Aug 30, 2010

Selection of Johnson as the GOP SOS nominee kills another teabagger talking point


The selection of Oakland County Clerk Ruth Johnson as the Republican nominee for Michigan Secretary of State at their disorganized and chaotic convention on Saturday busts another teabagger myth.

There near take over of the convention and their uproar over placing a teabagger party on the November ballot dispelled the myth that this was a nonpartisan, grassroots effort that was neither Republican nor Democratic, and that proved that the fake, Astroturf teabagger farce is just the militant arm of the GOP.

One claim the teabaggers have made on many occasions is that they are not fans of "career politicians," yet the majority of teabggers supported Johnson. If you look up the phrase "career politician" you may find her photo.

The question that needs to be asked is what hasn’t Johnson ran for.

I don’t have a problem with career politicians, but the hypocrisy of teabggers is just stunning.

She started out as an Oakland County Commissioner. She then ran and won in the State House and was term-limited there. She then ran as clerk and won. In 2006 she was the Amway’s guy’s Lt. Gubernatorial candidate, and she went back to being the clerk after the two got spanked in the election. Now, she’s the SOS candidate.

That is in sharp contrast to Democratic SOS nominee Wayne State University law Professor Jocelyn Benson, and a first time candidate. The person officially nominating her at Sunday’s Michigan Democratic Parry convention in Detroit said it very well when she said people don’t wake up one day as children saying they want to be Secretary of State, but Benson’s résumé makes it look that way. Her qualifications are very impressive.

Benson graduated magna cum laude from Wellesley College. She subsequently earned her Masters in Sociology as a Marshall Scholar at Oxford University, and she received her J.D from Harvard Law School, where she was a general editor of the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review. Benson also worked as the Voting Rights Policy Coordinator for the Harvard Civil Rights Project, worked as a summer associate for voting rights and election law for the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and she was an investigative journalist for the Southern Poverty Law Center.

11 comments:

K. said...

In other words, Benson is an elitist who wants to Harvard-ize and European-ize Oakland County. (You should be so lucky!)

Unknown said...

Benson is a George Soros' Secretary of State Project pupet who threatens to weaken the electoral process in states like Michigan. We are now confronted with extreme ideas including election-day voter registration, multi-lingual ballots, translators in polling precincts, and methods that provide illegal aliens and those who do not meet the qualifications to vote.

Benson wants to allow ex-felons to vote.

Benson is another far left wing bigger government, regulate our lives, higher taxes wacko that we do not need.

K. said...

Hmm...All of those seem like great ideas to me because they'll increase turnout. You know: The life's blood of democracy and all. Another good idea would be to adopt the Australian approach of imposing a fine on anyone who doesn't vote. Voters there have a "none of the above" choice and Australia has a 95% turnout.

BTW, despite the right wing caterwauling about ACORN, voter fraud is nonexistent in the United States because of stringent proof-of-citizenship requirements. In fact, voter fraud in this country -- from the poll tax and literacy tests to assigning the numbers of machines and booths according to precinct incomes -- has generally been aimed at suppressing turnout, not increasing it.

Communications guru said...

Benson is the outsider with fantastic qualifications for the job she is trying to fill, and Johnson is the career politician who teabaggers claim they want to defeat. I’m at a loss as to why teabaggers think an education from one of the best colleges in the world is a bad thing.

Communications guru said...

Ah, evil George Soros. The self-made millionaire and humanitarian George Soro’s crime is he contributes to Democrats. George Soros has done more to fight communism than any Republican I can think of.

Benson has taken an oath of nonpartisanship; has the career politician? After what happned in Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004 you have the nerve to claim she “threatens to weaken the electoral process? What bullshit.

Where did you get this bullshit lie about illegal aliens voting? That is an absolute lie. I support anything that makes it easier for people eligible to cast a vote to make an informed vote.

“Benson wants to allow ex-felons to vote?” Wow, I see you are following the Republican strategy of if you’re going to tell a lie, tell a big one. That is a huge lie.

Unknown said...

Ahhh, let me put it this way then. G.W. Bush also had an education from one of the best colleges in the world.

Also u make a point of Johnson being a career politician. What is wrong with being good at what u do. U do indicate she wins positions she runs for. Also when ones position is term limited what is one to do but run for another position.

Communications guru said...

You are correct; the fraud is in the counting and the voter suppression. Republicans are the masters of voter suppression

Communications guru said...

Ahh, but Jocelyn Benson wasn’t a legacy, didn’t have a father who was a Congressman and a grandfather who was a U.S. Senator. Not only that, she wasn’t a C student.

As I said in the post, I don’t have a problem with career politicians, but the hypocrisy of teabaggers is just stunning.

Unknown said...

Actually I see they can vote and I don't see why they shouldn't as I think about it.

Jocelyn Benson and Elizabeth Arnovits of the Michigan Council on Crime and Delinquency have simply had input on a pilot program to educate ex-felons to vote.

I have sent email to Ruth Johnson as to why she has a problem with it.

Communications guru said...

Actually, I was wrong; felons can vote in Michigan, but that has absolutely nothing to do with Jocelyn Benson. Like I said, I support anything that makes it easier for people eligible to cast a vote to make an informed vote. I think reasonable people feel the same.

Jordan G said...

Sundancer wrote:

"We are now confronted with extreme ideas including election-day voter registration, multi-lingual ballots, translators in polling precincts, and methods that provide illegal aliens and those who do not meet the qualifications to vote."

Yet I bet you can't find one source that shows Jocelyn Benson is looking to do those things.