The Chief Executive Outsourcer will now have Dumb and Dumber in his cabinet

It appears newly elected Michigan Gov. Rick “Chief Executive Outsourcer” Snyder must love the Michigan film credits because his favorite movie star is one of the biggest proponents of the credits, Chelsea’s Jeff Daniels, starring in “Dumb and Dumber.”

You will recall that early in the campaign the Outsourcer told his hometown “newspaper,” that the creation of Michigan Business Tax (MBT) and the 22 percent surcharge in 2007 was “like Lansing went to the video store and rented ‘Dumb and Dumber.’” Then in August he appointed one of the Republican authors of the alleged “job killer,” State Rep. Brian Calley, R-Portland, as his running mate.

Today in Ann Arbor the Outsourcer is set to appoint the Democratic author of the MBT, current Speaker of the House Andy Dillon, D-Redford, to an unnamed job in his administration. The only question that remains is which one is dumb and who is dumber: Dillon or Calley?

I applaud the Outsourcer in seeking a little diversity in his cabinet by appointing a Democrat, but many people have told me they don’t believe Dillon is a real Democrat. He lost the Democratic Gubernatorial nomination to Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero in the primary, but Dillon never endorsed Bernero after the primary, which is the norm.

Perhaps this is why. Or perhaps it could be a reward for helping turnover control of the House to Republicans on his watch.

Dillon has never been a favorite of Republicans, and they pulled out all the stops in an attempt to recall him in 2007, even using fraud to place it on the ballot. However, it was rejected by voters. Republicans launched a number of recall attempts back in 2007 against Democratic state Representatives who voted for revenue increases to keep the state government going and avoid a shutdown. Only the one for Dillon made it on the ballot, but they used fraud to accomplish it.

The Outsourcer is also continuing his practice of appointing former members of the Engler administration to his team, and he is expected to announce that former Republican Lt. Governor Dick Posthumus will advise him on legislative affairs. Posthumus was Engler’s second Lt. Gov., but he lost his own bid for Governor in 2002, losing to currant Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

Republican candidates afraid of voters and refuse to debate

Republican political candidates in Michigan continue to hide and do everything possible to avoid debating their opponents and avoid a side-by-side comparison as they try and run the clock out because they believe they have a large lead, bought with a massive influx of cash from corporations.

For the most part, journalists have let them get away with it, but WDIV-TV4 anchor Devin Scillian called them out Sunday on his weekly political program “Flash Point.” He invited the top of the ticket – Governor, Attorney General and Secretary of State – to debate on the show. But as usual, only the Democrats accepted.

Scillian relented and allowed GOP nominee Rick “Chief Executive Outsourcer” Snyder to appear separately on a prime-time Flash Point last week, and WDIV made sure big, mean Lansing Mayor and Democratic Gubernatorial nominee Virg Bernero got no where near the Outsourcer.

But When the Republican AG and SOS candidates declined to appear on the set at the same time with the Democratic nominees, Scillian - to his credit - held his ground, and said whoever shows up will go on the air in the state’s largest media market.

Predictably, only AG Democratic nominee David Leyton and Democratic SOS nominee Jocelyn Benson showed up to defend their positions and went on the air, and the Republicans chickened out.

On Sunday’s “Two guys named Joe” podcast, Joe DiSano and Joe Munem summed it up best. They said that if the Republicans refuse to debate then they can’t talk about transparency, they can’t talk about openness and they can’t talk about being accessible to voters. They can talk about those things, but they will be hypocrites.

The rest of the conservative, corporate media has failed to point out this hypocrisy. Let’s hope the voters see the truth.

Michigan chamber funnels $5.3 million to RGA to attack Bernero and Democrats

We can expect many, many more attack ads against Lansing Mayor and Democratic Gubernatorial nominee Virg Bernero while Rick “Chief Executive Outsourcer” Snyder gets to keeps his millions and maintains the lie that he does not accept PAC money and is running a clean, positive campaign.

Rich Robinson, the director of the non-profit and non-partisan Michigan Campaign Finance Network, released a report on Tuesday that said the so far in 2010 the Michigan Chamber of Commerce has contributed more than $5.3 million to the Republican Governors Association (RGA).

The RGA also received $1 million form News Corp., which owns Faux “News," and it has been very busy smearing Bernero. It has spent so much money, that it refuses to even say how much. In fact, it has been "bullying" Michigan television stations into not revealing to the public the size of their substantial ad buys. If a station dares to be honest and reveals that number, they don’t get to share in the millions in smear money and ad revenue.

The spending has been so large that the Outsourcer did not buy a single ad from the time of the primary election in August until just a few days ago.

Earlier this month Robinson tried to get Snyder to convince the RGA to reveal that information, but he claimed “he cannot stop the Republican Governors Association's efforts to push Michigan television stations not to release information about the size of the organization's ad buy.”
The Internal Revenue Service classifies the RGA as a 527 organization whose primary purpose is to support or oppose candidates for public office. Robinson only found out abut that huge donation because contributions to the RGA must be disclosed through the IRS. The Michigan Chamber of Commerce is a 501 (c)(6) nonprofit corporation that does no public disclosure of its donors. Its members’ dues payments are tax deductible as business expenses. In other words, the chamber can accept money from anywhere and from anybody, including foreign governments.

