catcher and let's think about how the process of voting is used to send people into office and whether we can't tweak the system and reduce the grip of power from corrupt fiefdoms where the party in power has no fear of losing. Maybe there will come a time when we truly can make a difference. Until that glorious and wonderful day, I’ll have content myself with venting on a boring, repetetive and obscure blog that only a few read for occasional comedy relief...
Cooked down, my sequel proposals are to prohibit judges from using their incumbency advantage on the ballot, to quit voting on positions of functional government officials who must have a certain amount of job expertise and to enact some form of proportional representation or cumulative votingsystem.
In the interests of electoral fairness, let’s lose the incumbent designation for judges on the ballot. We don’t allow any other people seeking office to tout themselves as incumbents, so why should judges get such special privileges? All I ask is that Circuit Court Judge James Fisher be referred to on the ballot as simply “James Fisher.” Judges get plenty of publicity so that voters are likely to know who they are anyway, certainly as opposed to some sacrificial lamb opposing them.
It is no secret that in West Michigan, if you’re a Republican and an incumbent, the chances of you being ousted at the polls are about as good as mine trying to hit a home run off Justin Verlander. In the Detroit area, Democrats enjoy the same unfair advantages. The dealer a long time ago handed the good cards to those already in power and left those brave or foolish enough to challenge with lousy hands. It’s time to level the playing field.
Though it’s been said before elsewhere, I call for eliminating the process of electing at all for the so-called “county elected offices” of register of deeds, clerk, treasurer, sheriff, prosecuting attorney, drain commissioner and surveyor. One of my biggest worries is that an electorate that doesn’t pay attention will elect unqualified bozos, and maybe they already have, to one of more these jobs, which really should be appointed by an elected County Board of Commissioners. Many of us, myself included, have little clue what a drain commissioner or register of deeds does or better yet what makes a good one, yet we’re charged with the solemn task of selecting such an animal. Even worse is when somebody running for prosecuting attorney or sheriff can be a demagogue or slick political salesman, but not a competent or effective professional, and the masses of the clueless easily will choose the former over the latter because they’re nice people and give us false promises to “get tough on crime” rather than promise us fair justice for all. Sometimes deciding things by a vote of the people isn’t in our best interests. Plato cautioned us about mob rule mentality.
We also need to take a look at the very nature of how we elect people to office. There are many other ways to distribute votes and elect politicians that would not interfere with the plan our Founding Fathers set into motion- in fact many of the problems I seek to address are "add ons" that came later such as gerrymandering which haven't been dealt with with by the 2 major parties simply because it helps both of them consolidate their power into their geographical bases and it leads to a government that only works as a re-election machine for incumbents. Proportional representation offers a way for people who dislike our current two-party system where both parties seem to be offshoots of one Corporate Party to have a bigger say in who gets sent to represent them. Proportional representation exists in many different forms and likely it would tough in our current atmosphere to enact such a plan let alone choose just one but it would allow for so-called "fringe" groups to have their voice heard who aren't currently being served now. Cumulative voting would allow minorities to not be completely silenced by the majority and would also perhaps provide a sensible and simple method to eliminate the "need" to gerrymander districts to reduce the power of minorities which results in skewed districts where minorities represent only a small number or an overwhelming majority producing the "wasted vote effect." These methods could be effective in breaking the 2 major parties' stranglehold on votes and power and produce a more effective government and a less divided nation.
Consider these ideas along with the proposals I advocated earlier to make it easier for all of us to vote. Let's make it so incumbents don't get an unfair advantage, let's clear the clutter off the ballot and make it so citizens aren't having to worry about who they should elect dog catcher and let's think about how the process of voting is used to send people into office and whether we can't tweak the system and reduce the grip of power from corrupt fiefdoms where the party in power has no fear of losing. Maybe there will come a time when we truly can make a difference. Until that glorious and wonderful day, I’ll have content myself with venting on a boring, repetetive and obscure blog that only a few read for occasional comedy relief...
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Dick's got WOOD (TV 8)
From the DeVos for Governor campaign's PR dept.:
It should come as no surprise that WOOD TV 8 which has spent so many years pandering to the Amway executive's fiefdom in West Michigan would come to his rescue in the gubernatorial campaign. The Grand Rapids Press and WOOD TV 8 for years have served as a 1-2 punch to not just reflect what may be a conservative-leaning West Michigan's public opinion but to ensure it and strengthen it. This is nothing more than members of the West Michigan mafia helping their own with little regard to the public trust or their viewership. The only other station that has made such a call is in Sault Ste. Marie.
