Republican politicians display stunning hypocrisy on health care insurance reform

Americans United for Change is calling out U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, on his hypocrisy of saying repealing the historic health care insurance reform law is his “top priority,” yet he has no problem accepting his own government-subsidized health plan.

In response to Upton’s declaration earlier this week that his “top priority will be full repeal” of the Affordable Care Act, progressive issue-advocacy group Americans United for Change challenged the incoming Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee to practice what he preaches and start by dropping his own government subsidized health plan. It only seems fair considering that repealing health reform would effectively deny thousands of Michigan families access to the same kind of quality, affordable health care choices Upton enjoys as a Member of Congress.

“You first, Congressman,” said Tom McMahon, Executive Director, Americans United for Change. “If Fred Upton insists on going down this path towards denying thousands of Michigan families access to quality, affordable health care, shouldn’t he start with his own family and forgo his government subsidized health plan?”

The Republican hypocrisy on this issue has been stunning, like that of U.S. Rep.-elect Andy Harris, R-MD. Harris, another fervent proponent of repealing the Affordable Care Act, recently made national headlines when he brazenly complained to his colleagues that his congressional health benefits weren’t kicking in soon enough for his liking. It would be funny if it weren’t so hypocritical. It has led Americans United for Change to launch a radio and Facebook ad campaign in Maryland calling on Harris to “Drop It or Stop It.”

But Upton is just one of many GOP hypocrites.

“If Congressman Upton had his way and the new health law were repealed, the insurance companies would go right back to dropping people’s coverage when they get sick, young adults under 26 would be kicked off their parents’ plans, insurance companies could go back to imposing lifetime limits on care and denying care to those with “pre-existing conditions”, and seniors would again have to fear falling into the “doughnut hole” prescription coverage gap,” McMahon said. “Why does Congressman Upton want to put the big insurance companies back in charge?”

But we also have another stunning example of hypocrisy right here in Michigan with extremist Republican Congressman-elect Tim Walberg, R-Tipton. Blogging for Michigan revealed that the Lenawee County extremist will opt out of federal health-care coverage. But Walberg, conveniently, forgets to tell you that he already receives lifetime government-subsidized health care insurance because of the 16 years in spent in the Michigan House.

‘Both Mark Schauer and John Dingell have earned new terms’

The Toledo Blade, one of America’s great newspapers, said it best today: “Both Mark Schauer and John Dingell have earned new terms.”

The endorsement offers a very good question on why his opponent, “Robert Steele, an Ann Arbor cardiologist, is rich enough to have poured considerable assets into his campaign,” is qualified to run for office:

“Mr. Steele offers the curious argument that he should be elected because he is a newcomer who knows nothing about politics. How would he feel about a would-be cardiologist who made a similar claim?”

Good question. The clear choice is U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, for re-election.

The editorial also makes an excellent case for re-electing U.S. Rep. Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek.

“That outcome was partly due to President Obama's statewide victory. But it also happened because Mr. Schauer, a devout Methodist with moderate stands on most issues, was far more representative of the district than Mr. Walberg, who pursued a hard-right social agenda.”

Former State Representative Doug Spade announces run for Michigan Senate

In a bit of great news, former State Representative Doug Spade, D-Adrian, formally announced today he is a candidate for the 16th District State Senate District that covers Lenawee, Hillsdale, Branch and St. Joseph Counties.

“With two government shut-downs in the past three years, a seeming inability to act on pressing matters in a timely fashion, and a ‘my way or the highway’ attitude of inflexibility exhibited by all too many elected officials, it’s no surprise the public has lost confidence in state government,” Spade said in a press release announcing his candidacy.

The 16h District Senate seat is currently occupied by rightwing Republican Cameron Brown, but he is term limited and running for Michigan Secretary of State. But winning in a conservative district is nothing new to Spade. When he was elected to the first of his three terms in the House in 1998 he was the first Democrat to serve Lenawee County in the House since 1914.

I have met Doug Spade a few times, and I had the same impressions as everybody else: he’s a class act, and they think they already know him from listening to the radio show he hosted on WLEN Adrian for 25 years.

