DETROIT- It was a great weekend at the Michigan Democratic Party Convention this weekend, and the party faithful left energized and ready to elect the people that will help the state and country continue the move forward out of the Bush ditch.
Like at all conventions, all of the various constituency caucuses heard from the candidates, and there were so many great quotes and speeches that I eventually put my notebook down and just cheered with everybody else. We heard from many of the candidates at the Environmental and Energy Caucus, like Natalie Mosher, running in the 11th District against “Mad” Thad McCotter. He only won with 51 percent of the vote in 2008, but he outspent his opponent 33-1.
“My opponent, Thad McCotter, has an absolutely abysmal record on the environment,” she said.
Saturday also marked the anniversary Dr. Martin Luther King’s historic Washington, D.C. speech of August 28, 1963 that became famous as his "I have a dream speech." Many, myself included, took part in the massive commemorate march to celebrate the historic Walk to Freedom March that took place in Detroit in 1963 and to advocate for a number of progressive causes, like jobs, health care and worker’s dignity. Dr. Fred Johnson, a former Marine Corps office and candidate for the 2nd Congressional District, took offense at Glen Beck’s teabagger rally on that day.
“We have Glenn Beck in Washington, D.C. thumbing his nose, basically, at Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream speech’,” he said. “They have lies and fear; we have ideas and hope.”
Since it was the energy caucus, one man had a good theory on why Michigan is always the first state to feel a recession and the last to come out of it. He said in 2000 gas was $1.39 a gallon and 13.5 million domestic autos were sold. In 2008 gas was $4 a gallon and only 9.5 million cars were sold. Michigan imports 100 percent of its oil and coal and a majority of the natural gas.
In the Michigan Legislature, former State Rep. Kathleen Law, D-Gibraltar, is running a very active campaign for the Senate in the 7th District against a teabagger.
“It’s a big district, but I’m ready,” Law said. “We bought out all of the stamps at the Rockwood Post office; it’s a small post office, but I’m still proud of that.”
Like most teabggers, her opponent has some extreme views that are out of the mainstream, such as ending Medicare and Social Security.
“I don’t know what’s more frightening,” Law said. “That he wants to end those popular programs, or that he doesn’t know the Michigan Senate does not vote on it.”
Pam Jackson is also running for the Senate in the 15th District, and she is running against a candidate who also has some extreme ideas that will stall the hard fought gains Michigan has gained in recent months.
“We have to take back the Senate; his idea is he wants no tax incentives for new business,” Jackson said. “That would mean that the Ford Wixom plant would not be converted to a new use.”
Sen. Deb Cherry, D-Burton, who is term-limited, knows first hand how much good policy the Senate Republicans block, and even though she can’t run for reelection, she felt it was important to speak because the environment is so important.
“If we want to protect the Great lakes and make sure there is no drilling, we need to elect Democrats,” she said.
Amen.
9 comments:
Quote from ur blog..."one man had a good theory on why Michigan is always the first state to feel a recession and the last to come out of it."
Actually it is because we have dingell, levin and stabenow running the show in Washington and granholm in Michigan. All democrats, all for the horrific so called stumulus package. Michigan has one of the highest unemployement rates yet ranked 46th for federal stumulus funds. These people need to be voted out of office. Whether a Prebulican or democrat takes there place they just need to go. They have about 100yrs of service in congress and we have $13 trillion in debt to show for it.
Sundancer
Your Republican party ran this country's economy into the ground so what the blue hell are you talking about? Despite what Hannity,Limbaugh and Beck tells you the stimulus is working.
No, it’s because we had Bush. But the fact is Michigan has always felt the recession first and came out of it last because the auto industry is our largest employer. This was the first time I have heard the energy theory. It makes sense, but I don’t know if its true. But what I do know is true is that governors have very little control over the economy.
We also had Dingell and Levin running the show in Washington under President Clinton, and we had a robust economy and a budget surplus.
Most of clintons yrs were with a Republican run congress. Democrats took control of congress in Jan. 2007 and country has gone down the toilet since. Since 1921 the dems have had control of congress 56 yrs, Reps 24 yrs and split 10 yrs. $13 trillion in debt. U just keep on blaming bush.
Great attempt at spin. It was Clinton that made the hard choice to raise taxes that helped eliminate the deficit and create the surplus. The economy was heading into the tank well before the official start of the recession in 2007, and it was because of Bush’s polices, including an unnecessary war and a tax cuts for the richest 1 percent that created the worst recession since the Great Depression, lost millions of manufacturing jobs and created a record deficit. Dam right I’m going to keep blaming Bush because he deserves it.
You should check back to 2006 and 2007 and look at the GDP growth in the economy during those two years. You'll find that the economy was growing well during 2006 and trailed off, but was still positive in 2007. It didn't go into negative territory until 2008. Sundancer has it correct. The economy was thriving until the socialists took over both houses of Congress in 2007.
Once again, anonymous coward, there is no such thing as a Socialist Democrat in the United States, and that is just a false, Republican smear.
Once again trying to rewrite history. You tried to deny for months what the rest of the country knew for a long time, and you wanted to stick with the simple measure of a recession when leading economists, like those at the National Bureau of Economic Research and the Business Cycle Dating Committee at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) said it occurred well before December 2007 when two consecutive quarters showed a GDP decrease. It takes account employment, industrial production, real income and wholesale-retail sales into account. The fact is it is widely accepted that the housing downturn, which started in 2006, is a primary cause of the Bush recession.
Again, anonymous coward, I’m still waiting for you to back up your outrageous lie that we were “nearly shoulder to shoulder once.”
The definition of a recession is two consecutive quarters of negative growth. There is no getting around that. It doesn't matter if people "feel" like it's a recession. It's not a recession until it hits two consecutive quarters. I actually disagree with this. I believe it's a recession when you've got just one quarter receding into negative territory. After all, recession comes from the word "recede".
But I'm glad to hear you're your standard for then still is the one you're spouting. You're admitting that we're in a recession once again. After all, the economy has just been revised downward (recede) to 1.6%. Since Obama claimed a year ago that this economy is now his, you're admitting that this recession is Obama's. Can't wait to hear how you spin your way out of this one, and then how you spin it when it goes into an official double dip recession.
You would be incorrect, again, anonymous coward.
It’s impossible for me to ay we are in a “recession once again” because we’re not. Keep cheering for that double dip recession, anonymous coward.
Again, anonymous coward, I’m still waiting for you to back up your outrageous lie that we were “nearly shoulder to shoulder once.”
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