Sleazy and false attack on Leyton results in death threat

We know Republicans have no shame and that there is nothing the Republicans won’t say or no one they won’t exploit to regain and keep power, and the latest illustration is the shameful attacks on Democratic Attorney General Candidate David Leyton.
They exploited Debbie McIntosh, whose son was murdered, to falsely attack Leyton, the Genesee County Prosecutor. Then McIntosh launched an anti-Semitic tirade against Leyton, who is Jewish, on the Flint Journal’s comments section. After that, you would think the Republicans would pull the TV ad - featuring McIntosh holding a photo of her son and calling Leyton a liar - and apologize to Leyton.

If you thought that then you don’t know Republicans. Instead, they blamed Leyton for the tirade against him. In fact, the reaction of Republicans was downright bizarre.

The Republican AG nominee’s mouthpiece, the former chair of the Michigan Republican Party (MRP) Rusty Hills, claimed the McIntosh family was victimized a second time even though it was the Republicans that shamelessly exploited her grief and anger.

“If David Leyton would put as much effort into fighting crime in Flint as he does to attacking the mother of a murdered child, it would be much more productive," Hills said. "As a former member of congress, Bill Schuette has always been a strong supporter of the special relationship between the Unites States of America and the State of Israel."

Unbelievable. I have no idea what Israel had to do with anything.

The current MRP mouthpiece, Jennifer Hoff, who has a history of bizarre comments, did not disappoint.

“It is sad and sleazy, but predictable, that the Leyton campaign continues to attack a victim's mother in this way," Hoff said. “Mr. Leyton should apologize to Mrs. McIntosh for such awful accusations. The Chairman of the Michigan Republican Party is Jewish."

“The Chairman of the Michigan Republican Party is Jewish?” what, exactly, does that mean?

But the story does not end there. Schuette’s dirty campaign tactics using McIntosh have resulted in a very serious death threat against Leyton. According to subscription only MIRS on Tuesday, Leyton received a call from a male-sounding voice on the voice mail at his Genesee County Prosecutor's Office using the number listed in the attack ad.

MIRS reported the man as saying: “Hey, David Leyton, I’m a Michigan resident. I think you’re a piece of (expletive) dirt. I hope you get murdered in a spectacularly horrible way that (expletive) makes your family (expletive) wish people didn’t exist. People like you. Because you’re a piece of (expletive) dirt. And If I ever (expletive) see you driving or walking, maybe I’ll (expletive) swerve your way and maybe I’ll (expletive) run you over. Because you’re a piece of (expletive) dirt. (Expletive).”

MIRS said the police know who the man is, and that he “has a criminal record, and will be handled within the jurisdiction of Oakland County.” The reason foe the threat had to be the attack ad because Leyton is the Prosecutor in Genesee County, not Oakland.

Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer is calling on Schuette and the Michigan Republican Party to pull the ad featuring McIntosh from the airwaves before tragedy strikes.

“The death threat against David Leyton is the result of the hate-filled campaign that Bill Schuette and the Republicans are running,” Brewer said. “Bill Schuette is running a false attack ad against David Leyton, which he knows to be untrue. It’s outrageous that Bill Schuette and the Republicans would continue running this dangerous ad, considering the woman in the ad, Deb McIntosh, is being motivated by her dislike of the Jewish people, gays and lesbians. Anti-Semitism and homophobia are bad enough — now there are people out there threatening to kill David Leyton, all thanks to Bill Schuette and the Michigan Republican Party.”

Somehow, I doubt that will happen.

UPDATE: When you hear the actual audio of the threat, it’s even worse. The Two Guys Named Joe played it on their Oct. 21 podcast, and it’s disgusting. Like they say, clear the kids from the room before you play it.

The next Michigan AG will pay a visit to Livingston County

The next Michigan Attorney General, Richard Bernstein, will pay a visit to Livingston County on Thursday, Feb. 25.

Bernstein, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for Attorney General, and Dennis Denno, who is seeking one of two Democratic nominations for Michigan State University board of trustees, both will speak at 7 p.m. Thursday at the monthly meeting of the Livingston County Democratic Party executive committee. The meeting is open to all.