Apparently the beef is not that the accusation itself is unfair or even untrue- it's a semantic argument. DeVos' people claim that the workers the Democrats are accusing him of "laying off" were in fact merely "paid off" to retire early- a move often given an innocuous name such as "attrition" but is really just a different way of sending a worker packing with a severance package and given a nice market-tested buzzword type name that sounds a little nicer. It's a little corporate shell game but the end result is the same and so the ad is as true as most political ads are and certainly no more unfair than so many of DeVos' own ads- all of which have been cleared by his wine and cheese party friends at the Grand Rapids TV station. If WOOD TV seeks to hold political ads to a new standard then maybe they need to look at both sides of the coin.
Anyone who would like to tell TV 8 that maybe they should report the news and not try to make it can register their opinions here:
General Phone: 616-456-8888
Fax: 616-456-5755
Website: www.woodtv.com
Station Manager
Diane Kniowski
Phone: 616-771-9607
Email: diane.kniowski@woodtv.com
A list of other phone numbers and email addresses for WOOD TV 8 can here found by clicking HERE.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 8, 2006
FALSE CAMPAIGN AD PULLED
The DeVos for Governor campaign attorneys received notification today from WOOD TV 8 in Grand Rapids that it was pulling the Democrat’s China attack ad which started airing on Wednesday.
“Voters win when stations stand up for truth, the only question that remains is how many more lies will Granholm attempt to peddle,” said John Truscott, campaign spokesman. “Their ad was found to be false so they were forced to change it.”
CONTACT: John Truscott (517) 485-8404
It should come as no surprise that WOOD TV 8 which has spent so many years pandering to the Amway executive's fiefdom in West Michigan would come to his rescue in the gubernatorial campaign. The Grand Rapids Press and WOOD TV 8 for years have served as a 1-2 punch to not just reflect what may be a conservative-leaning West Michigan's public opinion but to ensure it and strengthen it. This is nothing more than members of the West Michigan mafia helping their own with little regard to the public trust or their viewership. The only other station that has made such a call is in Sault Ste. Marie.
Apparently the beef is not that the accusation itself is unfair or even untrue- it's a semantic argument. DeVos' people claim that the workers the Democrats are accusing him of "laying off" were in fact merely "paid off" to retire early- a move often given an innocuous name such as "attrition" but is really just a different way of sending a worker packing with a severance package and given a nice market-tested buzzword type name that sounds a little nicer. It's a little corporate shell game but the end result is the same and so the ad is as true as most political ads are and certainly no more unfair than so many of DeVos' own ads- all of which have been cleared by his wine and cheese party friends at the Grand Rapids TV station. If WOOD TV seeks to hold political ads to a new standard then maybe they need to look at both sides of the coin.
Anyone who would like to tell TV 8 that maybe they should report the news and not try to make it can register their opinions here:
General Phone: 616-456-8888
Fax: 616-456-5755
Website: www.woodtv.com
Station Manager
Diane Kniowski
Phone: 616-771-9607
Email: diane.kniowski@woodtv.com
A list of other phone numbers and email addresses for WOOD TV 8 can here found by clicking HERE.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Insist on easier elections
The Counterculture in the 1960s used to like to say that “If voting really made a difference, they wouldn’t let you do it.” Those words have been haunting me lately, in the wake of the Aug. 8 primary election and in the wake of some hard thinking about recycling. So what do voting and recycling have in common? Let me explain.
I noticed Barry County finally is going to attempt to encourage people to do the right thing with a voluntary curbside recycling program, something that’s been long overdue around here. The best way to get people to do the right thing is either make it convenient for them or penalize them if they don’t (see: seat belt use in automobiles). If people can set their recyclable materials out on the curb for pickup just like they do for garbage, a far greater number will take part in the process to reduce solid waste. I’m not ashamed to tell everyone I think it’s a good thing.
Hastings about 15 years had a group of high school students present a proposal for curbside recycling to the City Council, but it was shot down because the teens forgot to stroke the inflated ego of No. 1 Barry County blowhard Dr. V. Harry Adrounie, who showed up at a subsequent meeting half in the bag (this, according to an impeccable source) to admonish the kids for not going through the proper channels by asking him first. But now, thanks to Mark Doster and Don Boysen, citizens in Thornapple Township are the first in Barry County to try out a voluntary program that will cost them $25 a year.