Robinson said the advertising agency for the RGA is Target Enterprises of Encino, Calf. The RGA’s third quarter report to the IRS shows $15.5 million worth of media buys through Target Enterprises. Target has asked several Michigan broadcasters to withhold records of its Michigan gubernatorial ad buys from their public files, and some broadcasters have complied with Target’s request for non-disclosure. Target was the advertising agency for the Rick Snyder’s campaign committee through the primary election. So much for Michigan first with the Outsourcer.

“The Michigan Chamber of Commerce has been aggregating contributions from anonymous donors for candidate-focused electioneering advertisements since the 2000 state election,” Robinson said. “They’ve spent millions of dollars for television advertisements that sought to define political candidates’ suitability for office, and they reported nothing about the sources whose contributions paid for those ads.”

Most people have this old fashioned image of the chamber of commerce as promoting business and the community. That is a false image.

“What is new in 2010 is that the Chamber’s primary financial purpose now appears to be aggregating contributions to give to the Republican Governors Association, an organization whose purpose is to promote the election of candidates for public office,” Robinson said. “The Chamber’s function as a business association is secondary, financially, to its role as a political fund aggregator.”

Bernero accepts debate invitations, the outsourcer chickens out

Despite calls from media all over the state and undecided and independent voters for more debates after last week’s gubernatorial debate, GOP nominee Rick “Chief Executive Outsourcer” Snyder is sticking to his guns and staying away from voters as much as possible and letting his millions do his talking.

But that’s not stopping Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Virg Bernero, and he’s going to debate the outsourcer even if it’s an empty chair instead of just an empty suit. Bernero has accepted an offer from a group of Detroit clergy to debate on Oct. 21 at Renaissance High School, located at 6565 W. Outer Drive in Detroit, sponsored by “Clergy United for a Detroit Gubernatorial Debate.”

The group of 100 clergy that represents half a million people said that they want to make a clear choice, one that they say will, among other things, “lend to small business that create jobs in the community, fight against foreclosure and support the health care bill that President Obama has fought to deliver to the people.”

The group consists of some well known clergy, such as Bishop Charles Ellis III, Horace Sheffield and Rev. Dr. Wendell Anthony

Predictably the outsourcer's mouthpiece Bill Nowling said no more debates; not now or ever, and the Outsourcer will continue to hold invitation only “townhall” meetings and pay for 30-second TV ads to push the false image of him. In the debate last Sunday the Outsourcer claimed a healthy Michigan needs a healthy Detroit, but he refuses to even go there and engage its citizens or their leaders.

“Any candidate that is not willing to speak directly to the citizens of Detroit in an open and unfiltered debate with minority journalists and the community they are to serve is not worthy of the vote from its people,” the group said in a statement.

I think that should include the entire state, and that’s why people should vote for Virg Bernero on Nov. 2.

Snyder’s lies helping Bernero cut into his lead

Outsourcing and killing American jobs is bad enough, but now Rick “The Chief Executive Outsourcer (CEO)” Snyder is doing that and lying about it.

During the first and only gubernatorial debate on Sunday, the outsourcer lied to Michigan voters when he told them one of his newer companies, Discera, did not have a facility in China – in fact, not only did Discera create jobs in China, they are sharing technology to help arm Chinese businesses to better compete against American companies. After the debate he contradicted himself and said there was an office but that it was only a sales office.

“Rick Snyder has tried to run from his record of offshoring jobs, but when confronted with it head on in a one-on-one debate, he flat out lied to Michigan voters,” said Mark Brewer, Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party. “The facts are there. Snyder cannot say he had no part in creating jobs in China and worse, making Chinese businesses more competitive against Michigan. He’s proven he’d rather invest in China and Chinese workers than in Michigan workers.”

Discera, a high-tech company Snyder founded and is currently a board director, and which is funded through his venture capital firm, opened a new state-of-the-art facility in China in July 2010. Discera officials have said that through technology sharing and funding researching and development in China, their business is helping Chinese businesses become more technologically advanced. In fact, in a Discera news release announcing the company’s new facility, the company’s own Chief Technology Officer actually said: “Discera is helping Chinese businesses compete and win in the global marketplace.”

In other words, the outsourcer is now not just shipping lower skilled factory jobs off shore, he is outsourcing highly skilled and educated research and development jobs from a state that has some of the best research universities in the world, and from a state trying to ensure those high intelligent and skilled young graduates from the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University stay in Michigan.

Even before the debate, Gubernatorial nominee Virg Bernero was beginning to close what some pundits said was an insurmountable 20 point lead, but the largest independent poll to date has the Mayor of Lansing closing the gap to 12 points. The gap should close after people get wind of the debate and the outsourcer’s bold face lie.

“This is still a competitive situation,” Eric Foster, president of Foster McCollum White and Associates, told the Detroit News.

In fact, it has led the outsourcer to again spend some of his millions on TV ads that created the false image of a “tough nerd.” He has not paid for an ad since the primary election. He also lied, indirectly, on Sunday when he said he had not received any PAC money. That may be technically true, but the Republican Governors Association (RGA) has been spending millions on his behalf on false attack against Bernero.

