Health Insurance lobby able to spend its millions elsewhere thanks to all the free media

Not only are Republicans courting teabaggers, so is the conservative media.

Hartland Township resident and teabagger Wes Nakagiri was featured today in the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus for the second time in just four months. Apparently, the small fringe extremists known as teabaggers are getting free media by continuing to change the name of their groups and come up with news ones. They are following the framing used by the Bush Administration by naming them the exact opposite of what they really do.

The paper is promoting two “tea parties” this week, and Nakagiri is quoted extensively. I guess the good news is that the paper found someone else as a source besides media hog and extremist Howell School Board member Wendy Day for a change. You will recall that right after Christmas Nakagiri’s rightwing blog was featured in an article.
“RetakeOurGov will meet at the Cromaine District Library in Hartland Township to address concerns about the national health-care legislation,” and “The new Brighton Tea Party organization is trying to form a rally at the gazebo at Mill Pond in Brighton on April 15, the due date for federal income taxes.”

How ironic. The teabaggers are anti-government and anti-tax, but they are choosing to meet at places paid for by taxpayers. I always wonder who has their government and country when I hear teabaggers say they want their country back, and then I remember the racism I have seen at the fake, corporate Astroturf “tea parties” and then I remember who they want it back from.

Judy Daubenmier, Chair of the Livingston County Democratic Party framed what the debate over health insurance reform is really about. Daubenmier “said she wondered why "tea party" members would want to change a health-care-reform plan that forces insurance companies to provide coverage to children with pre-existing conditions, or what's wrong with Medicare recipients being relieved from what was a "doughnut hole" in prescription- drug coverage — under Part D, a gap in coverage the left patients solely responsible for drug costs between initial coverage and when catastrophic coverage began.”

What is rally laughable in the article is the spin on the teabaggers by the chair of the Livingston County Republican Party. He is still trying to make the claim that the teabaggers and the Republican Party are not one in the same. They are.

“Livingston County Republican Party Chairman Mike Murphy said the Republican Party has its own mission — to elect and retain elected Republicans — and that the organization has not taken a position for or against the recent "tea party" movement.”

I guess if you’re going to tell a lie, you might as well go big. The Livingston County GOP has promoted the “tea parties” on its web site, and numerous Republican politicians have spoken and appeared at these Astroturf events started by Washington, D.C. lobbying firms, including local Republican politicians from Mike Rogers to Bill Rogers.

With all the free publicity these groups have been given, the health insurance lobby can spend the $1.4 million a day it’s spending to kill health insurance reform to allow insurance companies to continue to deny coverage to those with pre-existing conditions to spend it on something else.

If the teabaggers ever decided to form a third party, Republican support for the teabaggers would melt like snow in July.

The Michigan Militia can tries to put perfume on a pig

You can put perfume on a pig, but it’s still a pig. The Michigan Militia can wrap themselves in the Constitution and claim a civil defense role, but they are still a fringe, anti-government hate group.

The Livingston County Press & Argus is running a promo for a militia event on Saturday when it “hosts its Open Carry Family Picnic & Tea Party at Island Lake Recreation Area in Green Oak Township.” The paper is reporting “the slogan for this year's annual Michigan Militia meeting is "Show, shoot, shout, and then sip some tea with us."

Their spokesman said "This event primarily tries to take the stigma out of the word 'militia,' and provide information on what we are and who we are.” Nice try, but a zebra can’t change its stripes. After a raid on a militia group called Hutaree in a rural township outside of Adrian in Lenawee County last month, the militia is high gear trying to distance themselves from their brothers in arms. But make no mistake, their basic philosophy is the same.

These anti-government groups seem to pop out of the woodwork when a Democrat is in the White House, and the fake Astroturf “tea parties” has brought out the white supremacists, militia groups and secessionist groups. It has been the worst I have ever seen, and like when the militia went underground after the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, it will take another loss of life to send them scurrying back into their rat holes.

The paper is also reporting “the picnic and tea party will also stress preparedness for disasters and Michigan's uncertain future.” “Uncertain future?” What the hell does that mean? Not only do we have the Homeland Security Department, and the real militia - the Michigan National Guard - here in Livingston County we also have the Emergency Management Department, and there are also legitimate groups that can be called on in a disaster, like the Civil Air Patrol or the Red Cross.

But the most laughable part of their mission is to push the so-called “open carry” where you can strap a six gun to your side like the days of the lawless, Wild West instead of having a concealed weapons (CCW) permit.