Bernstein, an attorney with the Sam Bernstein Law Firm in Farmington Hills, is chair of the Wayne State University board of governors. His practice focuses on complicated issues of public policy, often fighting for the rights of the underrepresented.

Denno is chief of staff for Michigan Senate Democratic Floor Leader Buzz Thomas, D-Detroit. He has been active in Democratic politics and various Arab-American causes his entire adult life. Denno has a bachelor's degree from Michigan State and is a lifetime member of the Michigan State Alumni Association.

Nominations for Attorney General, Secretary of State, and the university boards will be voted on at the Michigan Democratic Party's August convention. The party, however, will endorse candidates for secretary of state and attorney general at an April 17 endorsement convention. The meeting will take place at the party headquarters, 10321 East Grand River Ave. Suite 600 in the Fonda Office Park, 48116.

Whitmer drops out of the race for Michigan Attorney General

LANSING – In a surprising move today, State Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, announced she is dropping out of the race for Michigan Attorney General, citing family.

Here is the statement she released shortly after the Senate session.

”My unwavering commitment to public service and the people of Michigan led me to seek the Democratic nomination for Attorney General. As I have traveled our state, it has become clear to me that this rigorous campaign schedule and pursuit cannot continue if I am to be the best mother I can to my six and seven year old daughters. At this critical time in their lives, my girls need their mom to be there to pick them up from school, read to them at bedtime, and help them with homework. It is with this in mind, I have decided to withdraw my name from consideration for the Office of Attorney General.

This decision has not come easily. We have energized a great number of people across Michigan who are looking for new, trusted leadership that will help build a stronger and safer future. In just three months, our campaign raised over $200,000 and secured the endorsement of over a hundred current and former public servants and dozens of important activists across the state. I am extremely grateful to everyone who has supported and contributed to our campaign, and have no doubt that together we would have been successful in our effort.

We deserve leaders who will put people first. I remain committed to fixing what's broken in state government and standing up for the citizens of Michigan. My pursuit of doing so as Michigan's next Attorney General may be ending, but my fight to protect consumers, reform government, and keep our families safe continues."

Whitmer and House Democrats push for restoring consumer protection

LANSING – Michigan consumers could again enjoy some basic protections from predatory businesses that it once enjoyed a decade ago.

The House Democrats introduced legislation last week that would amend the Michigan Consumer Protection Act to restore its original intent to protect Michigan consumers and properly hold deceitful businesses accountable for their practices. A 1999 Supreme Court ruling from the GOP-controlled court essentially gutted the law, and since then Michigan has been a buyer beware state. The original Michigan Consumer Protection Act was approved with bipartisan support in 1976, making it a leader in consumer protection.

Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, has been a long-time proponent of consumer protection, and she joined House Democrats at their press conference in support of the legislation. She sponsored the same measure in the Senate, Senate Bill 573, but it has been stalled in the Senate for some time. She is hoping the House action will get the ball rolling and break the log jam like it did for the workplace smoking ban.

Whitmer said with the economy as it is, it is important to protect residents' pocketbooks with these common sense reforms.

“During these difficult times the last thing Michigan consumers need is to be taken advantage of by a dishonest business,” she said. “It’s time that we stand up for our citizens and reject the Supreme Court’s partisan rulings that allow companies to rip off the hardworking people and honest businesses of this state.”

Michigan was once a leader in consumer protection, and the plan would simply restore the Michigan Consumer Protection Act to what is was 33 years ago. It would apply to all businesses and industries it originally covered – giving consumers and authority’s ways to hold companies that commit fraud accountable. It would also require companies that engage in dishonest business practices to pay back money to consumers and face stiff fines of up to $25,000 for fraudulent practices.

Obviously, the Republicans objected, and they went so far as to accuse Whitmer of campaigning for Michigan Attorney General by appearing at the press conference. Whitmer announced earlier this month that she is seeking the Democratic nomination for AG, but she introduced SB 573 back in May.