I first met him when I was working for my first newspaper, the mom and pop weekly Blissfield Advance. He and I were the “celebrity” guests at a diner hosted by a Girl Scout troop in Blissfield. All I can tell you is that his seeing eye dog was much more popular than both of us.

Spade was the operations manager at WLEN, and for 25 years he hosted a call-in show called “Party Line.” It was not your conventional talk show. The show began at noon, and people just called in to talk about anything they wanted. He made the show about the callers, and they could talk about anything under the sun; from their garden to current affairs. I would listen to see what people were talking about.

I ran across him again when I went to work for the Adrian Daily Telegram. I had only been there a few months when the 1996 election occurred. Doug Spade made his first run at the state House against then incumbent extremist right-winger Tim Walberg, and Walberg kept his seat by just a few votes after a recount. When he retired in 1998, Doug won the seat handily; now held by his brother, Dudley Spade.

Rachel Maddow continues to expose who is really behind the hijacking of townhall meetings

MSNBC host and Rhodes Scholar Rachel Maddow has been blowing the lid off the attempts by rightwing lobbying groups and think tanks to shut down townhall meetings hosted by Democratic members of Congress with some hard-hitting shows the last couple of days.

Right-wingers have been attending townhall meetings to shout down Democratic members of Congress so they cannot answer legitimate questions from constituents, and it has been organized and scripted to look like a grassroots effort, just like the fake Astroturf “tea parties.” In fact, it's the same players. These are professional, highly paid lobbyists stirring up the supporters with false rhetoric, and it includes instructions and scripts on how to hijack the meetings and stop the truth from getting out.

The primary focus of the thugs is health care where the insurance lobby is spending $1.4 million a day to stop real reform as 50 million Americans go without access to quality health care.

On Wednesday night, Maddow reported on a web site called “Recess Rally.com” that is supposed to give you the info on all the townhalls around the country so they can be hijacked by thugs. I have been unable to get on the web site, so hopefully, the publicity sent the snakes back under their rocks.

The false claim is that these "spontaneous” protests are grassroots efforts by regular Americans, and they are non-partisan. It’s true they may be regular Americans, but it is extremely partisan and highly organized by rightwing lobbyists. Maddow listed the supporters of “Recess Rally” on Wednesday, and they include the Republican movers and shakers in Washington and former Bush operatives; even the person behind the anti-troop smear boat veterans.

The right-wingers are pulling out all the stops to combat needed health care reform, and Maddow talks about one in the show. She explains how both Democrats and Republicans supported living wills and end of life decisions for more than 20 without controversy, but now it’s somehow government assisted suicide.

The Right wing PAC “Club for Growth” – you will remember them from when they flooded extremist right-winger Tim Walberg with money in the U.S. Congressional race in 2006 – is running adds pushing that false and ridiculous claim that the health care plan will kill grandma and grandpa.

There are already plans to disrupt and hijack townhall meetings in Michigan, including tonight’s townhall hosted by U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, at 6 p.m. at the Romulus Athletic Center, 35765 Northline Road in Romulus.

Get there early.

One extremist endorses another extremist

Apparently, the right is all atwitter that extremist rightwing Republican Tim Walberg is endorsing Mike Nofs for the vacant state Senate seat in the 19th District.

The seat was vacated when U.S. Rep. Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek, unseated Walberg in November when voters rejected his extremist views, and the 19th Senate seat was vacated with Schauer’s move to Washington, D.C. Rep. Martin Griffin, D-Jackson, has also filed to run for the seat that represents Calhoun and Jackson counties. Griffin is a moderate who will better represent the residents of that district over the extreme GOP views that voters soundly rejected in November and have led to defections from the GOP as it continues its veer to the right.

This is little more than political payback because Nofs endorsed Walberg last year. Any endorsement from an extremist like Walberg is good news for the Democrats and the residents of Michigan.

Extremist group spends $100,000 to prop up sagging extremist Walberg in final weekend before election

In a last-ditch effort to keep their bought and paid for candidate in power, the extreme rightwing group Club for Growth announced Friday that it was pumping an additional $100,000 into the 7th District Congressional district race over the weekend for more false attack ads to prop up extreme Republican Tim Walberg, according to subscription only Gongwer.