Now, for the voting. If we can make it easier for people to vote, I think they’ll do it in larger numbers than they currently do. After almost all elections almost everywhere, the area newspapers are inundated with letters to the editor decrying the low numbers at the polls, like 23% in Barry County’s Aug. 8 primary, the highest in this area. What seems to be overlooked is that in today’s modern society, with both Mom and Dad working outside the home, there’s little time you can set aside for going to the polls.
Most elections are held on Tuesdays, which customarily are work days. Most folks these days are working or traveling to and from work in the hours between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. With the polls open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., that leaves only one hour in the morning and two hours in the evening as a reasonable window of opportunity. And don’t forget Junior’s soccer practice and Molly’s clarinet lessons, not to mention somehow finding enough time to make and gather to eat dinner together.
What I’m saying is that it’s becoming increasingly difficult for ordinary workaday Americans to set aside time to exercise their right to vote. And if voting is inconvenient and perhaps even a hassle for many, why should they bother, no matter what we political freaks say about its importance? We need to make it easier for the masses of ordinary Americans to do it. Resistance, or the infamous process known as “that’s the way we’ve always done it,” these days almost sounds like the political party in power, the GOP, doesn’t really want the unwashed masses to vote, so let’s keep making it inconvenient, let’s just keep things the way they are so the priviledged and powerful will have even more control over the process. I say we must find a way to try mail-in voting or even Internet voting as a way for citizens to fill out their ballot selections in the privacy and comfort of their own homes.
I’m already hearing the objections. Some warn of the dangers of fraud, yet few dispute sending their money via the mail or over the Internet- in fact, the system we have already sends vote total via Internet to a central database to be tabulated- I have my concerns about the system now in use but the fact is that it can be done in a way that provides safeguards and offers alternate methods for vote counting to ensure no fraud or theft is committed. We have seen in several recent elections problems with the current system and yet the status quo prevails- and when changes are made they just seem to be a way of throwing big contracts to campaign contributors. With anything there is a certain amount of risk. We just have to have the courage and will to change and the wisdom to do it right.
Another contrary comment is that anyone these days can get an absentee ballot and send it in. But that involves bureaucratic hassles and puts the onus on the citizen rather than forcing the government to provide a service by making the ballots readily and easily available to the people. Also, current events have a way of changing political reality- those that vote weeks in advance via USPS may not be able to change their vote if last minute news happens that alters the dyanamic of the race.
As long as we keep voting the same way our ancestors did 200 years ago, we’re going to continue to see declining numbers, because it’s just not as easy as it used to be to set aside time to go to the polls, stand in line and do your duty. We make it more convenient these days for people to pay their taxes (on line or by mail), more convenient to buy license plates and easier to have all kinds of important interactions with government, many of us do our banking online or shop for Christmas presents, but somehow we don’t want to change the voting system to accommodate modern realities. Casting a ballot for elected office should be as simple and quick as ordering a meal at a fast food restaurant or buying a book from Amazon.com- American citizens are used to fast and efficient service and our government should respond my making elections run more smoothly and efficiently.
There are many other needed and effective changes that can be made to our current election and voting systems and schemes- online voting is but a start, but one that would have instant dividends by increasing interest and turnout in elections especially in younger generations which are woefully under-represented in the current political process. I also think we need to look at instant runoff voting and proportional representation as ways to increase the small "d" democracy in our big "D" Democracy. We must push our elected leaders to alter the system that got them into office which is something that not many of them are eager to do.
Let’s not let the powers that be pull what Harry Adrounie did on those high school kids, let’s insist on curbside recycling and homeside voting. Let’s tell Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land and all city, county and village clerks what the late Ward Weiler used to tell the County Board: “You work for us, not the other way around.”
I noticed Barry County finally is going to attempt to encourage people to do the right thing with a voluntary curbside recycling program, something that’s been long overdue around here. The best way to get people to do the right thing is either make it convenient for them or penalize them if they don’t (see: seat belt use in automobiles). If people can set their recyclable materials out on the curb for pickup just like they do for garbage, a far greater number will take part in the process to reduce solid waste. I’m not ashamed to tell everyone I think it’s a good thing.
Hastings about 15 years had a group of high school students present a proposal for curbside recycling to the City Council, but it was shot down because the teens forgot to stroke the inflated ego of No. 1 Barry County blowhard Dr. V. Harry Adrounie, who showed up at a subsequent meeting half in the bag (this, according to an impeccable source) to admonish the kids for not going through the proper channels by asking him first. But now, thanks to Mark Doster and Don Boysen, citizens in Thornapple Township are the first in Barry County to try out a voluntary program that will cost them $25 a year.
