Rightwing candidate censors me after calling him out on his use of a push poll

It just amazes me that the positions of Republicans are so flimsily that they can’t stand up to the least bit of scrutiny, and that is why I have been banned from two rightwing blogs and now from the Facebook page of a Congressional candidate named Rob Steele.

My crime; making sense and putting up arguments they can’t defend. To me, debating with people I agree with is not much of a debate, so I tend to comment on the disinformation on rightwing blogs when I see such an outrageous lies that I am compelled to comment on. I have been banned from “Right” Michigan and the so-called “blogprof” for daring to disagree with them.

My latest run in was with a teabagger named Steele who is running against U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, one of the most beloved leaders in southeast Michigan. I met Steele by accident, and it was an amazing event; one that I have not seen in more than a decade around politics as a reporter and as a campaign volunteer.

Weeks after his attempt to provoke a confrontation with me, I noticed Steele was falsely attacking Dingell on his Facebook page with the lie that Dingell only talks to supporters. I knew that to be an absolute lie and I called him on out it. I had to click the “like” button to comment, but it was worth it to call him out. It wasn’t long before my comments were deleted.

Shortly after I began commenting, he posted this nonsense:

“Our campaign is gaining notice by Team Dingell and various professional liberal bloggers. To clarify the protocol for our Facebook page, non-supporters may post a comment to voice an opinion. Any further comments will likely be deleted.”

First, I’m not a professional blogger, and I haven't been for more than two years when I stopped working for the Michigan Messenger. Second, I am a non-supporter who posted a “comment to voice my opinion,” yet every single one has been deleted. The attacks on me stand, but my response is gone. The only other person calling him out on his lies was a Jefferson High School student.

I just discovered today that I was barred from commenting, and every single comment deleted.

Steele is now touting a poll by Public Opinion Strategies (PSO) that has him down by only nine points, by a count of 51-42. The problem is PSO is a Republican polling and lobbying firm notorious for conducting push polls. This push poll was bought and paid for by Steele, and it still has him nine points down. The real number is probably closer to 18 percent.

POS was responsible for the "Harry and Louise" ad that killed health insurance reform in the early 1990s. In 2001 it was charged with violating Virginia's polling disclosure laws, and it has also been accused of using push polls to influence elections.

The simple fact is his campaign can’t stand up to even the slightest bit of scrutiny, and that’s why he allows no dissent.

Well, you and your supporters are welcome to come here and know that you will not be banned or your comments deleted, at least without repeated warnings about refraining from specific personal smears.

Give me your best shot.

McManus wants Benson to endorse her as the GOP SOS nominee

Wayne State University law Professor and the Democratic nominee for Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson issued her six priorities for comprehensive campaign finance reform today, continuing her longstanding call for legislation that promotes greater disclosure and transparency requirements.

Benson’s priorities also include more consistent and non-partisan enforcement of campaign finance violations, shareholders bill of rights, prohibiting foreign money in Michigan’s elections and eliminating potential for quid pro quo corruption.

“In the wake of the changing landscape of campaign finance requirements that followed United States Supreme Court Decision in Citizens United, our state must enact needed reforms to ensure that the voices of everyday people are not drowned out by millions of dollars of unaccountable spending by large corporations,“ she said. “Citizens need to know their elected officials work for them, and not powerful special interests.”

Benson supports a package of bills aimed at restoring accountability to the flood of secret corporate money that will pour into elections following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last January in the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission case that passed out of the House in the spring. It, like many other voting and campaign finance bills, was not taken up by the Republicans controlled Senate.

Ironically, one of the many GOP hopefuls for SOS among a weak field of career politicians is Sen. Michele McManus, R-Lake Leelanau, who just happens to be the chair of the Senate Campaign and Election Oversight Committee. McManus and the Republicans have stalled or voted against every single measure to make it easier to vote and to introduce transparency in campaign finance.
Her predictable response was to try ad smear Benson with a GOP boogieman: evil, despicable George Soros. Be afraid, be very afraid.