I have no idea why they are pushing this. It can only be to intimidate people, so it makes me wonder what they are compensating for. Most gun owners never use a handgun for self defense. But more than 30,000 people are killed in this country every year, and 70,000 more people are shot and injured by guns.

According to a study called “Comparing the Incidence of Self-Defense Gun Use and Criminal Gun Use" by the Harvard Injury Control Research Center, 2009,”
“The opportunity for a law-abiding gun owner to use a gun in a socially desirable manner--against a criminal during the commission of a crime--will occur, for the average gun owner, perhaps once or never in a lifetime. It is a rare event.

I never thought I would agree with Livingston County Undersheriff and chair of the Livingston County Republican Party Mike Murphy, who does not support the open carrying of handguns, but I do.

"I don't understand some of the logic,” Murphy told the paper. “If you want to carry a weapon, why not just get a concealed pistol license and be protected?"

Good question.

Brick thrown through window of GOP office is sold off at GOP fundraiser

Apparently, the investigation over the brick thrown through the window of the Michigan Republican campaign “fix it” office in Genoa Township near Howell is over.

Howell radio station WHMI is reporting that at the Livingston County Republican Party’s annual Lincoln Day dinner Wednesday night the actual brick thrown through the window was auctioned off at the fundraising dinner.

CORRECTION:It was pointed out to me in the comments section that the brick allegedly thrown through the Republican campaign office and auctioned off was not the one in the possession of the Sheriff's Department and the chair of the Livingston County Republican Party. The sentence I misread said, “A highlight of the evening came when a symbolic brick of the type thrown through the Republican Party’s local “Fix Michigan Center.”

The incident occurred less than a week ago, and they got rid of the evidence?According to a report in the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus, the brick has the words ”Long Live the USA” and “God Bless the USA” scrawled on it, according to Livingston County Sheriff’s investigators.”

WHMI reported the winning bid of $275 was made by Republican Livingston County Commissioner Dave Domas. The money will go toward items for American troops stationed in Afghanistan.

I’m a little surprised it was released. Perhaps it was never turned over to the Sheriff’s Department, and it remained the property of the GOP broke it center. As I said before, the second ranking officer at the Livingston County Sheriff’s Department, Mike Murphy, is also the chair of the Livingston County Republican Party.

Regardless of how the brick was obtained, there is a clear conflict of interest, and the investigation - if it’s not over - should be turned over to the Michigan State Police.

It’s ironic that the keynote speaker at the fund-raiser was U.S. Rep. Thad “Mad Thad” McCotter, R-Livonia, - known for his inflammatory and false rhetoric against Democrats. McCotter is one of the first people to push the death panel lie, and he has been active at “tea parties” where much of the hate against Democrats over the health insurance law has been ginned up and has led to violence and vandalism.

Coverage of petition drive illustrates how conservative the corporate media has become

The coverage from my local newspaper of the preview of the kickoff of a petition drive to stop 32 million Americans with no health care insurance from getting it and placing a constitutional amendment on the ballot to exempt Michigan from the historic health insurance reform has been slanted to favor the teabaggers, but the coverage of the actual political rally was even more slanted.

The paper claims 200 people showed up at the “tea party Monday night at the Howell Freshman Campus cafeteria. Whether it’s 150 or 200, it’s certainly not much considering how conservative Livingston County is, this is supposed to be a statewide effort and all the free promotion it got. There is no doubt the corporate media is conservative.

As a former reporter, it was often the headline that got me in trouble, and it’s the copy editors that usually write them. That may be the case in today’s edition of the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus.

At the top of the page above the fold on the front page is a bold headline above three separate stories that says, “Animosity over health care grows.” Under that bold headline are three separate stories with smaller headlines:
“About 200 show up at meeting to learn about opting-out amendment.”
“Brick Smashes GOP office in Howell area.”
“Proposals in Senate call for right to choose.”

All three are inaccurate, and the vandalism at the GOP “Fix it” office has nothing to do with animosity. The name of the office is accurate. After all, they broke it, they should fix it.

I have written a lot about the petition drive, but what really struck me last night was the fact that law already allows states to opt out.

The constitutional amendment that was rejected by the Republican-controlled Senate gives you less options and choices for health care.