Now, for the voting. If we can make it easier for people to vote, I think they’ll do it in larger numbers than they currently do. After almost all elections almost everywhere, the area newspapers are inundated with letters to the editor decrying the low numbers at the polls, like 23% in Barry County’s Aug. 8 primary, the highest in this area. What seems to be overlooked is that in today’s modern society, with both Mom and Dad working outside the home, there’s little time you can set aside for going to the polls.
Most elections are held on Tuesdays, which customarily are work days. Most folks these days are working or traveling to and from work in the hours between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. With the polls open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., that leaves only one hour in the morning and two hours in the evening as a reasonable window of opportunity. And don’t forget Junior’s soccer practice and Molly’s clarinet lessons, not to mention somehow finding enough time to make and gather to eat dinner together.
What I’m saying is that it’s becoming increasingly difficult for ordinary workaday Americans to set aside time to exercise their right to vote. And if voting is inconvenient and perhaps even a hassle for many, why should they bother, no matter what we political freaks say about its importance? We need to make it easier for the masses of ordinary Americans to do it. Resistance, or the infamous process known as “that’s the way we’ve always done it,” these days almost sounds like the political party in power, the GOP, doesn’t really want the unwashed masses to vote, so let’s keep making it inconvenient, let’s just keep things the way they are so the priviledged and powerful will have even more control over the process. I say we must find a way to try mail-in voting or even Internet voting as a way for citizens to fill out their ballot selections in the privacy and comfort of their own homes.
I’m already hearing the objections. Some warn of the dangers of fraud, yet few dispute sending their money via the mail or over the Internet- in fact, the system we have already sends vote total via Internet to a central database to be tabulated- I have my concerns about the system now in use but the fact is that it can be done in a way that provides safeguards and offers alternate methods for vote counting to ensure no fraud or theft is committed. We have seen in several recent elections problems with the current system and yet the status quo prevails- and when changes are made they just seem to be a way of throwing big contracts to campaign contributors. With anything there is a certain amount of risk. We just have to have the courage and will to change and the wisdom to do it right.
Another contrary comment is that anyone these days can get an absentee ballot and send it in. But that involves bureaucratic hassles and puts the onus on the citizen rather than forcing the government to provide a service by making the ballots readily and easily available to the people. Also, current events have a way of changing political reality- those that vote weeks in advance via USPS may not be able to change their vote if last minute news happens that alters the dyanamic of the race.
As long as we keep voting the same way our ancestors did 200 years ago, we’re going to continue to see declining numbers, because it’s just not as easy as it used to be to set aside time to go to the polls, stand in line and do your duty. We make it more convenient these days for people to pay their taxes (on line or by mail), more convenient to buy license plates and easier to have all kinds of important interactions with government, many of us do our banking online or shop for Christmas presents, but somehow we don’t want to change the voting system to accommodate modern realities. Casting a ballot for elected office should be as simple and quick as ordering a meal at a fast food restaurant or buying a book from Amazon.com- American citizens are used to fast and efficient service and our government should respond my making elections run more smoothly and efficiently.
There are many other needed and effective changes that can be made to our current election and voting systems and schemes- online voting is but a start, but one that would have instant dividends by increasing interest and turnout in elections especially in younger generations which are woefully under-represented in the current political process. I also think we need to look at instant runoff voting and proportional representation as ways to increase the small "d" democracy in our big "D" Democracy. We must push our elected leaders to alter the system that got them into office which is something that not many of them are eager to do.
Let’s not let the powers that be pull what Harry Adrounie did on those high school kids, let’s insist on curbside recycling and homeside voting. Let’s tell Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land and all city, county and village clerks what the late Ward Weiler used to tell the County Board: “You work for us, not the other way around.”
Saturday, September 02, 2006
Campaign cruise control
Well, we had our chance to get a look at the contenders for the November general election in the 87th district State Rep. race and were reminded why conventional wisdom says Brian Calley won this race in August. Last night's forum at Thomas Jefferson Hall in Hastings showed no reason for anything to think Brian Calley won't be sworn in to a Gary Newell's vacant seat in January barring a meltdown by Brian Calley which would likely have to include multiple felony charges. Calley's decisive win over a crowded Republican primary field was impressive enough that even the Barry County Republicans who charged certain candidates with "crowding the field" have had to realize that even in a one-on-one match that Calley likely still would have won- which means there is not a serious sense of bad blood- and a unified Republican Party means another commanding win in November for the banking industry's Golden Boy.