Republicans are very afraid of Benson, and very early on they launched a number of false smears against her, such as she is backed by communists and the other GOP boogieman: ACORN. ACORN’s crime has been to help poor people.

I know to Republicans a humanitarian like George Soros is evil, but that means nothing outside of a GOP primary. I’m always amazed at the GOP hatred of Soros. This is a man that if you believe in the GOP hype about their alleged “ideals” they should love and place on a pedestal like they do for Reagan.

This is a man who pulled himself up by his bootstraps. He escaped Nazi-occupied Hungary as a teen with nothing but the clothes on his back, and he managed to become a billionaire with his wits and hard work. He gives millions to charity, he helped end apartheid in South Africa by giving money for scholarships to black students there and he helped end Communism by funding dissident movements behind the iron curtain.

The GOP SOS candidate have tried everything possible to crawl out ahead of the pack. In fact, McManus and fellow Senator and GOP SOS candidate Sen. Cameron Brown, R-Sturgis, have publicly argued in committee over whose identical campaign-like bills will be taken up by committee.

Apparently, McManus has come up with a plan to separate her from the pack and try and make Benson look bad. According to the Michigan Messenger, McManus has challenged Benson to a debate.

So in effect, McManus is asking Benson to endorse her for the Republican nomination for Secretary of State. If McManus wins the GOP nomination at the convention next month, then make the offer. Until them, Benson should ignore her.

Charges of carpet bagging and political operatives surround the 11th District Senate race

The race in the 11th Senate District just got a little more interesting; Capitol Newsletter MIRS is reporting that Rep. Kim Meltzer, R-Clinton Twp?, has hired John Yob’s Strategic National to run her campaign.

Yob is the youngest son of long-time Michigan National Republican Committeeman Chuck Yob, but Yob the younger already has a reputation. He served as the national chairman of the College Republicans while a student at the University of Michigan. That’s the same position some of his heroes sprang from, the kings of dirty tricks, Karl Rove and Lee Atwater.

Yob also ran Terri Land’s successful Michigan Secretary of State campaign, the most partisan SOS in Michigan history. He also served as the deputy national political director for the unsuccessful McCain presidential campaign.

It was that connection that ties Yob to one of the Republicans’ more dirty tricks. You will recall in the fall of 2008, the Michigan Messenger broke the story that Michigan Republicans planned to challenge voters at the polls whose homes are in foreclosure. Only the publicity stopped them. While other state SOS addressed the issue, Land refused to address any questions on the matter.

Ironically, Meltzer has been the point person in the House fighting any attempt to increase voter turnout and make it easier to register and to vote. I guess she knew she was running for the Senate.

But she already has her problems in the right leaning 11th Senate District in Macomb County, and she has been accused of being a carpetbagger. Apparently, Meltzer moved from Clinton Township to a rented home in Macomb Township on Oct. 31, which allows her to run in the 11th District Senate race instead of the 10th District held by term-limited Democrat Mickey Switalski.

The 11th is held by term limited Republican Alan Sanborn, the most conservative member in the Senate, and it is considered a safe Republican district. In fact, the race has drawn some real rightwing tools. In addition to Meltzer, former state Rep. Jack Brandenburg is in the race. It would be polite just to call him an extremist.

Also in the race is former state Rep. Leon Drolet. He has led the “tea parties” and a crooked recall of Speaker of the House Andy Dillon. This is a guy who has never held a job in the public sector. It remains to be seen if he will stay out of jail long enough to even run.

The recall was accomplished with fraud and deceit, out-of-state money, illegal petition gathers, cash for signatures and illegal campaign contributions. Two men have already been charged with felonies over it, and it remains to be seen if the long arm of the law will reach to the people running that fraud, like Drolet.

GOP using MSP HQ as a false campaign issue

LANSING - The almost complete Michigan State Police headquarters in downtown Lansing has officially become a campaign issue, at least for one Secretary of State candidate, but it is certainly a dead issue.