Michigan Senate Minority Leader Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek, continues to lead the race over the incumbent, and Club for Growth is spending furiously to protect their investment in the final weekend before the election. Schauer, meanwhile, continues to pick up support in the far-flung 7th District that covers more land area than any of Michigan's 15 Congressional districts.

On Sunday the daily Jackson Citizen Patriot endorsed Schauer, saying, "Schauer is nothing if not effective, however. He has shown throughout his political career — as a Battle Creek city councilman and spending six years in the state House and six years in the Senate — that he cares about improving people's lives in a personal, tangible way."

Remember to vote for Mark Schauer for Congress tomorrow.

Schauer gives solid performance in first televised debate

In the first of three televised debates, State Sen. Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek, made a strong case on why he should be the next U.S. Congressman representing the 7th District, and his opponent offered nothing but his debunked attack ads.

The two squared off on live TV Saturday night in a debate at Jackson High School sponsored by Lansing TV station WLNS.

“There is a clear choice in this election,” Schauer said. “The choice is between the same old failed policies and my hands on approach. As your congressman I will wake up everyday trying to turn the economy around one job at a time.”

His opponent, extremist Republican Tim Walberg, used his opening statement to attack Schauer instead of talking about his polices and positions, and he used the same old debunked attacks, like the giving illegal immigrants driver’s license lie, Schauer was the deciding vote for the largest tax increase in history lie and even that he supported affirmative action. His closing statement was basically a rehash of the opening statement.

The questions came from a panel of three journalists and some from taped man-on-the- street interviews.

Walberg blamed the financial meltdown on President Clinton, falsely claiming he pushed legislation requiring lenders to give minorities loans they were not qualified for. He also voted against the bailout bill, but he had no alternative to solving the financial meltdown.

“One thing the Congressman is famous for is voting no, but hot having an alternative solution,” Schauer said.

One panelist asked what they would do about the $10 billion that is being spent a month in Iraq. Walberg still believes Saddam Hussein had something to do with the 9/11 attacks.

“That just demonstrates to me that the Congressman is not in touch with the facts,” Schauer said. “I have attended the funerals of five soldiers from Jackson and Calhoun Counties. We need to start getting out troops out of Iraq.”

A constituent asked the candidate’s position on the workplace smoking ban, including bars and restaurants, that’s before the Michigan Legislature. Schauer voted for the total ban that passed the Senate.

“I voted for this measure because it’s a public health issue,” he said.

Walberg, of course, is against the smoking ban, spouting blather about “Big Government” and “nanny state.”

Saturday offers opportunity to see and hear from Mark Schauer

Lenawee County residents have the opportunity to meet their next U.S. Congressmen with a pair of town hall meetings set for Saturday with current state Sen. Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek.

Schauer is leading his extremist opponent in the far-flung 7th Congressional District, but he is not quite as well-known in Tim Walberg's home county of Lenawee. But dedicated volunteers like me are changing that with the grunt work of going door-to-door.

You can meet Mark and still have time to see the MSU-Michigan football game on Saturday. Bring your friends and family, and especially undecided voters. He will be at the Lenawee County UAW Labor Hall, 1360 W Beecher St. in Adrian, at 12:30 p.m. Saturday Oct. 25. He will be in Blissfield at 2:30 p.m. at Beckey's Kountry Kitchen, 631 W Adrian – or US 223 across from the Coachlight Plaza. They have very good food; I have eaten there a few times.

Schauer will actually start the day in Hillsdale at the Hillsdale Community Library, 11 E. Bacon St., at 10 a.m.

The town halls will be a preclude to the first televised debate sponsored by Lansing TV station WLNS at 8 p.m. Saturday at Jackson High School, 544 Wildwood Ave, Jackson. It can also be viewed live at the station web site.

Other Town Hall meetings will be held Monday, Oct. 27 at 5:30 p.m. at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) hall at 7920 Jackson Rd. in Scio Township. He will be appearing with U.S. Sen. Carl Levin.

He will be in Battle Creek at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Barista Blues Cafe, 21 W. Michigan Ave. He will be with U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow at 5 p.m. Wednesday in Delta Township, 7711 W. Saginaw Hwy. He will be in Jackson at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Jackson Coffee Company, 201 S. Mechanic.