This is the same RGA that got $1 million from the Faux “news” and from foreign corporations. They have been blackmailing Michigan TV stations into not reveling how much they are spending on ads by refusing to buy ads on their station if they tell the truth.

Editorial board displays hypocrisy over debate

The hypocrisy of the Republican leaning editorial board of the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus is just stunning.

Today’s editorial bemoans the fact that Sunday’s gubernatorial debate where Democratic nominee Virg Bernero scored a decisive victory over Republican candidate Rick “Chief Executive Outsourcer” Snyder suffered from a lack of “substance” and we need more debates with better moderators than rightwing Detroit News Editor Nolan Finley and Detroit Free Press editor Stephen Henderson with better questions, saying:

“…one can only wonder if one or two additional debates would have allowed more depth and more probing questions. As it was, the two moderators asked what appeared to be carefully scripted questions that elicited predictable, unenlightening answers. The follow-up questions that were asked were gentle and seemed designed to show equal treatment rather than forcing each candidate to defend or define his position.”

Of course they were “carefully scripted questions.” They went in prepared, and Henderson even asked a question a reader sent in. That is what debates are all about, and they are also about the two candidates standing side by side answering questions and defending their positions where voters can compare and contrast.

But that’s not where the hypocrisy comes in. Last month when the outsourcer was doing everything possible to duck the debates, continue to hold scripted townhall meetings in front of friendly audiences and let his millions and the millions of PAC money buy 30-second TV ads the paper editorialized that “Debates are of questionable value.”

“Debates are of questionable value?”

The fact is if the conservative mainstream media like this newspaper had held the outsourcer more accountable we would have more than one debate with different formats. Perhaps we would have a real townhall meeting like Bernero suggested in the debate on Sunday where you can ask tough questions.

The hypocrisy is just stunning.

Bernero scores clear victory in the only Gubernatorial debate

Now we know why Rick “The Chief Executive Outsourcer (CEO)” reluctantly agreed to only one debate and at a time when most people are not watching TV.

Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Virg Bernero scored a decisive victory in the only debate Sunday evening; he was clear and articulate in telling voters why he would be the best choice for Governor, and the Outsourcer relied on short, vague answers sprinkled with meaningless corporate buzzwords.

No one, not even the panel of pundits on “Off the Record” following the debate, had any idea what “value-based budgeting” that the Outsourcer continually rambled about really was.

Te fact is that Bernero balanced the budget as the Mayor of Lansing for five straight years with no tax increases, as well as when he was a State Representative and Senator.

Bernero was on the attack, and he was effective; the attacks were effective and factual but not over the top. The most devastating was when Bernero brought up the unreported fact that one of the Outsourcer’s companies, Discera, Inc., was creating jobs in China with a new high-tech facility. These were not just low level and low-skilled manufacturing jobs, but high-skilled R & D jobs being outsourced.

The outsourcer said that was not true. That makes him a liar or so clueless that he has no idea what goes on in his own company. Either way, that makes him unfit for running something as large and widespread as state government. The only thing the Outsourcer is good as it making himself rich, not creating jobs.

When confronted with those facts, the Outsourcer blew it off and made the false claim that his campaign is positive and not negative, and that he is not accepting PAC money. He is, of course, ignoring the fact that the Republican Governors Association (RGA) is hammering Bernero with false attack ads that allows the Outsourcer to keep his hands clean.

One of the most telling questions came when one of the moderators said Detroit Mayor Dave Bing was foregoing his salary as Mayor of Detroit, and asked the Outsourcer if he would forgo his salary as Governor. After hemming and hawing, the answer was a resounding, hell no.

Snyder is worth more than Bing, yet he wants state workers to take a pay cut while he makes not a single sacrifice.

No wonder the Outsourcer only wanted one debate and only plays to friendly audiences at staged townhall meetings.

Plenty of places of to watch the Michigan Gubernatorial debate

Hopefully, Michiganders will take a break from watching “Football Night in America” and MLB Divisional playoffs on Sunday evening to watch the Michigan Gubernatorial debate between Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero and Rick “Chief Executive Outsourcer (CEO)” Snyder.

Unfortunately, this is the only debate, and the Outsourcer has done everything possible to avoid it and make sure that as few people see it as possible.

The hour-long debate will take place at the Detroit-area public television station (PBS) in Wixom at 7 p.m. Sunday, and it is sponsored by the Center for Michigan. Commercial and public television stations around the state will have the opportunity to show the debate live or on tape delay. It also will be available online on the Center for Michigan website.

Make sure you urge friends, relatives and co-workers of all political stripes to watch it. Seeing a side by side comparison between the two candidates will paint a clear picture on how unqualified the Outsourcer is to run state government and his lack of a plan to move Michigan forward.

Many people are sponsoring debate watching parties, and here are a few:

The Livingston County Democratic Party is sponsoring a party at Memories Lounge & Restaurant, 1840 S Old US Highway in Brighton Township. I watched the Presidential debate there, and you can order their excellent food off the menu and watch Virg destroy the Outsourcer.