“We believe it's really not appropriate for her to be trying to run her attorney general campaign from the Senate floor," said John Truscott, spokesperson for Mr. Bishop's attorney general campaign, in subscription only Gongwer. "Senator Bishop will not be bullied into taking up legislation that is basically a full employment act for trial lawyers."

Truscott, the former mouthpiece for former Gov. John Engler and the Bush/Cheney campaign in Michigan, trotted out the standard GOP excuse for stalling bills that do not benefit corporations: “There are far more important issues the Legislature is dealing with," he said.

But a former GOP candidate for AG and a member of the Senate Republican caucus went to Whitmer’s defense.

“Everything Mike Bishop has done is through the prism of running for Attorney General," said Sen. Bruce Patterson, R-Canton, in subscription only MIRS. "I actually think that consumer protection is an important concept."

A love of the law and public service leads Whitmer to run for AG

LANSING – State Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, has stood up for consumers and the vulnerable in the Senate, and now she wants to use the power of the law to stand up for those taken advantage of as she stumps for the nomination for Michigan Attorney General.

She is making the rounds of the grassroots party organization because the nomination is made at the Democratic Party convention, and she spoke at the quarterly meeting of the 8th Congressional Democratic District Committee earlier this week. The AG office has been in Democratic hands from 1961 until 2002, and over the years it has built up perhaps the best consumer protection record in the country. But that changed with the election of Republican Mike Cox.

Whitmer - who considers former AG Frank Kelley who held the post for 37 years a mentor and friend- wants to change that.

“After seven years of Mike Cox, we need to take it back and we need change,” she said. “The Attorney General is the people’s lawyer, and that’s how I see it.”

Cox has gutted consumer protection, and he has also quietly eliminated the hate crimes division.

The state’s economy has taken a beating as the auto industry almost went into bankruptcy, and Whitmer said she wants to take on the greedy special interest that try to profit off the economic crisis.

“People need to feel inspired and hopeful, and as we go into 2010, we need to focus on the future,” she said. “The challenges our state has faced have been big, and that’s an understatement; we need leaders that are independent and not controlled by special interests.”

Whitmer has been in the Legislature for the past 10 years, and she is a leading advocate for empowering consumers. She most recently fought to enact legislation cracking down on massive predatory mortgage lending scams, and is now working to outlaw those who want to exploit victims of foreclosure through fraudulent “rescue” services.

She has also fought to ensure citizens; are safe, and for that effort she was recognized in 2003 as the “Legislator of the Year” by the Michigan Sheriff’s Association.

She has introduced legislation that would end immunity for drug companies if their drugs kill or maim the people who take them, and it would repel the current ban enacted in 1996 designed to shield huge pharmaceutical companies from any responsibility. Michigan is the only state in the nation with that kind of drug shield law.

“We don’t have the right to sue like people in the 49 states,” Whitmer said. “We have Bill Schulte (One of the GOP candidates for AG) to thank for that.”

Whitmer earned her law degree from Michigan State University, and she worked in private practice until she joined Dickinson Wright, one of Michigan’s oldest and most respected law firms, as a corporate litigator. She specialized in regulatory and administrative law, arguing in both Circuit Court and before the Michigan Public Service Commission.

She has always had a love fort he law and public service because of her parents. Her father is an attorney and her mother was an assistant Attorney General for many years.

Whitmer said it was a case she worked on at Dickinson Wright that made her realize she was doing the wrong thing with her law degree, and it led her to give up the large paycheck she was earning for public service. She said an elderly couple was fighting a $40 overcharge they received on a utility bill; only she was working for the utility company.

“I realized as I was writing a brief; I went to law school to help people out, not to squash them,” she said.

Whitmer has been traveling around the state seeking grassroots support. In fact, she will be at the Livingston County Democratic Party’s holiday party this Saturday Dec. 5 at 4 p.m.

Her campaign is gaining steam, and she expects a new web site to go up soon and to open a campaign office. She has also hired Mark Burton as her campaign manger. He was the successful campaign director for the Michigan Stem Cell Ballot Question Committee last year, and he has worked on many other successful campaigns.