Walberg takes a dip in the sewer to try and keep his grip on his House seat

The spinning from extremist Tim Walberg and his rich alley, the Club for Growth, is spinning out of control as they see the 7th Congressional seat slipping away to Senate Minority Leader Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek.

The latest attack has hit rock bottom for both taste and outright lying. The latest despicable ad goes even lower than the last one and it ads the new lie to the others that Schauer voted to send pornography to children. Walberg continues to try and draw comparisons between Schauer and Academy Award winning filmmaker and Michigan resident Michael Moore. I can guarantee you this: Michael Moore has done more for Michigan than Walberg has, and that includes Walberg's 16 years in the state House and two in the U.S. House. He has accomplished virtually nothing.

I debunked the last ad where Walberg lied and said Schauer voted to give illegal immigrants a driver's license in Michigan. That lie was easy to debunk, and this one will just as easy too.

In the 1990's when Schauer was still in the Michigan House he voted with the majority against a bill that would have made it more difficult distribute pornographic material over the Internet. It was a good thing he voted in the majority because he saved Michigan taxpayers thousands of dollars in legal fees defending a bill that was overturned as unconstitutional.

This is contrast to Walberg's dismal record in protecting children. He has repeatedly voted against health care for children. I guess he figured they can just go to the emergency room like he tells the other 47 million uninsured Americans.

In every commercial Walberg claims Schauer was the "deciding vote on the largest tax hike in Michigan history." There is absolutely noting true about that statement, and it contains two lies.

You will recall that the Legislature had to make up a $1.8 billion budget deficit last year. The Legislature finally had to confront the constant tax cuts over the years with no corresponding cuts in spending. After painful cuts had been made across the board, the only other cuts would have had to have been made to vital public services like healthcare, education and public safety. After a brief government shutdown in the wee hours of Oct. 1, 2007 the Senate voted 19-19 for a slight increase in the state income tax and a since repealed sales tax on services.

Schauer is the minority leader in the Senate, meaning the Democrats are the minority in the Senate. That, of course, means Democrats cannot get anything passed in the Senate on their own, and in order to get anything passed Republicans had to vote for it. In a tie vote, the President of the Senate has to cast the tie-breaking vote, so the Lt. Governor actually cast the deciding vote.

Second, it's not the "largest tax hike in Michigan history." That actually occurred under Republican Gov. George Romney when the state income tax was implemented in 1960.

If you want to talk about tax increases, look at the crazy scheme Walberg co-sponsored. The National Sales Tax that would have placed a 30 percent sales tax on everything from food and prescription drugs to cars and homes. The dangerous plan would have had a devastating effect on senior citizens, working families and the auto industry.

It's easy to see why Walberg is taking a swim in the gutter. A new internal GOP tally of U.S. House races has all but conceded the 7th District seat to the Democrats. The poll rates 66 House Republican seats, and the 7th District seat has been rated as "likely gone" and placed on the death list.

Political pundit predicts huge seat advantage for House Democrats next month

Michigan House Democrats will build on their 58-52 seat lead next month, according to Bill Ballanger in the latest edition of Inside Michigan Politics.

Ballanger is the editor and publisher of IMP, and the former state lawmaker and respected political pundit is going even farther on predictions he made in January and June that the Democrats will retain control of the House by an astounding margin of 70-40. Ballanger said according to a quartet of micro polls commissioned by East Lansing based Practical Political Consulting, the decision by Grampy McSame to abandon Michigan will have a negative effect on some vulnerable Democratic seats.

The Republicans went from controlling the House for more than a decade and wining one of the largest majorities in many years in 2002 to suffering the worst back-to-back election cycles since the early 1940s that culminated with the loss of the House in November 2006.

The McSame pullout is also having some positive results in the race for the U.S. House. The non-partisan Rothenberg Political Report upgraded the race between Democrat Gary Peters and Joe Knollenberg to "Tossup/Tilt Democratic." The race had previously been rated “Lean Republican.” A separate poll conducted by Grove-Insight for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) shows Peters ahead of Knollenberg 46-37 percent.

The race between Democrat Mark Schauer and extremist Tim Walberg is a toss up, and a recent poll by Myers Research & Strategic Services shows the Senate Minority Leader is leading Walberg by ten points, 46 to 36 percent.