Rep. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge and Oakland Sheriff Mike Bouchard - a Republican candidate for governor- have made the most hay with their opposition to the HQ, but Sen. Cameron Brown, R-Sturgis, and a GOP candidate for Secretary of State, managed to attached an amendment to the state police budget that was approved on June 18 that kills the money for the lease payment. Senate Bill 253 was approved by a vote of 26-9. Brown, of course, ignored the fact it will cost almost as much to maintain the older HQ as it does to lease a brand new, high-tech HQ.

People are upset of the layoff of 100 state troopers last week, and critics like Brown, Jones and Bouchard are making the claim that a building can’t respond to an emergency like 100 Troopers can. However, the bill does not bring the troopers back, and the House will again have to be the responsible one and do the right thing and live up to the contract it approved and pay for the lease. But Brown has a feather in his cap for the campaign trail.

Brown also completely ignores the history of the project. The HQ was first requested by former GOP Gov. John Engler. The original draft of the project, under Engler, drew initial opposition from State Police and Military and Veterans Affairs officials because the proposal attempted to move some of the emergency management operations into downtown Lansing but did not provide room for the vehicle and other storage needed. It was also too large and luxurious.

After changes were made to make the building smaller, it met the approval of State Police Director Peter Munoz, and Governor Jennifer Granholm requested the building.

The project was then approved on a bi-partisan vote by the Joint Capital Outlay Committee in 2007, as are all state building projects that do not require specific legislation. The committee consists of members from both parties from both the House and Senate.

The lease was then approved by the State Administrative Board. Brown spoke against the building then in 2007, but Munoz said he supports project, as does the State Police Troopers Association.

The State Administrative Board consists of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, the Secretary of State, Attorney General, State Treasurer, Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Director of the Department of Transportation. The State Administrative Board has general supervisory control over the administrative activities of all state departments and agencies, including, but not limited to, the approval of contracts and leases, oversight of the state capitol outlay process and the settlement of claims against the state.

Brown’s grandstand campaign stunt to bar the lease payments came just one day after Republican Attorney General Mike Cox - also a GOP candidate for Governor - said the state could get out of the contract on the building by not appropriating money for the building. That seems kind of funny considering he is a member of the State Administrative Board that intimately approved the lease.

The project brings the State Police into compliance with a constitutional provision requiring that state departments be headquartered in Lansing and with Governor Jennifer Granholm's executive directive (2003-22) that state offices, where possible, be located in central business districts. Michigan State University wants the building back where the majority of the MSP is currently headquartered.

The GOP claims are becoming increasing screechy and false, and they continue to ignore the facts and try to blame a bipartisan decision on the just Democrats. The official unofficial GOP blog, Wrong Michigan, is trying float the lie that Michigan State University Trustee and MSP HQ developer Joel Ferguson is a Democratic sugar daddy and a close friend of Granholm, but the fact is he also contributes to Republicans. They also continue to push the lie that it was a no-bid contract, but the truth is Ferguson’s company was the only company to submit a bid.

Jones has gone off the rails opposing the project. According to Michigan Messenger, Jones is pushing the lie that the state police are in favor of scrapping the project, and alleged that Munoz was pressured politically to testify that he supported the move into the new headquarters or lose his job. That is a complete lie. Munoz’s support for the project has never wavered.

In addition to the construction jobs that will be lost if the project is killed just months before it is supposed to be complete, what kind of message does it send if after approving a contract and going through all of the proper steps, the state reneges on a contract just to look good for voters?

Even rightwing extremist GOP Sen. Alan Cropsey questioned how it would look for the state to refuse to occupy a building two governors asked for and was approved with bipartisan support.

“I just don’t think it is right to have a building built, and then at the end of that time period, tell the contractor saying, ‘We are sorry, but we are not going to use it now,’” he said. “ I just think that that is wrong, and I think the state ought to hold to what every body knows is supposed to be a State Police headquarters.”

Unbiased Beckman is keynote speaker at MRP state convention

If you need any more proof of the rigtwing bias of WJR-AM radio commentator Frank Beckmann, just show up at the Michigan Republican Party state convention on Feb. 20 where Beckman is the keynote speaker.