The story at the GOP office in Genoa Township really bothered me. It gives the false impression that the vandalism had something to do with health care. There is no proof of that. I live no more than two miles from this office, but I have never been able to see it since they opened it in November as I drive by Grand River Avenue.

It’s kind of funny that the announcement came from the state party. According to the article, “A brick hurled through the window of the Michigan Republican Party’s office in Howell(sic) has the words ”Long Live the USA” and “God Bless the USA” scrawled on it,according to Livingston County Sheriff’s investigators.”

The first point is the Sheriff’s office should not be in investigating it, and it should be handled by the Michigan State Police. Livingston County Undersheriff Mike Murphy is also the chair of the Livingston County Republican Party.

The article says “Both Democratic and Republican officials nationally have reported threats of violence in the wake of passage of national health care reform bills. Venable’s news release cites recent vandalism at the campaign office of House Republican Whip Congressman Eric Cantor and the Albemarle County, Va., Republican Party headquarters.”

That is simply not true. The police have said the shot fired near Cantor’s office was just a random shot, and it had nothing to do with him denying access to health care for 32 million people. He lied. So-called Republican leaders have not only ginned up the violence with their rhetoric, but they refuse to speak out against it. Democratic leaders have not incited people to violence.

One thing I heard last night at the “tea party” and at others was “we want our country back.” I never heard that back in the early part of this decade when Republicans controlled all three branches of the federal government and all three branches of Michigan government. We wanted control back, and we got it because government was being ran so badly. But no one had our country, and no one has it now. It kind of makes you wonder what they mean, but when you consider teabaggers are now being called the tea klan, then you begin to understand who they want it back from.

Local Republicans not happy with all cuts state budget

Sometimes they just can’t help themselves.

I know lots of Republicans who as individuals are great people, but the Republican in them can’t stop them from engaging in the favorite GOP tactics: scare tactics. Livingston County Republican Sheriff Bob Bezotte is trying to get townships to contract with the sheriff’s department for dedicated police services, and in a letter sent to the township boards in the county he made the claim that the Brighton post of the Michigan State Police may close next year, making response times even longer.

The only problem with that is that it’s just not true, and the Post Commander debunked that lie. The use of scare tactics by even local Republicans is not surprising when you consider the Bush Administration used scare tactics to get every damaging policy they wanted. Not only that, the undersheriff is the chair of the Livingston County Republican Party and supports torture.

Bezotte said budget cuts have reduced the Sheriff's Department by 20 employees since 2005, and he said residents could be waiting six hours to seven hours for a response during busy times, like during a snow storm.

According to the Press & Argus, in his letter to townships, Bezotte said he's currently working on the 2010 budget, "and there is potential for us to lose an additional six employees."

How can anyone be surprised? The all-Republican Livingston County Board of Commissioners is more concerned about being able to allow the county party to post billboards along I-96 bragging that Livingston County has the lowest county taxes in the state.
Bezotte also claims state and county politicians are trying to "fix their budget on the backs of law enforcement." He needs to tell that to the Livingston County delegation in the state Legislature who voted for an all-cuts budget that cut 12 percent from revenue sharing that goes to local governments and refuse to consider any new revenue increases to restore some of those cuts.

I also find it interesting that townships pay the lowest amount of taxes, yet a good share of the population and development is in the townships. Many townships have stepped up and have had their own police departments for years, such as Green Oak and Hamburg.

I live in the City of Howell, and I pay higher taxes for more services. But the police I pay for are responding outside city boundaries into the townships to help the Sheriff’s Department, but the townships refuse to step up.

The most glaring refusal is from Genoa Township that borders both the cities of Brighton and Howell where Republican Supervisor Gary McCririe has refused to provide services. Genoa Township has the bulk of the commercial development and big box retail stores, like Wal-Mart, Meijers, Home Depot, Lowes, Kohls, Elder-Beerman, Staples and Office Depot. I can guarantee that the Sheriff’s Department responds to plenty of retail fraud and shoplifting calls to those locations.

Paper continues to promote fake bus tour farce

You can’t pay for advertising like this.

For the second time in less than two weeks, the Livingston County Daily Press and Argus has chosen to promote the anti-Obama and anti-Democratic “Tea Party” bus tour coming to Brighton on Tuesday, but this time its on the front page with a photo. It’s not like they don’t have the money to throw the paper a bone for all the free publicity.