The Monroe County Democratic Party is hosting a party with pizza and “pop” at the Monroe Coordinated Campaign Headquarters, 920 S. Telegraph Rd. It’s in the strip mall across from Great Lakes Skateway.

North Oakland Organizing for America is hosting a party at the Crofoot Ballroom, 1 Saginaw St. in Pontiac. Before the event, there be canvassing and phone banking for GOTV. Call Melissa at (586) 764-3344 for details.

The Macomb County Democratic Party is hosting a party beginning at 6:30 p.m. at J. Baldwin's Restaurant, 16981 18 Mile Rd in Clinton Township. Light Refreshments will be served.

The Oakland Democrats are hosting a party beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Woodward Avenue Brewery, 22646 Woodward in Ferndale. Light Refreshments will be served. For more information, Please call (586) 576-1636.

I’m sure there are many more, and I’m sure there will also be plenty of house parties. Please ad yours. If you decided to stay home, make sure you watch it with as many people as possible. Add it even if it’s a party sponsored by the local Republican Party; I most definitely want Republicans to see this debate.

Snyder makes more money while killing more jobs

The Nov. 2 election can’t come quick enough for Rick “Chief Executive Outsourcer (CEO)” Snyder.

He has been busy ducking debates, holding townhall meetings in front of friendly audiences and doing everything possible to let the 30-seciond TV commercials he spent millions on to create this false image of him to do his talking for him. To put it in sports terms, he is doing his best to run the clock out and maintain his lead as more and more evidence that paints a true picture of him trickles out.

The latest comes from his very friendly hometown “newspaper” Ann Arbotr.com. In this story, we have another example of the CEO getting richer while killing more jobs.

Snyder has cited Pittsfield Township-based HandyLab as an example of how he is a “job creator,” but on Thursday HandyLab announced it will be closing its Pittsfield Township office and moving to Maryland. “Ann Arbor venture capitalist Rick Snyder was chairman of HandyLab when the company was sold to BD” for $275 million to $300 million in October of last year.

“It’s the same old story with Rick Snyder,” said Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer “He ran Gateway into the ground before selling it to the Chinese, and now he makes money selling HandyLab and then it closes and lays off Michigan workers. Snyder’s businesses have a history of making money for Snyder, laying off workers, closing their doors, and leaving Michigan. It’s déjà vu all over again.”

Since the outsourcer stopped spending his millions on 30-second TV ads after the primary election that painted this warm, fuzzy but false image of him as a lovable but tough nerd, the foreign-financed Republican Governors Association (RGA) has been running disgusting, false attack ads against his opponent, Gubernatorial nominee and Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero, on his behalf.

The outsourcer claims he supports transparency, but he refuses to ask the RGA to release information on how much money it’s spending on the ad buys and stop bullying TV stations. The RGA is refusing to buy ads at any TV station that gives that info out, causing them to lose millions of dollars in ad revenue.

As the election inches closer, more negative stuff continues to leak out about the outsourcer, such as two of his companies have tax liens against them. However, the biggest strike against him has always been his record at Gateway computers.

While Snyder was an official at Gateway Computers, the company outsourced nearly 20,000 American jobs to China and other parts of Asia. But Snyder took good care of himself at the same time - cashing-out tens of millions of dollars in stock options while the lives of thousands were ruined.

While he served on the board of directors Snyder was sued in 2000 along with two other Gateway executives. The issue was that Snyder cashed in on 355,000 stock options worth $23.7 million at a time that executives admitted they misrepresented the company’s financial outlook.

“Rick is trying to paint himself as a job creator when, in fact, he’s a jobs killer,” Brewer said. “Everything he touches he makes money while everyone else suffers. Those aren’t the qualities Michigan voters are looking for in their next governor.”

The only question is can the outsourcer hid the truth about him from the voters before Election Day, and people that a man who can’t even name the Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court is going to run state government.

If his past record hold’s true, he will pocket a ton of cash after two years and bail.

Snyder supports transparency unless if effects him

Despite the con Rick “Chief Executive Outsourcer” Snyder” has spent millions of dollars he earned outsourcing American jobs putting over on Michigan voters that has is not a career politician or he is not practicing politics as usual, the flap over the attacks on his behalf by the Republican Governors Association (RGA) proves otherwise.

The RGA - which has received a $1millon donation from that News Corp., which owns Faux “News” and millions of foreign money from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – has been running false attack ads against Democratic Gubernatorial nominee Virg Bernero, allowing the outsourcer to keep his hands clean and claim he is above the fray and save his campaign cash. In fact, the Outsourcer has not paid for a single commercial since the primary election.

Earlier this week Rich Robinson, the director of the non-profit Michigan Campaign Finance Network, uncovered information that the RGA has been "bullying" Michigan television stations into not revealing to the public the size of their substantial ad buys. The one TV station that did stand up to them and released the info to Robinson was cut off from the millions in ads money for doing so.

In a story in today’s edition of Gongwer, Snyder claims that “he cannot stop the Republican Governors Association's efforts to push Michigan television stations not to release information about the size of the organization's ad buys, yet in the same breath he claims he supports transparency.