Beckman says he is a conservative, but he also claims he is not a Republican. Right, and I’m not a Democrat. He will feel right at home at the Lansing Center surrounding by his audience.

The program bills his appearance as the “ Opening session with honored guest speakers “ Frank Beckmann, Host of the Frank Beckmann - WJR-AM Radio and The Honorable Haley Barbour - Governor of Mississippi.

Last year readers of Michigan Messenger ranked Beckmann in second place among the most biased reporters, columnists and commentators in Michigan. The rightwing Republican was not happy with the results of that reader survey, but his actions since then just reinforces that ranking and the rightwing slant of WJR.

What’s even funnier is how MRP chair Saul Anuzis, or whatever he is now, describes Beckmann’s appearance on his “blog.”

“We will also have WJR's Frank Beckmann there who will discuss "what media bias?” What media bias? The media bias you display on your radio show.

GOP voter suppression efforts are full steam ahead

Republicans are pulling out all the stops in trying to pull out a victory for the ethically challenged McCain ticket here in Michigan, and that always includes their favorite tactic: voter suppression.

The Republicans know they are not the party of mainstream America or Main Street America, so the best way for them to win is to keep voter turnout low, unless they have a hot button issue like abortion or gay marriage on the ballot that brings out their base. Over the years, the GOP has become very good at voter suppression and intimidation.

The requirement to show an ID at the local polling place was a way to slow voter turnout among minority populations who tend to vote Democratic. It certainly wasn't in response to any voter fraud because there was none. But the latest GOP suppression tactic is one that is both dirty and clever.

The online newspaper/blog Michigan Messenger broke the story that the chairman of the Republican Party in Macomb County is planning to use a list of foreclosed homes to challenge people and block them from voting in November as part of the state GOP’s effort to suppress the vote. That brought swift denials from the chair, the state party chair and even the official rightwing blog wrote some ridiculous parody.

The party spokesman put out a press release saying the chair was not only misquoted but the reporter, Eartha Jane Melzer, made up the quote. The press release demanded a retraction, but of course they never actually asked the MM for a retraction. The good news is publicity like that is the best antiseptic to dirty tricks like what the GOP was planning, and they are apparently backing off.

The publication and the story have received national recognition, and I even heard it mentioned on the Stephanie Miller Show last week.

The MM is standing by the story and their reporter, despite false attacks on both her and the publication's integrity. I even heard them described in a mainstream newspaper as the "liberal Michigan Messenger." Have you ever heard the Wall Street Journal described as the conservative WSJ? Me neither.

The MM is standing by the story and the reporter for good reason: she's right. I was a fellow for the MM when it started up last September and wrote for them for some nine months until my current job left me without enough time to turn out as much copy as was required.

Melzer was also there from the begining, and she has broken some big stories for the MM the mainstream media missed. Like this one. She broke the story on Sovereign Deed. The private security firm wanted to build a disaster response operation to look after rich people in northern Michigan, but Melzer broke the story that the founder lied about his military service. After that story, she received some of the same kinds of pressure then as she is now. She was right then, and she's right on the GOP suppression effort.

The Republican's answer to being caught with their hand in the cookie jar is to point out alleged voter fraud by ACORN, the nation’s largest grassroots community organization of low- and moderate-income people. This group is really hated by the Republicans. We know of the GOP's hatred of community organizers who dare to try and better their community and empower community members with their constitutionaly guaranteed right to vote, but they also registering voters, hurting the GOP voter suppression efforts.

ACORN is being accused of fraudulent voter registrations both nationally and in Michigan. First, is there any doubt knowing how political the U.S. Justice Department is that ACORN would not be a target? Second, ACORN's problem is hiring people to collect voter registrations and paying them for each one. We saw a similar situation with the fraudulent recall against Andy Dillon, but there was no intention to deceive by ACORN leadership. Plus, those fraudulent and forged signatures in the crooked effort by Leon Drolet were allowed to stand. Even without the voter ID law, a first-time voter has to show an ID to vote, so if ACORN was trying to commit voter fraud they would not get away with it at the polls.

