HC petition drive kickoff turns out to be another Republican tea party

The kickoff of a petition drive Monday night to stop 32 million Americans with no health care insurance from getting it and place a constitutional amendment on the ballot to exempt Michigan from the historic health insurance reform law signed into law by President Obama last week was little more than a “tea party.”

Howell School Board member and head teabagger Wendy Day led the event at the Howell Freshman Campus cafeteria, and it was little more than the typical rhetoric bashing Democrats and the president we have seen at the racist, Astroturf “tea parties.“ the only thing missing was the racist signs.

“Some people say Obama broke his oath of office to protect the Constitution,” Day said. “This is a peaceful way for people to express their frustration.”

Day is the treasurer of the ballot committee called "Michigan Citizens for Healthcare Freedom.”

Constitutional Amendments require the valid signatures of registered voters equal to 10 percent of the total number of votes cast for all candidates for governor in the last election, and that comes out to the signatures of 380,126 registered voters just to place it on the ballot. They have to turn those signatures into the Secretary of State no later than July 5.

“This petition has been legally vetted by the Goldwater Institute,” Day said. “It has been preliminary approved by the (Michigan State) Board of Canvassers.”

I doubt that statement is true, and the board has not approved the language. Every signature should be challenged on that basis alone.

I missed the first hour of the partisan campaign event because I had to work, and I was only able to catch the last 45 minutes. Day took questions from the approximately 150 people, but most of it was just the usual rhetoric and lies we have heard in the past. Day said the best place to get signatures was at Republican events, like a “tea party.”

“Go to one tea party; go to two,” she said.” We can get plenty of signatures. The tea party express is coming through.”

If you needed any more proof that this was a partisan Republican event, you just needed to see the Republican politicians in attendance. Most of them are running for office, and I lost respect for some I once had respect for, despite our political differences.

Those I personally saw were Sen. Wayne Kuipers, R-Holland, - who is running for U.S. Congress in the seat vacated by “Twitter” Pete Hoekstra and who introduced the amendment under discussion that was rejected in the Republican controlled Senate - Rep. Bill Rogers, R-Brighton; Rep. Cindy Denby, R-Fowlerville; former Republican House Speaker Rick Johnson, R-Leroy; and Senate candidate Joe Hune; and of course some guy from the rightwing think tank Mackinac Center.

Like I said in past posts, this clearly violates the school district’s policy on allowing district facilities to be used for partisan political events. I talked to HPS Assistant Superintendent Rick Terries - who authorized the event - is really skirting the policy. He said if the petition drive was successful, it would be a political meeting, but somehow getting there is not. In other words, launching the petition drive is not political, but it’s only political if the petition drive is successful.

It makes no sense.

This masquerade has little chance of succeeding, but that does not mean we should not fight it. We have spent a year fighting to reform the broken system, so what’s three more months.

Newspaper misses the point on workplace smoking ban

As the smoke clears following the passage of the historic workplace smoking ban yesterday that includes bars and restaurants, it has been interesting to read all the congratulatory messages and the news report.

Not surprisingly, Livingston County’s Legislative delegation all voted against protecting the public from deadly secondhand smoke. All three are Republicans, but that should not matter in this important, bipartisan public health bill.

Reps. Bill Rogers, R-Brighton, and Cindy Denby, R-Handy Township, joined 23 other Republicans in voting no, but 20 of their fellow caucus members did the right thing and voted yes. Sen. Valde Garcia, R-Marion Township, joined 12 Republicans voting no, but nine did the right thing.

I respect Garcia, but his reasons for voting no were disappointing. He told the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus that many restaurants that allow smoking are investing in ventilation systems to prevent smoke from permeating buildings. He said the system of offering both smoking and non-smoking sections still works.

Really? Does he believe smoke obeys a non-smoking signs? If the Senate had held a hearing on the bill like the House did, he would have heard from Dr. Greg Holzman, the medical officer from the Michigan Department of Community Health (DCH), who testified in committee last March that there is no ventilation system invented that can clear out secondhand smoke.

My hometown paper’s editorial on this historic victory was not a surprise, considering they have called the 12-year fight unimportant and displayed a disturbing lack of understanding on how the Legislature works. But it was confusing, and it left readers unsure of what their position really is, other than they had a hole to fill as deadline approached.

It starts with this ridiculous gem: “Do Michigan lawmakers really want to take a position that it is OK to kill casino workers as long as there are some jobs saved in the process?
Apparently so.”