The people putting on the Astroturf farce - “Our Country Deserves Better PAC (OCDB)” formed in August 2008 by veteran Republican California political consultant Sal Russo and former GOP California Assemblyman Howard Kaloogian - have plenty of money to buy an ad. Plus, the health insurance lobby is spending $1.4 million a day to protect their huge profits.

Having worked in the P & A newsroom and knowing both reporters, I’m amazed they didn’t at least talk to each other or compare notes. The Aug. 28 story at least mentioned who was behind the farce, but Sunday’s story does not. To make it even more outrageous is he only talks to Republicans - and all party officials - who then float the stale old lie that it’s a nonpartisan event.

If it’s really nonpartisan then why not quote a Democrat? Plus, the paper is ignoring the Democratic counter rally set for Tuesday despite receiving at least one press release.

Here’s one of the story’s funnier lines:
“Several busloads of conservative activists have been making a cross-country tour that has been named after the legendary Boston Tea Party, where American colonists dumped tea into Boston Harbor in protest of the British government's policy of taxing them without representation.”

First, it’s not a “busloads of conservative activists.” It’s a busload of rightwing Washington, D.C. lobbyists. Can someone please tell me how these people are taxed without representation?

Here’s another gem:
“Although local supporters said the gathering isn't a Republican rally, it's clear the event is geared toward people with conservative views on health care and government spending.”

If you see a Democrat at this fake event, other than at the counter protest, throw a net over them. That is simply another lie. The PAC’s stated mission is to “oppose Obama and the "Democratic Congress." It boasts on its web site that "we must stand up to Barack Obama and the Democrat-controlled Congress." The PAC also solicits contributions by stating, "Help us fight the Democratic Congress!" That sounds like a Republican rally to me.

I know Livingston County Republican Party chair and Livingston County undersheriff Mike Murphy’s job is to spin, but he must feel ridiculous when spits out this outrageous lie:
“It's really not a Republican thing or Democratic thing," he said.” It’s a grass-roots, conservative, anti-tax thing.” Right, and I’m a conservative Republican.

Here’s another Murphy gem on health care:
“It doesn't make any sense to fix it for a small percentage of folks and burden a larger percentage of folks," he said. You need to tell that to the people with expensive coverage that are just one major illness away from bankruptcy or companies shedding health care so they can compete with countries with universal health care.

Of course, the paper could not pass up an opportunity to quote rightwing extremist Wendy Day, a member of the Howell School Board and a founding member of the defunct anti-gay hate group LOVE (Livingston Organization for Values in Education) who actually helped organize a “tea party” convention. She floats the lie even she knows is untrue:

“Day also believes independents and Democrats will attend the event.” Again, throw a net over them if you see one.

The paper then quotes retired high school teacher Irene Bescanon, who just happens to be the vice chairwoman of the Livingston County Republican Women's Club. Her quote is amazing. She has excellent health care that her union fought for, plus Medicare, but she also wants portability, meaning she wants a plan that would allow individuals to carry their insurance plans wherever they go. “She doesn't mind paying for her health care, and she wants to be able to pick her doctor.” Glad to see she supports health care reform. So why is she at the rally again? Oh yea, she’s a Republican attending a Republican anti-Obama rally.

Then Arlene Callaghan, who is - you guessed it - the outreach coordinator with the county GOP, dismissed accounts of the "tea party' as gatherings of "angry mobs." Gee, is anyone surprised she said that?

Ms. Callaghan says she just wants to have a voice.” You do, Ms. Callaghan, it’s called a vote, and the people used their voice to sweep your party out of office last November.

So remember, The Livingston County Democratic Party is planning a counter protest to the big money, Anti-Obama partisan “Tea Party Express” bus tour, so be at Mill Pond in downtown Brighton at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8.

The law enforcement officer responsible for the county jail condones torture

It’s a little scary when the second ranking law enforcement officer in Livingston County - who also runs the county jail - defends and makes excuses for torture, but that is exactly what Livingston County Undersheriff Mike Murphy is trying to do in a disgusting letter to the editor in the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus on Sunday.

Not surprisingly, Murphy is the chair of the Livingston County Republican Party. In his disgusting letter he never points that fact out, and the editor had to do that for him. The letter is filled with misinformation, lies and exaggerations from the very first sentence.

He claims, “It has been a little over 100 days since President Barack Obama has taken office, and if it's any indication of what lies ahead for the next four years, America could be in dire straits.” Apparently, Sheriff Murphy has been asleep for the last eight years, and he is not aware of the recession former President Bush plunged the country into and the budget surplus he turned into a deficit. President Obama’s first 100 days have been spent cleaning up the mess left him.