The good news is the Department of Human Services (DHS) is stepping up ensure the people the GOP is trying to disenfranchise have the opportunity to vote. Local DHS offices in 57 counties across Michigan will host voter registration fairs to help register voters. Representatives of the League of Women Voters of Michigan, a city, township, or county clerk, or other community organizations will be at many locations to assist individuals attending the events.

Here in Livingston County, the local DHS office will hold their voter fair from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Wednesday in their offices at the East Complex, 2300 E. Grand River in Genoa Township. DHS clients and local residents will receive information on all aspects of voting, including practice casting a ballot in addition to registering to vote. The deadline for registering to vote in the November 4 General Election is October 6.

Detroit News editor chosen as the most biased in Michigan mainstream media

The Michigan Messenger readers have spoken, and after a week of online voting the Big 3 of media bias are Detroit News editor Nolan Finley, radio host Frank Beckmann and Detroit Free Press reporter Dawson Bell.

We asked our readers to nominate which journalists were the most biased, and from that list we asked them to vote last week on which journalists from a list showed the most bias. This is the result. Actually, political pundit Bill Ballenger was tied with Bell for third place, but I am exercising my power as the unofficial media critic at MM to cast my tie-breaking vote for Bell. However, I will play closer attention to Ballenger.

The voter turnout was a little disappointing, but it's certainly consistent with the voter turnout we see for general elections; and it was even better than most primary elections. When you consider that only about a quarter of the registered voters actually decide who is going to run the state, the 43 votes cast in this informal poll isn't all that bad.

Finley was the big winner - or loser depending on your point of view - with 27 percent of the vote, followed by Beckman with 25 percent of the vote and Bell and Ballenger with 16 percent. Also receiving votes were Tim Skubick with three votes; George Weeks, two votes and Murray Feldman with one vote. In the comments section I also received write in votes for Chris Christoff, the Detroit Free Press Lansing bureau chief; Chad Selewski of the Macomb Daily; nationally known sports writer, best-selling author and radio host Mitch Albom; and Detroit News columnist Laura Berman.

Among the other comments I received was that I was concentrating only on conservative media bias. My answer to that is that the myth that has been floated around since the 1970s is that the media is liberally biased, but that is simply not true. I am pointing out the predominant bias of the mainstream media. An argument was also made that some of our slate of candidates are not journalists. However, anyone who conveys information to the public fits our definition of a journalist.

Finley is a columnist and the editorial page editor of the Detroit News, and as a columnist he is expressing his opinion, which by its very nature is biased. But it's clear where his bias lays. It's very hard to find bias in the newspaper's straight stories, but as the editorial page editor, it follows Finley's bias that sets the tone for the entire newspaper. Clearly, his biggest obsession is Gov. Jennifer Granholm. He seems to blame her for everything but the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby. He must not be aware that the governor, any governor, cannot influence macroeconomic activity through the two most important factors: monetary policy and fiscal policy.

In a recent column about the governor's leadership on the budget situation, he used a quote in a column he said was from Speaker of the House Andy Dillon, D-Redford Township: "Why doesn't she take control of these negotiations?" asks Dillon, and then answered, "Because she doesn't have leadership instincts."

When called out on the source of the quote, Finley changed the online version and attributed the quote it its rightful owner; Granholm opponent, Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester.

According to the Detroit News official bio, Finley is the "Editorial Page Editor of The Detroit News, a position he's held since May 1, 2000. He directs the expression of the newspaper's editorial position on various national and local issues, and also writes a column in the Sunday newspaper. Prior to that, Finley was the newspaper's Deputy Managing Editor, directing the newsroom. Previously, he served as Business Editor, and in various editing positions on the city, state and metro desks. He was also a reporter, covering Detroit City Hall during the Coleman Young administration. Finley has been with the newspaper since 1976, starting as a copy boy in the newsroom while a student at Wayne State University.