To volunteer for the campaign call (517) 372-5454 or email info@GretchenWhitmer.com.

McCain campaigning hard for Michigan Presidential Primary

Republican Presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., will maintain a solid presence in Michigan leading up to the Jan. 15 Michigan Presidential Primary.

Cindy Pine, the Hamburg Township Supervisor and the former chair of the Livingston County Republican Party, said McCain’s “Straight Talk Express” will land at 2 p.m. Jan. 13 at the Crystal Gardens Banquet Center, 5768 E. Grand River Ave., in Livingston County’s Genoa Township for a town hall meeting that’s free and open to the public.

McCain is coming off of a respectable fourth place finish in the Iowa caucuses with 13 percent of the vote, and many pundits are calling it a victory for McCain. McCain spent very little time or money in Iowa, instead focusing on the New Hampshire primary set for Tuesday. The surprise win by Mike Huckabee over Mitt Romney- the son of former Michigan Gov. George Romney - in the Iowa caucuses may be a good thing for McCain, who decided several months ago to stake his entire campaign on New Hampshire, where he is ahead of Romney in the polls.

It was not too long ago that McCain was falling like a rock in the polls, and supporters were jumping off the Straight Talk Express like rats from a sinking ship. We have seen that scenarios play out right here in Michigan, which may make McCain’s Michigan visits interesting.

Here in Livingston County, Rep. Chris Ward, R-Brighton, was named as one of four state representatives from Michigan to serve as legislative co-chairs of the McCain campaign way back in September of 2006, and Ward was also named co-chair of the Straight Talk America Michigan Legislative Advisory Team. But Ward announced in June of last year he was backing off of his previous endorsement of McCain for the Republican Presidential nomination and switching his allegiance to former actor and lobbyist Fred Thompson; before Thompson was even running.

In September Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox announced he was resigning his post as Michigan chairman of McCain's presidential campaign.

McCain has had past success in Michigan, winning the 2000 Michigan Presidential Primary over then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush, despite an almost guarantee of a Bush victory and endorsement by former Michigan Gov. John Engler. McCain just recently picked up a Michigan victory of sorts, receiving the endorsement of one of Michigan’s largest daily newspapers, the Detroit News.

But there is also some opposition to McCain in Michigan. The Michigan State University chapter of Young Americans for Freedom is planning to demonstrate against McCain's immigration policies when he appears for a town hall meeting at 4 p.m. Jan. 13 at the MSU Kellogg Center, 55 South Harrison Rd. in East Lansing. The MSU YAF has been designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Other Michigan appearances by McCain include: a Grand Rapids rally and town hall meeting at 10:15 Jan. 9 a.m. at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport Northern Jet Management, 5500 44th Street SE.

A Macomb town hall meeting 10:45 a.m. Jan. 12 at the Andiamo Celebrity Showroom, 7096 Fourteen Mile Rd. in Wayne.

An Oakland town hall meeting 3:30 p.m. Jan. 12 at the Clawson High School Trojan Hall, 101 John M Ave.

A Battle Creek town hall meeting 7:30 p.m. Jan. 13 at the Burnham-Brook Center, 200 West Michigan Ave.

A Kalamazoo town hall meeting, 9:45 a.m. Jan. 14 at Kalamazoo Christian High School, 2121 Stadium Dr.

A Holland town hall meeting 12:15 p.m. Jan. 14 at the Hope College DeWitt Theater, 141 Columbia Ave.

A Spring Lake get out the vote rally and town hall meeting, 4 p.m. Jan. 14 at the Nichols Company, 1391 Judson Rd. in Spring Lake.

A Kent County get out the vote rally, 5:30 p.m. Jan. 14 at the Kent County Republican headquarters, 264 Leonard St. NW in Grand Rapids.

A Traverse City get out the vote rally 8n a.m. Jan. 15 at Northwestern Michigan College Hagerty Place, 715 East Front St.