“I'm always in favor of more transparency and disclosure," the Outsourcer told Gongwer. What he really means is he is in favor of more transparency and disclosure unless it affects him.

Is that the height of hypocrisy?

You will recall that the Outsourcer chickened out of the Republican debates during the primary after he was criticized by fellow Republican Gubernatorial candidate Mike Cox on his record of outsourcing jobs while at Gateway. Because he had no defense for that, he ducked out of the remaining debates and instead held staged townhall meetings in front of friendly crowds, using the lame and false excuse that he is “above the fray of politics as usual.”

He is using the same tactic in the General election, and he is only allowing one single debate with Bernero next Sunday, between NFL Football and the Major League Baseball playoffs. He is also trying to limit the audience as well as only allowing one debate.

It’s politics as usual with the Outsourcer, and he has proven that he is not capable of running anything.

Republican PAC attacking Bernero is bullying TV stations into silence

Rich Robinson, the director of the non-profit Michigan Campaign Finance Network, says the Republican Governors Association (RGA) has been "bullying" Michigan television stations into not revealing to the public the size of their substantial ad buys, according to a story in subscription only MIRS.

The RGA has been doing the dirty work for Rick “Chief Executive Outsourcer” Snyder” by running baseless attack ads against Democratic Gubernatorial nominee Virg Bernero. This allows the Outsourcer to not only keep his millions, but more importantly, it allows him to keep up the lie that his candidacy is not politics as usual and keeps his hands clean.

The current ad the RGA is running almost non-stop is a cheap knockoff of the well known MasterCard "Priceless" ads, but the problem is MIRS already debunked it.

News Corp., which owns Faux “News, recently gave the Republican Governors Association (RGA) $1 million to run these attack ads. Not only that, the RGA has spent more money in Michigan than any other PAC in 2010, with $4 million raised.

Robinson, who routinely compiles how much money is spent on TV ads, said the RGA does not want stations to let the public know how much they are spending, and they are punishing those that dare to be transparent. Surprisingly, Robinson said the Michigan campaign finance laws do not require that TV and radio stations make the ad buys public. However, that’s not the case at the federal level.

"They (RGA) are really trying to control the dimensions of the screen," Robinson told MIRS. "A lot of (the TV stations) are caving in. The one exception I've noticed is WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids. WOOD wouldn't take their money. But others have caved. It pits the public's right to know against the station's responsibilities to its stockholders."

Just one more reason not to trust the Outsourcer.

Snyder’s tax problem is just another example of how unsuited he is to lead

The news that two of Rick “Chief Executive Outsourcer (CEO)” Snyder’s companies were hit with tax liens for unpaid taxes is old news, but it illustrates a pattern on how really unfit this guy is to run state government.

By now Snyder’s mouthpiece has spun the tax liens as an oversight, but it’s just one more example how clueless he really is. He is great at making himself rich but not much else. We saw the fiasco at the GOP state convention, and if he can’t run that, how can he run state government?

Government and a for-profit, private company are different. You can’t outsource state employees like he did at Gateway to line your pockets. The outsourcer made a cool $23.7 million when he left Gateway Computers after he shipped 20,000 American jobs to China and other parts of Asia. The more American jobs he killed, the more money he got.

He is afraid to debate because his ideas simply don’t stand up to scrutiny. He associates himself with people like draft-dodger and a philanderer Ted Nugent. He claims the Michigan Business Tax (MBT) and the 22 percent surcharge passed back in 2007 that replaced the hated Single Business Tax (SBT) is “a job killer,” saying that the creation of the 2007 tax is “like Lansing went to the video store and rented ‘Dumb and Dumber,” but he chooses the person who wrote it as his running mate.

His lack of judgment and how clueless he is about government is stunning. But I fear it may not matter, and the millions he spent on 30-secodn ads to build a false image are what may matter most.

A perfect illustration of this is teabagger U.S. Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell. This is a woman with a sketchy employment history who has lied about her education, defaulted on her student loan and her mortgage, sued a former employer for mental anguish, railed against the evils of masturbation, spent campaign cash on living expenses, says she dabbled in witchcraft and questioned whether it would have been OK to lie to prevent Nazis from killing Jews during World War II. Despite that impressive resume, teabggers say they will vote for her anyway because they say she will vote their way.

Character simply does not matter anymore to Republicans.

However, the choice for Michigan Governor next month is very clear: Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero.

“Chief Executive Outsourcer” Snyder’s hypocrisy is business as usual

I hope no Michigan voters are buying the BS that Rick “Chief Executive Outsourcer” Snyder is “above the fray” or a different kind of politician who doesn’t believe in attack ads.

The Republican Governors Association (RGA) – the same RGA that News Corp., which owns Faux “News,” gave $1 million - has been running attack ads against Democratic Gubernatorial nominee Virg Bernero on the outsourcer’s behalf to keep his hands clean. The third one is a cheap knockoff of the well known MasterCard "Priceless" ads.

Apparently, the RGA and the outsourcer are trying to paint Bernero as a dreaded “career politician,” and it also tried to slam Bernero for wasting Lansing – where he is the Mayor – tax dollars by – get this - spending money on food, pencils and an office aquarium. The ad, of course, has no information on where it got that info. It should have.