He then launched into his standard rightwing talking points: “I could care less what a person's issue is, whether it's moving the economy toward socialism, placing limits on First Amendment rights by regulating free speech on the airwaves and on the Internet, or if it's trampling states' rights by trumping all their laws on abortion restrictions.” The socialism crack is the hottest GOP talking point, the First Amendment talking point must - I guess - be about the rightwing paranoia about the Fairness Doctrine, but I have no idea what he is talking about on abortion rights. The U.S. Supreme Court has been pretty clear on abortion.

But his real misguided wrath is reserved for national security and defending torture.

“According to The Weekly Standard, Obama has released classified intelligence to our enemies regarding the amount of coercive interrogation tactics the United States is willing to use. Such information in the hands of terrorists allows them to train for the watered-down tactics should any of their operatives be apprehended by American forces, thus making intelligence-gathering much less effective.”

There’s a great unbiased source. Coercive interrogation tactics is a nice, clean name for torture, and it has never made us safe and puts our troops in danger. The President has the right to classify and declassify information. Bush used the process to hide information. Nothing in the documents was new information that wasn’t already public knowledge.

Right-wingers claim that if you don’t condone torture you are a traitor and you are smearing the military. Nothing could be farther from the truth. After 20 years in the military, I learned hat crap rolls down hill, and the results of Abu Ghraib proved that.

Nine soldiers were convicted of abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Former Cpl. Charles Graner Jr. received the longest sentence — 10 years in prison. Lynndie England, a 23-year-old reservist photographed giving a thumbs-up in front of naked prisoners, is served three years behind bars. You don’t do 10 years in prison for making prisoners uncomfortable. The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) is not much different from a civilian court. The people who really should be behind bars are the ones who ordered the torture. Torture not only went on at Abu Ghraib, but in Guantanamo Bay as well. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was water boarded 183 times at Gitmo. That’s just what we know about. If it worked so well, they why did we do it 183 times?

Guys like Sheriff Murphy will claim that water boarding is not torture. Not true. We prosecuted Japanese soldiers for war crimes for doing it after World War II, as well as U.S. soldiers who did it in Vietnam.

“He just doesn't understand that our enemies laugh and support such actions as banning enhanced interrogation techniques. Of course, why wouldn't they? Terrorists see this as weakness, not as a means to be liked by the world. Besides, this is not a popularity contest; it is about keeping people safe. Obama is dangerous, and he's wagering your safety and the safety of your family in an effort to make America nicer toward our enemies. My question is simple: Traitor, treason or just plain stupid?”

I would ask the same of Sheriff Murphy, “Traitor, treason or just plain stupid?” I would say the latter.

The U.S. once had - before Bush - a worldwide reputation for promoting human rights. It’s kind of hard to take the high road when you torture the most vulnerable. It’s even worse when you consider most people in Gitmo are not guilty of anything.

George Washington set the tone for our stance on how we treat prisoners, and people like Bush and Sheriff Murphy should not trash that. Despite atrocities committed by the British, General Washington refused to stoop to their level.

“Not only your Officers, and Soldiers have been treated with a Tenderness due to Fellow Citizens, & Brethren; but even those execrable Parricides [traitors] whose Counsels & Aid have deluged their Country with Blood, have been protected from the Fury of a justly enraged People,” he said.

The Geneva Convention is not quaint or outdated, it keeps our troops safe. I don’t care what terrorists or the enemy does to our prisoners, it does not justify torture on our part. Two wrongs do not make a right. Our greatest source of information in the Cold War that was fought for almost 50 years - primarily with intelligence - was from defectors, not torture. We want people coming to our side, and I don’t see how we can do that if they are afraid of being tortured.

The simple fact is you do not get reliable information from torture, and you will get what you want to hear to make it stop.

The Murphy and Ford comedy duo wow the crowd at fundraising dinner for MPLP

LIVONIA -- Republican political media consultant Mike Murphy and former Tennessee Democratic U.S. Congressman Harold Ford, Jr. charmed and entertained the audience of political standouts Thursday night at the 14th Annual Fundraising Dinner for the Michigan Political Leadership Program (MPLP) at Michigan State University.