Please. That statement makes no sense when you later go on to say, “If business owners want to allow their customers to smoke, they should be allowed to. The public is free to choose other establishments if they don't like a smoke-filled environment.”

If it kills people, and it does, then it's not a freedom issue it’s a pubic health issue. The reality is that secondhand smoke kills. In fact, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has classified secondhand smoke as a Group A carcinogen containing 4,000 chemicals, including 43 cancer-causing chemicals. In Michigan alone 3,000 people die each year from secondhand smoke. Smokers' rights end when their personal choices negatively impact the health and well-being of nonsmokers, and what freedom is it that allows their addiction to affect the 80 percent of the population that does not smoke? This is especially important given that secondhand smoke is the third leading preventable cause of death in the U.S.

As for jobs, it will have zero effect. How do we know? We have the results from the 37 other states with smoking bans, as well as from the many countries with smoking bans, like Ireland, Italy, Canada and Turkey.

After New York went smoke-free, studies were conducted to evaluate the impact of the smoking ban on restaurants and bars. The results showed an increase in employment and sales tax receipts from these establishments. Regardless, there have been absolutely no studies that show a negative economic impact resulting from a state-wide or country-wide smoking ban. In fact, two recent studies in Michigan reaffirm that fact.

The University of Michigan Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy released a study on May 29, 2009 that concluded the state's bars and restaurants would not be hurt by a proposed workplace smoking ban. Another recent study in the spring of 2008 by the leading Lansing research firm Public Sector Consultants Inc. - called “Smokefree workplaces: The Impact of House Bill 4163 on the Restaurant and Bar Industry in Michigan” – also found a smoking ban had no negative economic impact on bars and restaurants.

It should also be pointed out that the exception only applies to the gamming floor, not the casino’s bars and restaurants, which are smokefree. If anyone thinks we have giving up on banning smoking in the casinos, they are mistaken.

I believe a clean bill with no exceptions would have passed the House yesterday, thanks to the new freshman Representatives. Last session before it ended and all bills not signed into law died, the House took up a clean bill. It got the majority of votes, but it failed to get the required 56 votes to pass. I think this time around it would have gotten the required number.

It would have picked up Livingston County’s two House votes.

The fight is not over, and strange things have happened during Lame Duck.

Livingston County Republicans breach the public trust

As expected, Livingston County’s state Legislative delegation is toeing the Republican line on the budgets cuts that will devastate the state, but the comments of Rep. Bill Rogers, R, Brighton, are becoming screechy.

Just minutes after that the House adjoined on Tuesday after a marathon session that lasted until almost 9 p.m. where a modest revenue increase was approved, Rogers’s staffer sent out a press release blasting the increase.

The House approved a physician Quality Assurance Assessment Program (QAAP) that assesses a 3 percent tax on doctors. Revenue collected from doctors would be matched with Federal funds bringing in $2.70 for every $1 the QAAP raises, and those matching funds would be used to increase Medicaid reimbursement to doctors, bringing them up to Medicare standards. The Department of Community Health budget just approved last month cut the reimbursement rate by 8 percent, putting hospitals in danger of going into bankruptcy and causing some doctors to stop treating Medicaid patients.

But Rogers told the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus that the increase is "a stunning breach of the public trust" that would make it harder to live and work in this state. Please.

If you want a stunning breach of public trust, how about telling high school students that if they do well on the MEAP test they will earn the Michigan Promise scholarship, but once they are enrolled in college, we take it away. That is a breach of the public trust.

He then said he was "outraged" by the proposals, which he said were introduced in "the 11th hour under the cover of darkness." He can be outraged all he wants, but the 11th hour charge is what’s really outrageous. The proposal has been around since late July.

According to the article, Rogers and Rep. Cindy Denby, R-Handy Township, both said the proposals broke an agreement between state House Speaker Andy Dillon, D-Redford Township, and Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, to balance the budget without raising taxes.

Simply not true. Dillon made the deal without the agreement of this caucus, and they both left out the second half of the agreement: Republicans would support supplemental appropriations bills to restore some of the cuts. Dillon said all along he would look to safeguard K-12 education, college scholarships, local police and fire protection and health care for children and seniors.

No reason absentee voting approved with bipartisan support

LANSING -- The Michigan House of Representatives struck a blow for voters Thursday by approving no reason absentee voting with bipartisan support.

The House approved House Bill 4367 by a vote of 79-30 with 12 Republicans joining the entire Democratic caucus in approving the bill.