Republicans getting increasingly desperate and turn campaigns even uglier

Extremist Tim Walberg is becoming a little unhinged as he desperately tries to chip away at the lead of Sen. Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek, in the race for the 7th Congressional seat in the U.S. House.

Walberg's most recent lie-filled ad compares Schauer to Michigan filmmaker Michael Moore, and it calls Schauer "dangerous." This is the same Academy Award-winning filmmaker Michael Moore who founded and is the president of the extremely successful Traverse City Film Festival. Moore has done far more for Michigan than Walberg ever has.

Walberg then stoops to the old, reliable Grand Oil Party tactic of fear and discrimination by making the false claim that Schauer voted to give illegal immigrants' driver's licenses. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Folks, no illegal immigrant can get a driver's license in Michigan. There was controversy last year over this issue when Attorney General Mike Cox issued a totally unneeded opinion on December 27, 2007 that says driver's licenses can only be issued to permanent residents of the state. That was already the case, but in his early campaign for Governor, Cox issued this opinion to please the base. This spring the Legislature had to correct it because it denied a license to the thousands of foreign nationals living and working legally in Michigan.

The false attack ad against Schauer referenced House Bill 5497. The bill was passed on February 7, 2002 when Schauer was in the Michigan House. It passed the House, but the Senate did not even take it up. Like Cox's misguided and unnecessary opinion, it was not needed, and it claimed it would ban illegal immigrants from getting a license. It would do the same thing as Cox's opinion; deny a license to the thousands of foreign nationals living and working legally in Michigan. Those against the bill were the Michigan Catholic Conference, Catholic Social Services Refugee Services and The Michigan AFL-CIO.

There was also a blurb about Schauer voting for the gas tax, but I have no idea what he is talking about.

The attack ads by the GOP is a disturbing trend. We have seen GOP VP candidate Spiro Palin make the false claim that Sen. Barack Obama is "paling around with a terrorist," because he served on two nonprofit boards with Bill Ayers, a Distinguished Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a former Vietnam anti-war activist.

It seems ironic that no one is bringing up Grampy McSame and Spiro's connections to a terrorist and an anti-American group, so I will. Convicted felon G. Gordon Liddy has made four contributions totaling $5,000 to Grampy's campaigns. Grampy went on Liddy's radio show during the presidential campaign and Liddy greeted him as "an old friend," and McCain replied. "I'm proud of you, I'm proud of your family. Liddy - of Watergate fame, or better infamous - was convicted to 20 years in prison after he was convicted of conspiracy, burglary and illegal wiretapping. As a Watergate burglar, he concocted several plots that included firebombing the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., kidnapping anti-war protest organizers and transporting them to Mexico and luring mid-level Democratic campaign officials to a house boat in Baltimore where they would be secretly photographed in compromising positions with call girls. In sharp contrast, Ayers has not been convicted of anything.

McSame's nasty and disrespectful behavior at Tuesday's debate was unprecedented when he called Obama "that one there."

The Grampy McSame and Palin rallies are becoming increasingly ugly, and the pair are close to inciting their followers to violence. At recent rallies, the pair have stooped to calling Obama a terrorist, and the crowd has responded with cries of "terrorist" and "kill him." McSame and Palin must put a stop to this and denounce it instead of pretending they did not hear it.

Former Republican lawmakers ante up for Schauer

State Sen. Mark Schauer continues to pick up Republican support in his quest to unseat extremist Tim Walberg for the U.S. Congressional seat in the 7th District.

The Battle Creek Democrat already has the support of the former Republican who held the seat, Dr. Joe Schwarz, because of his history of working across the aisle. Today, Republicans for Schauer announced their support.

"Mark Schauer puts getting results for people ahead of partisan concerns," said Retired Jackson Circuit Judge Charles Nelson in the press release. "We worked together on starting the drug court that has saved our community crucial tax dollars and made the system more efficient. Mark will bring those same values to Congress."

Schauer has strong Livingston County ties. He is a graduate of Howell High School, and his parents still live in Howell. Because of that, his long track record of partnering with Republicans on important issues and their experience of working with him in the Michigan House of Representatives, Livingston County's past two state Representatives from the 66th District announced their endorsement of Schauer.