Subscription only MIRS that covers the Capitol had a story yesterday that illustrated how stupid the ad really is.

It turns out that “MIRS has learned the fish tank was put in by former Lansing Mayor David Hollister, and, according to a City Hall source, is one of the most popular stops for school kids on their City Hall field trip.”

“The pencils were part of a joint effort with the Lansing school district to promote recycling and provide a small school supply to Lansing school kids. The pencils were green and encouraged kids to recycle.”

The fact is Bernero cut government 20 percent, cut the mayor's office budget every year, cut his own pay and health care and gave up a city car to cut expenses when things got tough, and he never raised taxes.

When times got tough at Gateway, the outsourcer cut 20,000 jobs and pocketed a cool $14 million for doing it.

Don’t believe the crap about no more “business as usual,” and stop letting Snyder use that lame excuse to duck debates.

Check out the Great Debates for the rare opportunity to see Republicans debate

In my opinion, there is perhaps no better way for voters to get the true measure of a political candidate and see if their views and positions can stand up to scrutiny than a political debate, so that’s’ why I’m happy to see that the Center for Michigan and Detroit Public TV are again teaming up to televise debates between state House and Senate candidates.

The Great Debates are 30-minute debates scheduled between August and October. All debates will be taped in studio without a studio audience, and they will be moderated by professional journalists. Public television stations throughout Michigan will broadcast the Great Debates, and they will also be available online and at MiVote.org.

It’s very telling that Republicans are afraid to debate, and that’s because they know their positions can’t stand up to any kind of scrutiny. It starts at the top of the ticket where Rick “Chief Executive Outsourcer” Snyder only agreed to a single debate with Democratic Gubernatorial nominee Virg Bernero after constant public pressure to do so.

Secretary of State Candidate Jocelyn Benson has challenged her opponent to debate - who has ran for just about every political office in the state and therefore an experienced debated - but her opponent continues to duck and stall. The only statewide candidates to debate were the Attorney General candidates, and Democratic Attorney General nominee David Leyton had to fend off constant personal attacks from his opponent on a debate on WKAR’s “Off the Record” show.

Leyton is the Genesee County Prosecutor, and he has tried hundreds of criminal cases with a more than 90 percent convention rate. His opponents exploited two families who had loved ones murdered in an attempt to smear Leyton. This from a man who has never stepped foot into a criminal courtroom.

People grieving are usually angry, and want to blame someone for the senseless murder of their loved ones getting a lesser sentence or an imagined possible accomplice getting away. Unfortunately, a Prosecutor has to go on the evidence the police give them.

In most cases we get bluster from a Republican challenging their opponent to a debate, and once it is accepted they do everything in their power to get out of it. We saw this when the Chief Outsourcer challenged his opponent to a series of debates, and as soon as Mayor Bernero accepted the CEO tried to weasel out. Other Republicans are taking up that tactic.

For an example, we have the case of Rob Steele, the teabagger Republican Congressional candidate for the 15th District, who is set to be the latest person to be defeated by the dean of the U.S. House, Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn.

After whining that Dingell will not debate him, it turns out its Steele who is afraid to debate and is ducking. Dingell sent a letter to Steele right after he won the August primary election congratulating him and asking for debates, but all Steele did was lie and cry that Dingell was avoiding him. After a month of blustering from Steele, Dingell finally sent a letter earlier this month asking that Steele commit to as many debates as possible, and Dingell says he looks forward to appearing at voters forums put on by various groups like the AARP and others. Dingell has already accepted an invitation from Monroe Community College to debate.

No word from the usually loud and obnoxious Steele crowd.

The Outsourcer breaks down and will give voters one debate

It appears public pressure helped Rick “Chief Executive Outsourcer” Snyder get over his cowardice and radio Station WWJ is reporting that he has agreed to one debate with Democratic Gubernatorial nominee Virg Bernero.

According to WWJ, “the debate will take place at the Detroit public television station in Wixom and be sponsored by the Center for Michigan. It will be available to be shown live on commercial and public television stations around the state and be available online. It’s not clear if the debate will take place in prime time or during the day like Snyder wanted in order to limit how many people actually see it.

Bernero wanted eight, but Snyder agreed to three before he started looking for excuses to back completely out.

UPDATE: Subscription only Gongwer is reporting that the debate will take place at 7 p.m. the panelists asking the questions will be from The Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press.

The Chief Outsourcer breaks another promise and still ducking debates

It appears a promise by Rick “Chief Executive Outsourcer” Snyder is as good as a promise of job security at Gateway Computers.

Snyder told Democratic Gubernatorial nominee Virg Bernero to his face and in front of about 100 handpicked Snyder supporters at a “townhall meeting last week that he would sit down with Bernero to come to an agreement on debates. Another broken promise from Snyder, and we are still waiting for that to happen.

How long are the public and the conservative media going to let him chicken out and duck the debates? At least some in the conservative media and fellow Republicans are beginning to notice what a coward Snyder is.

In an editorial in the Detroit Free Press on Monday, they called for an “independent, nonpartisan debate commission -- made up of public interest groups, media organizations from around the state” as well as maybe even party representatives to handle the debates, much like how the Presidential debates are done, or the debate commission in Indiana.