Under current Michigan law, there are only six reasons for A/B voting: age 60 years old or older, unable to vote without assistance at the polls, expecting to be out of town on election day, in jail awaiting arraignment or trial, unable to attend the polls due to religious reasons or are appointed to work as an election inspector in a precinct outside of your precinct of residence. If the Republican-controlled Senate approves the bill, Michigan will join 28 other states that allow no reason A/B voting. However, they killed a similar bill last session by refusing to even allow a vote on it.

The bill will certainly increase Michigan’s abysmal average 25 percent voter turnout. A recent U.S. Census survey said more than 7.5 million people said they did not vote because of “logistical reasons.

Republicans have been against the measure for many years, and their reason is strictly political. The drumming they have taken in the last few elections and the recent defections from the GOP, such as Sen. Arlen Specter, its not surprisingly they are against it.

Among the many groups supporting no reason A/B voting are The Michigan Election Reform Alliance, The Michigan Election Coalition, The League of Women Voters, The Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks, The Michigan Municipal League, The Michigan Campaign Finance Network, The Michigan Association of County Clerks, The Michigan Townships Association, Common Cause Michigan and The Michigan Nonprofit Association.

The only one is really against it except, apparently, the 30 Republicans who voted against it. The GOP claims they are against it because of voter fraud, but that simply isn’t true. If that were the case, then why are The Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks and the Michigan Association of County Clerks supporting it? If fraud was a problem, why are they supporting it? They would see the alleged fraud before anyone else.

It’s funny to see how the GOP is falling apart. The official unofficial GOP blog - wrong Michigan - attacked the 12 Republicans who voted for the bill. One of the 12 was my state Representative, Rep. Cindy Denby, R-Handy Township.

I don’t agree with her on a lot of issues, but I know her from covering the township for three different newspapers and she is above reproach. The reason she supported it may be that she was the township clerk responsible for running elections, and then she was the Township Supervisor.

House Speaker doles out committee assignments

Livingston County lawmakers received some good committee assignments after Michigan House Speaker Andy Dillon, D-Redford Township, announced committee assignments on Monday.

Freshman Rep. Bill Rogers, R-Brighton, was named to the important Appropriations Committee. The appropriations committee is broken down into 19 smaller sub-committees that approve the budgets for each state department, but that list was not yet promulgated or announced.

Freshman Rep. Cindy Dendy, R-Handy Township, was named to four committees. She was named minority vice-chair of the Insurance Committee. Her former boss, term-limited Rep. Joe Hune, R-Hamburg Township, served on that committee, and was briefly the chair. The former Handy Township Supervisor and Clerk was also named to the Committee on Intergovernmental and Regional Affairs, the Committee on New Economy and Quality of Life and the Health Policy Committee.

Dillon also announced the chairs of the 24 committees, and only seven are returning to the same committees thy chaired last session. Among the most interesting, at least to me, was the assignment of Majority Floor Leader Kathy Angerer, D-Dundee, from the chairmanship of the Health Policy Committee to the chair of the Ethics and Election Committee. I'm a little biased because I once worked in her office as the world's oldest intern, but she has a well-deserved reputation for getting things done. Rep. Mark Corriveau, D-Northville, takes over the chair of the Health Policy Committee.

Rep. Kate Ebli, D-Monroe, who I campaigned for, gets a chairmanship for the first time with the important Tax Policy Committee.

Freshman Livingston County Rep elected to leadership position in GOP House

Even though he has not yet been sworn in, Bill Rogers was elected to a leadership position Thursday in the Republican House Caucus, tapped as the Assistant Minority Floor Leader.

The position does not carry much responsibility when you are in the minority party, but it's unusual that a freshman is elected to a leadership position. However, in the era of term limits three incoming freshman Representatives were chosen for three of the seven leadership positions for the 43 seat GOP caucus. The Democrats won nine seats in the election to increase their advantage to 67-43. The person Rogers replaced, term-limited Chris Ward, was the Floor Leader when Republicans controlled the House, but he was ousted after he voted for the income tax increase last fall to avoid a government shutdown.

I got to know Rogers when I covered the Livingston County Board of Commissioners, and he is a competent, friendly and respectful man. Prior to being elected to the House to represent Livingston County's 66th District, he was the chair of the Board of Commissioners. However, he was clearly bested in the debates during the election.

The election seems somewhat surprising when you consider how much experience fellow freshman Livingston County colleague, Cindy Denby, has after serving as a legislative aide to Rep. Joe Hune, whom she replaces to represent the 47th House District.