Announcing their support are Judith Scranton, R-Brighton Township, and Susan Grimes Width (formerly Munsell) R-Howell. Also joining Republicans for Schauer is another former state Representative and colleague who represented Livingston County and a medial doctor, Dr. Paul DeWeese, R-Williamston. DeWeese represented the 67th District that covers the western half of Livingston County from 1998 to 2000.

Rounding out the endorsements are Lenawee County Commissioner – Walberg's home county - Dave Stimson, R-Tecumseh, and Jim Logue, former Michigan State Housing Development Authority director under John Engler.

Mark Schauer picking up support in Walberg’s back yard

ADRIAN -- Name recognition and support for State Sen. Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek, in his quest to unseat extremist conservative Tim Walberg in the race for U.S. House in the 7th District is increasing.

Last month I knocked on doors in Lenawee County in Tecumseh, and I found that although people were receptive to Schauer after almost two years of Walberg, not a lot had heard of him. There was a noticeable difference on Sunday when I knocked on 68 doors in Adrian.

I saw plenty of Schauer and Rep. Dudley Spade, D- Tipton, yard signs, but I did not see a single Walberg sign. I understand yard signs don’t vote, but it’s good sign. It’s even more encouraging when you consider Lenawee County is Walberg’s home county, also a resident of rural Tipton.

What I found were more people who were supporting Schauer, and many asked for yard signs. There were a few undecideds, but not many.

Walking in Adrian was a trip down memory lane for me. I did a stint as the education reporter for the Daily Telegram. The Lenawee County Democratic Party is now located a few doors down from the Telegram in what used to be the Adrian Public Schools offices. I spent a few nights there covering Adrian School Board meetings.

All this positive Schauer news has Walberg and his friends at the extreme Club for Growth worried. They will start airing their first barrage of attack ads in the 7th district. This is the same radical group that ran a vicious smear campaign against incumbent Republican Joe Schwarz two years ago. The so-called Club for Growth wants to expand unfair trade deals - which have devastated Michigan's economy - and privatize Social Security. Back in 2006, Tim Walberg told the Jackson Citizen Patriot that he was "bought and paid for" by Club for Growth - so we know whose side he's on.

National Bush Legacy Bus tour roars into Michigan

All Michiganders have felt the Bush legacy in the form of high unemployment, the loss of manufacturing jobs, record gas prices, record home foreclosures, huge corporate bailouts and the deaths of hundreds of young people in an unnecessary invasion, and now you can see it all in one place when the National Bush Legacy Bus Tour Comes to Michigan on Saturday.

The Bush Legacy is a 45-foot, 28-ton clean bio-diesel powered museum on wheels that features several exhibits on how disastrous the Bush/conservative policies have been, and how they have weakened America's security abroad while neglecting and undermining important priorities here at home.

It is also highlighting the people who have helped Bush wrecked havoc on the county, and the bus tour will be in Battle Creek on Saturday, Sept. 20 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the backyard of Bush enabler Tim Wahlberg, where he is locked in a battle with State Sen. Mark Schauer. It will be in front of the Kellogg Arena at Michigan Ave between Macamly and N. Capital. On Monday it will be in Jackson from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at 120 N. Jackson St. The museum will also be in Lansing in front of the Capitol from 2-4 p.m.

On Tuesday it will be in Bush enabler Joe Knollenberg's district from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Royal Oak Farmers Market at 11 Mile Road and Troy Street in Royal Oak. Gary Peters is neck and neck against Knollenberg.

The tour kicked off on June 24 across the street from the White House, and the National Bush Legacy Bus tour has since blanketed half the country – from New Hampshire to New Mexico – and will continue making nearly 150 stops in the hometowns of Bush’s enablers in Congress and symbolic locations like the President’s home away from home in Crawford, Texas.

It will be back in Michigan before the tour concludes on Election Day in Virginia. It will be in Kalamazoo on Oct. 21; Grand Rapids on Oct. 22 and Ann Arbor on Oct. 23.