Ward and the Republicans plot to disenfranchise voters and suppress voter turnout

Here’s a pretty simple question for Rep. Chris Ward, R-Brighton, and his supporters: With no voter fraud in Michigan to speak of and an anemic voter turnout of less than 30 percent for most elections, why do we want to throw up another barrier to get people out to the polls to exercise their most basic and honored right as a citizen?

On Wednesday, the Michigan Supreme Court voted 5-2 to disenfranchise a large number of voters when it upheld a 1996 law passed by Republicans that requires voters to show photo identification before casting their ballots. The Supreme Court was acting on House Resolution 199 that was sponsored by Ward in February of 2006 and co-sponsored by just about every Republican in the House that asked the “Michigan Supreme Court to issue an opinion on the constitutionality of the provisions of 2005 PA 71 that require voters to provide photo identification in order to obtain a ballot.”

Like everything else Ward, a former township clerk, touches you can bet it is solely intended to benefit the GOP and keep him and his cronies in power, and this ridiculous move does just that. Three Michigan Attorney Generals – two Democrats and one Republican – have held that this violated the Constitution. The law was struck down shortly after it was signed into law in 1995 by an opinion by former Michigan Attorney General and Eternal General Frank Kelley. Current AG Mike Cox, A Republican, held the same opinion, and Ward and then Speaker Craig DeRoche went to work to disenfranchise voters.

Generally, legislation is introduced to correct a problem, but what problems are Ward and the Republicans trying to correct? What voter fraud are they trying to correct? When was the last time you heard of voter fraud in Michigan? The answer to all of those questions is there is no problem with voter fraud in Michigan. Of course, what we do have are voter turnouts of less than 30 percent in most areas, and that’s a problem we as citizens should be addressing. This aggravates that problem, but that’s what Ward intended. Plus, that’s 30 percent of the people who actually registered to vote, not 30 percent of the population of voting age. Why are we so willing to give up the most cherished right that thousands of soldiers, Marines, sailors and airman have died to preserve. Instead, the GOP wants to depress voter turnout even more by throwing up a roadblock to voters. Not coincidentally, it’s minority and the poor who tend to vote Democratic that will be disenfranchised.

Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer had it right when he said in a written statement, “These photo identification laws are nothing more than a poll tax and are part of an ongoing strategy by Michigan Republicans to disenfranchise minority and older voters. There is no problem with voter fraud or voter misrepresentation in Michigan which could justify this disenfranchisement of voters.”

We can expect to see even more voter intimidation by Republicans at the polls in urban areas and polling places with predominately minority population when and if this is implemented.

I’m no attorney, but this looks like a clear violation of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that was adopted in 1868 to protect the rights of freed slaves in the south that says, “No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.”

This also raises the question that was brought out in an Aug. 2, 2006 editorial in the Detroit Free Press that asked what this does to the power of the AG’s office. Some eight years ago, “Republicans in the Legislature tried to enact a law erasing much of the authority of the state attorney general, at the time a Democrat named Jennifer Granholm. The effort died, and deservedly so, amid a political mini-tempest over taking power away from the elected lawyer of the people.”
Does this decision throw out the long-held legal principle that an attorney general's opinion has the effect of law unless challenged and overturned in court?

“Such is the fate, evidently, of attorneys general who dare to issue opinions that certain legislators don't like. Power plays such as this actually underscore the need to retain the Attorney General's Office as an independent arbiter for state and local governments. Actually, attorney general's opinions often issued on an advisory basis and sometimes suggesting a legal course to follow, keep a lot of things from becoming costly legal battles for the state or the many local governments that make inquiries. And when the opinions have been challenged in court, they have been upheld more than 90 percent of the time, which underscores the way the office, at least on opinions, hews to the law rather than to politics.
The people of Michigan elect an attorney general statewide to serve as their chief law enforcement officer, not as a lackey to the Legislature. The framers of the current state Constitution, which was enacted in 1963, even referred to the attorney general as the "watchdog" of state government, on behalf of taxpayers, consumers and public officials. “