“Debates are critical to voter education and civic engagement in a democracy, the Free Press said. “That dates to the Greeks, and has its own rich history in this nation.”

Former conservative Republican State Representative Larry Julian sponsored a bill back in 2003 that would have mandated that any candidate who accepted public funding should participate in at least one public debate.

House Bill 4290 was co-sponsored by some of the more conservative House members, like
Tom Casperson and Jack Brandenburg. It passed the Republican controlled House, but, like most good legislation, it died in the GOP controlled Senate.

Julian told subscription only MIRS that he stands by the legislation today.

“They asked me, 'Why do we need this.' Now we see that we still need it," Julian said in MIRS. “Now somebody is going to have introduce it again because next time this happens someone is going to wish we had."

Julian, predictably, stopped short of condemning Snyder’s cowardice, but he left no doubt that the Chief Outsourcer should debate.

“The issue isn't getting people to vote. It's getting people informed so they can vote," Julian said in MIRS.

The problem is Snyder doesn’t want informed voters.

Newspaper that sponsors political debates says they are useless

The Republican editorial board of the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus is twisting itself into pretzels in it’s ongoing battle to bash Democratic candidates and promote Republican candidates.

In today’s edition it editorialized that it’s OK for Republican Gubernatorial candidate Rick “Chief Executive Outsourcer” Snyder to continue to duck debates with Democratic nominee Virg Bernero because “Debates are of questionable value.”

Say what?

Is this the same newspaper that sponsores and moderates local debates? Is this the same newspaper that sponsored and moderated a debate between the Republican candidates for the 22nd State Senate seat in July? Why, yes it is. So I guess the paper will no longer sponsor those useless debates where a candidate has to defend his positions, record and actions in front of a neutral audience.

It’s just astonishing what this Republican editorial board will do to promote Republican candidates. Liberal media my butt.

Of course this bastion of the “liberal media” uses the editorial to take its standard cheap shots at Gov. Jennifer Granholm, saying “Voters are likely looking for a change after eight years of an ineffective Democrat in the governor's office,” and ending with this gem:

“Granholm likely would have won the election anyway, but as a challenger, DeVos lost any chance he had to gain ground. So for the next four years, we got the better debater.
But did we get a better governor?”

The answer is yes. Perhaps the newspaper missed the Bush recession, the worst since the Great Depression that led to two of Michigan’s largest employers going into bankruptcy? Perhaps they missed this report that Michigan is leading the nation in job growth, with a gain of 27,800 jobs in July or that every single Michigan governor has tried to diversify the states’ economy away from just auto manufacturing so we don’t feel every economic downturn so hard, but only Granholm has managed to do that?

But back to the debates. The good news is that Detroit TV station WXYZ YV 7 cares more about informing voters then the newspaper does, and they are going to broadcast a 'live' debate on Tuesday, October 21, from 8:00 - 9:00 pm whether the wimp shows up or not.

But the biggest news is that Bernero showed up at one of the wimp’s invitation only townhall meetings held at country clubs, this one held at the Hawthorne Country Club in Westland on Monday with the hope of persuading him to hold the three televised debates the wimp chickened out of. Apparently, Bernero shamed Snyder into meeting “with him personally over coffee to hammer out a gentlemen’s agreement on debates,” according to the Detroit Free Press.

Is this another way to weasel out of debates or is this how the outsourcer will run state government?

We already had a glimpse of how Rick “Chief Executive Outsourcer” Snyder will run state government if he is elected with the disaster that was the Michigan Republican State Convention, and now how he is handling debate negotiations is another glimpse.

Subscription only Gongewer is reporting that he broke off negotiations on Friday, and it appears there will be no gubernatorial debates. It appear the only question is was this another one of Snyder’s attempts to duck debates like he has since the Republican primary, or another example of how he thinks he can dictate to people and not negotiate.

On Friday Snyder's debate negotiator sent a final proposal to the campaign of Democratic Gubernatorial nominee Virg Bernero to be accepted by 4 p.m. That “proposal” called for three televised debates, “one live September 19 or 24 on Michigan Public Television, one live October 1 in northern Michigan to be broadcast on the state's CBS affiliates and a third debate at the Detroit Economic Club that would be rebroadcast on tape delay that evening on the state's NBC affiliates.” Granted, he wants to limit the amount of people who want to see it because he doesn’t want voters to see how little he knows about state government and that he has no plan for Michigan, but the real problem was that he, and only he, tried to pick the journalists who would moderate the debate.

The Bernero campaign, who already accepted three debates last month and wants more, made a counter offer right before the deadline. He wanted the Detroit Economic Club debate broadcast live in the evening and it wanted to negotiate the moderators of the debates. That seems pretty reasonable; simply a compromise on who will moderate the debate instead of allowing the outsourcer to pick friendly, Republican panelists and allowing more people to see the debates sounds pretty reasonable.

Not to the CEO, and it gave him the excuse he was looking for to chicken out.