Beckman hosts a show on conservative talk radio station WJR weekdays from 9-11:30 a.m., and he is an occasional columnist for the Detroit News. He shares a similar obsession with Finely for the governor while claiming he is fair and balanced and looking out for us. He seems to be a Bill O'Reilly wannabe with a rather large ego. His bias seems to fit in at WJR, and it's a mystery how the most powerful radio station in a state that has been blue since 1992 located in one of the most liberal cities in America can get way with not having one non-conservative voice on the air.

Beckman drew the ire of progressives in early October when he taped an interview with the governor for replay later in the day, and then he allegedly used a YouTube clip supplied by a conservative blog from an old debate about a completely different topic to accuse the governor of lying to the public about tax increases.

Bell covers Lansing and politics for the Detroit Free Press, and he is the only reporter on the list. Finding bias in a straight news story is difficult, but bias there can cause the most damage because it is not so obvious. Bell helped start the "ipod for every student in Michigan" controversary last spring when he mistakenly wrote in a story that House Democrats were proposing a $58 million line item to buy every student an ipod that was really for new technology. Republicans made hay with that line, and it continues today.

Ballenger is one of the most well-known and respected political pundits in the state. According to his official biography as the former Griffin Endowed Chair in American Government at Central Michigan University, Ballenger "…is a former (Republican) state representative and state senator, an ex-state racing commissioner and director of the Michigan Department of Licensing & Regulation. Mr. Ballenger also served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health, Education & Welfare in the administration of President Gerald R. Ford." He also writes and publishes the newsletter "Inside Michigan Politics," and he is a regular panelist on the political talk TV show "Off the Record."

New progressive online newspaper and blog launched

A new venture was launched in Michigan today, and I am very happy to say I am a part of it. The online newspaper/blog the Michigan Messenger was launched today, and it’s a collaboration of professional bloggers and journalists across Michigan with the goal of breaking news and influencing the conversations about issues that face our state.

It is part of the Center for Independent Media’s - a not-for-profit organization that fosters diversity of ideas in the national debate by educating and training people on the use of new communications technologies – New Journalism Program. The Center for Independent Media was founded in April 2006 after a four- month intensive research study. The research project's objective was to understand how blogs work to broaden ideological diversity in the media, and how to reinforce these positive effects.

The goal is to train and equip citizen-journalists, and the group is a mix of journalists, writers, academics and bloggers. The goals of the program are to strengthen networks of progressive blogs on a state-by-state basis, and the Michigan Messenger joins The Minnesota Monitor, the Iowa Independent and the Colorado Confidential in breaking and reporting frontline political news.

With newsroom consolidation and most newspapers and newspaper chains closing down their Capitol bureaus, we will be taking and reporting on stories the mainstream, corporate media and the overworked and underpaid reporters may not get to or choose to ignore. It should be noted this is a “soft launch” as the bugs are worked out, the layout is finalized and the look and the feel of the site are ironed out. But the reporters, also known as fellows, are already writing and posting stories.

It’s an exciting start-up project, and it is very similar to the start-up of a daily newspaper. I fortunate enough to be part of the first start-up of a daily newspaper in Michigan in half a century when on September 7, 2000 the bi-weekly newspapers the Brighton Argus and the Livingston County Press became the Livingston County Daily Press and Argus. This carries some of that same excitement, and I am proud to have been a part of both ambitious and historic launches.

The nine other reporters are a very diverse group of individuals. Newsroom diversity has long been a goal of the Michigan Press Association that has rarely been met, but they truly accomplish that goal here. I have worked in newsrooms in Blissfield, Adrian, South Lyon, Southgate, Brighton and Howell, and this is by far the most diverse newsroom I have ever been a part of.

It is a progressive blog, and much like the Wall Street Journal and most mainstream newspapers that have a conservative bent we will have a progressive viewpoint. However, we subscribe to the code of ethics put out by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ). That simply means we are accurate, identify sources when possible, are fair, never plagiarize, act independently, avoid conflicts of interest or revel any unavoidable conflicts and admit factual mistakes and correct them.