Democratic Party nominee Doug Kalnbach showed a sense of humor and got in some good zingers but it won't be enough to even bring him above 40% most likely. Kalnbach come across as a likeable guy but also a typical union candidate- presenting a gut level appeal to the working class who has long ago tuned out the Democratic Party's message of economic populism in favor of the Republicans' message of corporate fascism and theocracy sold through fear mongering and spoon-fed easy answers to complex moral and social issues. If Kalnbach was serious about this race, he'd also be hitting the streets harder than he is- there's not many votes to be won at small town drinking holes or biker rallies. I'm sure the calculation is that the anti-helmet biker crowd shows up and swings this race for Kalnbach, but Calley's pro-gun and pro-life stances are all it takes to win here. It's time for the Democrats to hit harder and play smarter if they want to win. Dave Brinkert's campaign against Gary Newell showed that even a pro-gun, pro-life Democrat doesn't have a chance- it's time for some long-term thinking and to lay the groundwork to take these seats when the political landscape has shifted more in favor for the Democratic Party- perhaps when they get redistricted in 2010.
If the Democratic Party wants to win seats in West Michigan they need to begin a long-term campaign in the form of a 5, 10 and 15 year plan that works on voter registration and education, candidate recruitment and grooming and an attempt to provide a funding structure besides relying on the remaining union members and a few $50 from friends and family to fund their candidates.
The only way I could see Brian Calley losing this race was if the far right voters, feeling alienated by a national Republican Party that has spent money like drunken sailors and failed to do anything of substance on abortion or homosexual marriage despite having a solid majority in Congress as well as control of the Executive branch and having a majority of Republican-nominated justices on the Supreme Court, decided to abandon the GOP and cast protest votes for fringe party candidates but that won't happen here. Constitution Party and US Taxpayers Party candidate Walt Herwarth failed to appear as a credible alternative to Brian Calley, sometimes losing his train of thought and not finishing his answers. It wasn't a good performance and it was a good sign that there won't be much to worry about from Calley's right flank which was the only place there could be a serious challenge.
The status quo will reign and re-elect Gary Newell (well, his protogé anyway) to another term in Lansing. And in a couple more years when you hear people grousing about Lansing and politicians, ask them how they voted in November, 2006. I bet you'll know the answer...
Democratic Party nominee Doug Kalnbach showed a sense of humor and got in some good zingers but it won't be enough to even bring him above 40% most likely. Kalnbach come across as a likeable guy but also a typical union candidate- presenting a gut level appeal to the working class who has long ago tuned out the Democratic Party's message of economic populism in favor of the Republicans' message of corporate fascism and theocracy sold through fear mongering and spoon-fed easy answers to complex moral and social issues. If Kalnbach was serious about this race, he'd also be hitting the streets harder than he is- there's not many votes to be won at small town drinking holes or biker rallies. I'm sure the calculation is that the anti-helmet biker crowd shows up and swings this race for Kalnbach, but Calley's pro-gun and pro-life stances are all it takes to win here. It's time for the Democrats to hit harder and play smarter if they want to win. Dave Brinkert's campaign against Gary Newell showed that even a pro-gun, pro-life Democrat doesn't have a chance- it's time for some long-term thinking and to lay the groundwork to take these seats when the political landscape has shifted more in favor for the Democratic Party- perhaps when they get redistricted in 2010.
If the Democratic Party wants to win seats in West Michigan they need to begin a long-term campaign in the form of a 5, 10 and 15 year plan that works on voter registration and education, candidate recruitment and grooming and an attempt to provide a funding structure besides relying on the remaining union members and a few $50 from friends and family to fund their candidates.
The only way I could see Brian Calley losing this race was if the far right voters, feeling alienated by a national Republican Party that has spent money like drunken sailors and failed to do anything of substance on abortion or homosexual marriage despite having a solid majority in Congress as well as control of the Executive branch and having a majority of Republican-nominated justices on the Supreme Court, decided to abandon the GOP and cast protest votes for fringe party candidates but that won't happen here. Constitution Party and US Taxpayers Party candidate Walt Herwarth failed to appear as a credible alternative to Brian Calley, sometimes losing his train of thought and not finishing his answers. It wasn't a good performance and it was a good sign that there won't be much to worry about from Calley's right flank which was the only place there could be a serious challenge.
The status quo will reign and re-elect Gary Newell (well, his protogé anyway) to another term in Lansing. And in a couple more years when you hear people grousing about Lansing and politicians, ask them how they voted in November, 2006. I bet you'll know the answer...
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