Since 1992, the nonpartisan MPLP recruits, trains, and inspires 24 unique leaders from across the state every year to prepare them for effective governance. The unique 10-month weekend program incorporates practical politics, public policy analysis and process, personal leadership development and effective governance. More than 400 MPLP graduates have put the skills and relationships acquired through the program to work in their communities as candidates for office, as government officials or as citizen activists. Some of state’s most effective and dynamic leaders have graduated from the program, such as Ed Clemente, Craig DeRoche, Robert Dean and Ken Cockrel, Jr.

Murphy and Ford shared their views on everything from the state of their respective parties, the past election and the economic stimulus, and they also answered questions from the audience.

Murphy is a native Detroiter, and one of the GOP’s most successful media consultants. He has advised such nationally prominent Republicans as John McCain, Jeb Bush, former Governor John Engler, Tommy Thompson, Spencer Abraham, Christie Whitman, Lamar Alexander, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. He now lives in Los Angeles, and he is a regular political commentator for NBC/MSNBC, often appearing with Ford. The conservative Murphy gained even more notoriety during the Presidential campaign when Murphy was recorded making unkind comments about GOP vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin during an NBC appearance unaware that his microphone was still live.

His funny stories and one-liners were a big hit with the crowd, as was his honest but fumy assessment of his party’s current status. He said if the GOP does not modernize and court the growing minority population it will become irrelevant in the future.

“Ronald Regan would have barely won in 1980 with the demographics of today,” he said. We have to modernize.”

Ford served 10 years in the House after being elected to the seat his father held prior to his election when he was just 26 years-old. He is a fiscally conservative, Blue Dog Democrat. He has Michigan ties, graduating from the University of Michigan Law School. In fact, he was in his last semester at Michigan when he ran for Congress. Ford arranged his schedule for his last semester of law school so he would not have Monday or Friday classes, and he would be able to fly to Tennessee for an extended weekend to campaign.

He ran for the U.S. Senate in 2006, and he was nudged out by anti-Michigan and anti-U.S. automotive Republican Bob Corker. Ford was ahead in the polls, but the Tennessee GOP ran a racist ad against Ford that helped Corker pull ahead. The TV ad featured a white woman, played by an actress, talk about meeting Ford, who was unmarried at the time, at "the Playboy party."

Like the majority of Americans, Ford said he was proud of President Obama's victory, and both Murphy and Ford said it reflected well on America.

"If you had told me a few weeks after the 9/11 attacks that a man named Barack Hussein Obama would be elected president in 2008 I would have told them they were nuts," Ford said. "This country has a wonderful way of renewing itself."

Murphy said after years of smug Europeans criticizing this country's race relations, the win was gratifying for him.

"I get to tell the French and European politicians to sit down and shut up," he said.

Murphy said the results of the 2008 election really helped Obama with control of both Houses of Congress and a clear mandate.

"He is coming in with more power than any president in generations," he said.

Murphy said that obviously did not bode well for Republicans. He said Obama has so much power many Republicans have taken the strategy to just vote against him and hope things go bad. He drew big laughs with his analogy of that strategy.

"We're like eunuchs invited to a party at the Playboy mansion," he said. "We sit around and complain, and we offer detailed instructions, but it's not our party."

Murphy said that going into any national election it's important to know the mood of the country. Pollsters try to find out the mood of the country, and they ask people if they think the country is on the right or wrong track. If they say it's on the right track, TV ads are full of images of flags, dogs, kids playing and happy families, and the ads are void of any issues. But he said this campaign showed 85 percent of the voters thought the country was on the wrong track, and they were ready for change.

"This past election had the largest wrong tack numbers ever," he said.

Both men believe the economic stimulus package was necessary, but they have different views of it.

"We had to do a stimulus, but it's a sloppy one," Murphy said. "I also don't see any sacrifice from Democrats and labor leaders, and this thing is just happening too fast."

Ford was upset that some governors are trying to make political points by turning down the unemployment insurance part of the stimulus package.

"If you are doing it to make a political point to further your political career at the expense at people who are hurting the most then shame on you, and I hope you can look yourself in the mirror," he said.

The MPLP is a 10-month curriculum that includes personal leadership development, public policy process and analysis, effective governance and practical politics. Fellows develop personal skills, such as public speaking and team leadership. Bipartisan instructors and presenters from across Michigan representing both the private and public sector teach the rigorous curriculum.

"You can be a fierce partisan, but your political opponent is not your enemy," Murphy said.