Mid-Michigan military veterans back Schauer

State Sen. Mark Schauer picked up the endorsement of a group of mid-Michigan military veterans in his race for U.S. Congress from the 7th Congressional District.

According to the press release announcing the endorsement, “Veterans for Schauer" is a constituency group committed to electing Schauer. The group, co-chaired by Brigadier General Bob Secrist and U.S. Navy Submarine veteran Fred Strack, will reach out to current and former members of the armed forces and mobilize support for Schauer's campaign.

"When the Battle Creek Air National Guard Base was facing closure, Mark Schauer helped rally the community and worked with people like Carl Levin and Joe Schwarz to keep the base open," Secrist said. "Mark has a strong record of standing up for our men and women in uniform, and will be a powerful voice for veterans as a member of Congress."

This is in sharp contrast to his opponent, who voted against the expanded GI Bill. Apparently, Tim Wahlberg supports the war but not the troops. Perhaps his healthcare plan for returning veterans is the same one he prescribes for the 47 million Americans without healthcare: go to the ER.

"Mark understands the serious challenges facing Michigan veterans, and has a strong track record of fighting for military families," Strack said "When it comes to jobs, affordable healthcare and keeping people in their homes, veterans can count on Mark Schauer to stand up for our values.”

The good news keeps on coming for the Schauer campaign

State Sen. Mark Schauer's, D-Battle Creek, campaign for the 7th U.S. Congressional district against Tim Walberg received some good news yesterday.

A new poll released by EPIC-MRA for Detroit News/WXYZ puts the race between the Senate Minority Leader and Walberg is a statistical dead heat. The independent poll released Monday showed a statistical dead heat with Schauer at 40 percent and Walberg at 43 percent, well within the 4.9 percent margin of error.

"This poll reflects the momentum we've been seeing on the ground for the past several months," said B.J. Neidhardt, Campaign Manager for Mark Schauer's campaign, in a press release. "People simply aren't buying what Tim Walberg is selling, and Mark has the message and the momentum to win this race in November."

It's always a question on how much endorsements help in any race, but the endorsement of former Republican state Representative Paul DeWeese demonstrates Schauer's ability to win over Republicans, something he has also demonstrated in winning his West Michigan Senate seat. DeWeese, am emergency room physician, also ran for the very same seat in the 2004 primary. Voters in Livingston County will remember DeWeese from when he represented the western half of Livingston County in the 67th District in 2000 before the GOP gerrymandering.

"The people of Mid-Michigan are ready for change, and Mark Schauer is exactly the kind of leader we need right now to make this state more competitive," DeWeese said in a statement. "Unlike his opponent, Mark would never vote against healthcare for kids, and he would never tell his constituents that people without health insurance should seek basic treatment in the emergency room. You don't have to be an ER doctor to understand that this only drives up costs for everyone else in the system. The 7th district deserves a Congressman who will fight to fix our broken healthcare system, and Mark is the best man for the job."

People are also putting their money where their vote is, and in the second quarter, according to subscription only Gongwer, Schauer's campaign out-raised "incumbent Walberg for the fourth straight filing period, bringing in more than $427,000. Over the course of the campaign, Schauer has brought in more than $1.33 million and raised more than Walberg's total contributions for the entire 2006 election cycle.

General Election starts in earnest for me

TECUMSEH - Sunday was my first official door-knocking session of the 2008 General Election.

I have already knocked doors in the primary for a House candidate , but this is my first time for the General Election. I knocked on some 70 doors Sunday in Tecumseh for State Sen. Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek, in his quest to unseat extremist conservative Tim Walberg in the race for U.S. House in the 7th District. It was more fun that the extensive walking I did in 2006 because my wife walked with me. She had walked when she was a teen for her dad, but he was a Republican.

The one thing I discovered Sunday was that not many people knew much about Schauer, but we will change that. I had a few people tell me they don’t need to know anything about Schauer they are just sick of Walberg. This is a guy who still thinks Saddam Hussein financed the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. He’s apparently not a man who will let facts get in the way.

The 7th District has been held by Republicans for many years with Nick Smith and moderate Republican Joe Schwartz. But Schauer has unseated an incumbent Republican before.

The large 7th district covers Branch, Eaton, Hillsdale, Jackson and Lenawee counties and parts of Calhoun and Washtenaw counties. That’s the name recognition battle he faces, but I believe he can overcome it.