“We consider Snyder's approach to be in bad faith and a deliberate attempt to completely kill the debates," said Mark Fox, the Bernero campaign's debate negotiator, in Gongwer. "It seems more than obvious that Snyder, understandably wants to severely limit the audience, handpick the panelists, and schedule these events as far in advance of the election as possible.”

If the chief outsourcer thinks he can dictate to the Legislature what he wants, and if he doesn’t get what he wants then he takes his ball and goes home then he knows less about state government than I thought. You can’t fire an independent branch of government like you can employees in a private company simply because they refuse to carry out your plan. You have to negotiate with them; something the outsourcer appear incapable of doing.

Or is this just another way for the CEO to chicken out of the debates so Michigan voters will not get the opportunity to learn what he is really like.

Maybe the outsourcer should turn down this endorsement

So much for family values. rightwing extremist ex-rocker Ted Nugent has penned an OP-ED supporting Republican Gubernatorial nominee Rick “Chief Executive Outsourcer (CEO)” Snyder.

Nugent said he returned to his “spiritual home base of Michigan last weekend,” and he decided to pen an OP-Ed. I’m absolutely amazed that anyone would give him such a platform. I know people who must move out of Michigan, temporarily, to find a job when the economy goes bad and the auto industry lays workers off, but I have no respect for a guy who leaves for Texas for no reason I can figure. But he had this to say about CEO Rick.

“Though I am no longer an official resident of Michigan, I still made it a point to track down and speak with Rick Snyder, the Republican candidate for governor. I was already impressed with his entrepreneurial successes and management skills, but came away from our conversation even more hopeful that this astute, pragmatic businessman could bring Michigan back from the brink.”

Nugent endorsed the Outsourcer’s opponent, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard, in the primary, but I guess he has a new hunting buddy.

I am also appalled why anyone would even want to be endorsed by a scumbag like Nugent, let alone by a party that constantly claims to be the party of family values. Who would want to associate with a draft-dodger and a philanderer? This is a man who could have faced statuary rape charges for sleeping with his 17-year-old Hawaiian girlfriend Pele Massa, so he talked her parents into allowing him to adopt her. Doesn’t the CEO have a couple of teenage daughters?

But, the fact is Republicans have a hard time finding celebrities who support Republicans.

But here is another ridiculous statement from the Motor City insane man, “After all, accountable government should reflect accountable business.”

That begs the question, when is the conservative, corporate media going to hold the chief outsourcer accountable? They have not asked him any hard questions, and we don’t know much about this guy, other than his record of destroying U.S. jobs for personal gain, and we know nothing of this alleged plan to “reinvent Michigan.” There are only 53 days before the election, and he ahs not accepted a single challenge to debate.

Instead of debating Virg Bernero, he holds townhall meetings in front of friendly, hand-picked audiences where he doesn’t face any tough questions, and the media lets him get away with it, like they did when he ducked debates in the Republican primary.

Support the Democratic ticket

The stakes are high for the election in November, and the choice appears to be to continue to climb out of the Bush recession, or to go back to the failed Republican Bush polices that created the worst recession since the Great Depression, and the Livingston County Democratic Party is gearing up for the election with a couple of events.

Livingston County Democrats will kick off their 2010 campaign on behalf of Democratic gubernatorial nominee Virg Bernero on Saturday, Sept. 18, with an organizational meeting for volunteers. Farhan Bhatti, deputy campaign manager with the Bernero for Governor Campaign, will conduct training for volunteers beginning at 10 a.m. at Livingston County Democratic Party headquarters, 10321 Grand River Ave., Suite 600, in Brighton.

“Anyone who wants to see Michigan work again is invited to come and learn how they can be part of the team for Virg Bernero,” said Judy Daubenmier, chair of the Livingston County Democrats. “As Lansing mayor, Virg has shown that he understands what needs to be done to put people back to work in Michigan.”

No past political experience is necessary. The training will provide all the information volunteers will need to be able to work effectively for Bernero and his running mate, Southfield Mayor Brenda Lawrence. Coffee, tea, and bagels will be provided.

As mayor of Lansing, Bernero attracted more than a half a billion dollars in new, private investment to the city, which retained and created more than 6,000 full-time jobs. He erased more than $40 million in city budget deficits without raising taxes or laying off any workers. Bernero shared in the sacrifice, cutting his own pay and benefits.

The party is also hosting a fundraiser called “Campaign Countdown 2010.” The event is set for 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 24, at Barnstormers Banquet Center, 9411 E M-36, Whitmore Lake. We need to will make sure our candidates have the resources to compete down the stretch with the deep pockets of the Republican Gubernatorial nominee, made from shipping jobs overseas. Suggested donation is just $25 per person and includes appetizers and a cash bar. Sign up now via Paypal.

Invited guests include U.S. Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, Gubernatorial nominee Virg Bernero, his running mate Brenda Lawrence, Attorney General nominee David Leyton, Secretary of State nominee Jocelyn Benson, 8th Congressional District nominee Lance Enderle, Michigan Supreme Court nominee Denise Langford Morris and Supreme Court Justice Alton Davis. Additionally, all the local candidates will be there, too.

So sign up today by Paypal or send a check made out to Livingston County Democrats to 10321 Grand River Road, Suite 600, Brighton, MI 48116.