Name to lead the GOP caucus Thursday as the House Republican Leader was Rep. Kevin Elsenheimer, R- Bellaire. Elected by his colleagues as the House Minority Floor Leader was Rep. Dave Hildenbrand, R-Lowell; chosen as House Minority Assistant Speaker was Rep. Arlan Meekhof, R-West Olive; chosen as Caucus Chair was incoming freshman Eileen Kowall, R-White Lake; and chosen as Assistant Caucus Chair was incoming freshman Larry DeShazor, R-Kalamazoo.

Despite facing a drunk driving charge and being asked to resign by some Republican colleagues, Rep. Kevin Green, R- Wyoming, was elected as Minority Whip.

Debate shows Livingston County House candidate is a leader

For those looking to send a leader to the Michigan House of Representatives in Lansing; instead of voting for a career bureaucrat/bookkeeper you need to take a look at Scott Lucas.

The Hamburg Township Democrat is running against Cindy Denby in the open seat in Livingston County’s 47th District. I watched Lucas square off in one of the Great Debates sponsored by the Center for Michigan and Detroit Public TV, and he clearly is a leader. The unfortunate thing is this is the first time I have seen him.

The candidate’s positions are not radically different, but Lucas, an assistant fire chief, has true leadership abilities. This is not necessarily a knock against Denby. I like and respect her, but she simply does not inspire leadership. I have been reporting on Handy Township in the Fowlerville area where she is the township supervisor for seven years, so I have seen her in action.

The televised debates, called the Great Debates, are 30-minute, fixed-format debates being taped at DPTV’s Detroit studios with a panel of journalists consisting of reporters and editors from the Detroit News and Free Press. The plan is for all of the 110 contested races to be televised, and 3-4 debates are taped weekly. They air from 3-5 p.m. every Sunday on PBS, as well as online.

This week’s debates feature Rep. Marc Corriveau and Republican Jerry Vorva in the 20th District that covers Plymouth, Northville, Canton and Wayne.
Democrat Doug Geiss and Republican Darrell McNeill square off in the open 22nd District that covers Romulus and Taylor.
Democrat Sarah Roberts and Republican Bryan Brandenburg debate in the open 24th District that covers Harrison Township, Lake Township and St. Clair Shores.
Democrat Jon Switalski and Republican Michael Wiecek battle in the open 25th District that covers Warren and Sterling Heights
Democrat Andrew Prasilowski and Republican Kim Meltzer debate in the 33rd District that covers Clinton, Macomb and Ray Townships.

We’re still waiting for the Republican challenger in Livingston County’s other House district to reschedule his debate. Republican Bill Rogers is challenging Democrat Donna Anderson in the open 66th District. The debate was to be taped and aired along with the Scott Lucas debate, but Rogers canceled the day before the debate was to be tapped.

He has not rescheduled. So far, 12 races and 24 candidates have managed to carve out the 30 minutes out of their schedule, but not Rogers.

Blogger concurs with editorial board state House endorsements

The editorial board of the Livingston Daily Press & Argus confirmed the endorsements I made Friday when they came up with their endorsements Sunday for the contested races for the two open state House Districts in Livingston County.

The paper endorsed Handy Township Supervisor Cindy Denby in her bid for the Republican nomination for the 47th District seat. The paper endorsed Livingston County Commissioner Bill Rogers - older brother of U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers - for the Republican nomination for the 66th District seat. It endorsed community activist Donna Anderson for the Democratic nomination for the 66th District seat.

I live in the 47th District, and I am considering voting for Denby. Remember, you can’t split your ticket between parties in the primary or the ballot will be rejected. I don’t believe there is a contested race in my commission district, so I may vote on the GOP side.

Like I said before, I strongly disagreed with the positions Denby took in the latest debate, but I hope she was playing to the base like many politicians do in primary elections. I will be voting for Scott Lucas in the General Election. My experience with Denby from covering Handy Township as a reporter is she is fair, competent and professional.

But I want the best candidates running in the General Election in case Denby wins in the General Election, and past history says the GOP nominee will win the General. A vote is too precious and too many people died to secure the vote for me to waste it on an inferior candidate just because I want to see a Democrat win.

I disagree with the paper’s final word of caution. “Denby is often low-key and quiet for a policymaker. We believe she'll have to show initiative in Lansing to get attention for her agenda and the agenda of Livingston County. She'll need to show more assertiveness to get her issues heard in the hubbub of the House of Representatives.”

My experience is the person who works quietly behind the scenes with both party’s gets things done.