The 19th Senate District Schauer represents as the Senate Minority Leader only covers Calhoun County and part of Jackson.

I hope to increase his name recognition in Walberg’s home county of Lenawee door by door. It was once briefly my stomping grounds. I worked as the education reporter for the daily newspaper in Adrian that covers the entire county, and I held that same position with the Blissfield weekly.

Schauer endorsed by major state law enforcement organization

State Sen. Mark Schauer continues to rack up endorsements in his quest to knock off ultra-conservative Tim Walberg in the race for the 7th Congressional District seat.

The Michigan Association of Police Organizations (MAPO) announced their endorsement today in a press release. The MAPO’s eight member organizations – such as The Michigan State Police Troopers Association and the Michigan Association of Police - represent three-fourths of the state's 19,500 certified police officers.

“MAPO is proud to endorse Mark Schauer for Congress," said Richard Weiler, President of the Michigan Association of Police Organizations, in the press release announcing the endorsement. “The law enforcement community is excited about the possibility of Mark bringing to Congress the same commitment to public safety that he exhibited in the Michigan Legislature. We look forward to calling him Congressman Schauer.”

Club for Growth goes after McCain for Michigan remarks

If we needed any proof here in Michigan that Sen. John McCain’s campaign for the Republican nomination for President has picked up some steam and is alive and well we only needed to see the press release put out by the conservative Club for Growth.

The release came in response to a Dec. 21 Detroit Free Press article where McCain told the Free Press editorial board he would “use federal money to make up the salary differences for workers who lose manufacturing jobs and take lower-paying positions while they train for new careers.”

The country has lost 3 million manufacturing jobs under the current administration to outsourcing and other causes, and the U.S. auto industry has been hit vary hard. The Club for Growth release came out as soon as the Free Press article was published, and it calls McCain’s plan “welfare” and pandering to Michigan voters as the Jan. 15 Michigan primary election fast approaches.

“This is exactly the kind of plan you expect to hear from the Democratic candidates, not an alleged economic conservative,” said Club for Growth President Pat Toomey in the press release. “The government should not be in the business of guaranteeing wages.”

Club for Growth is non-profit political organization with some 40,000 members with a political action committee (PAC) that raises money for conservative candidates who support a “low-tax and limited-government agenda.” The group has a history of backing conservative Republicans even against incumbent moderate Republicans.

Michigan residents are familiar with one of the most well known instances of Club for Growth’s handy work. They pumped thousands of dollars into the campaign of ultra-conservative Tim Walberg in his primary battle in the summer of 2006 against incumbent U.S. Rep. Joe Schwarz, and the moderate Republican lost his bid for reelection to Walberg in the 7th Congressional District despite Schwarz having the support and endorsement of the state Republican Party Chair and President George Bush

Ironically, Schwarz is now a member of McCain’s Michigan Finance Team that raises money in the sate for McCain.

Former Congressman Schwarz leads stem cell research discussion panel

The nonprofit, nonpartisan Michigan Citizens for Stem Cell Research and Cures (MCSCRC) is presenting a panel discussion on stem cell research featuring former Republican Congressman Dr. Joe Schwarz.

The discussion is sponsored by the Livingston County Democratic Party and will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday Nov. 27 at the party’s headquarters, 10321 East Grand River Ave. Suite 600, Fonda Place in Brighton. In addition to Schwarz, Marcia Baum, the executive director of (MCSCRC), will be on the panel. The public, regardless of party affiliation, is encouraged to attend.

The MCSCRC is an educational coalition with the goal of educating citizens about stem cell research, and it does not endorse, propose or oppose legislation. Embryonic stem cell research has the potential to cure serious diseases like Parkinson's disease, diabetes, spinal-cord injuries and Alzheimer's, but conservative, pro-life groups have blocked embryonic stem cell research in Michigan.

Schwarz is a medical doctor from Battle Creek who was first elected to Congress in 2004 to represent the 7th Congressional District as a moderate Republican. He was targeted in 2006 by conservative groups like the conservative Club for Growth. He was unseated in the primary by conservative Tim Walberg, R-Tipton.