False and sleazy attack ads against Leyton having an effect

Voters say they hate negative, attack campaign ads, but political pundits and consultants say it works. The pundits must be right because there is no other explanation for Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton trailing in the polls for Michigan Attorney General.

His opponent, Bill Schuette, has run some of the sleaziest ads I have ever seen, but he has finally been shamed into taking one of them off the air by the family of someone he was shamelessly exploiting. But that, in my opinion, is not the sleaziest ad.

The TV ad most people have seen has lead to a profane-filled death threat against Layton, yet it still stays up.

That ad stars Debbie McIntosh, of Grand Blanc, whose son, Adam, 25, was murdered in 2006. She is very angry that the killer did not get more time and that he was the only one charged, even though there’s no evidence that anyone else was involved. Republicans are using the millions of dollars of unregulated corporate cash to run that smear ad exploiting McIntosh holding a photo of her son and calling Leyton a liar.

Even after an anti-Semitic attack by McIntosh on the Flint Journal web site and death threat, the ad is still running.

I’m not sure what crime has to do with the Michigan Attorney General, since the job is largely a civil and administrative posts and acts as the state’s attorney, but the Republicans have been trying with no success to paint Leyton soft on crime. Every ad they have run has had a foul called on it by the nonpartisan Michigan Truth Squad.
In his two terms as Genesee County Prosecuting Attorney, Leyton has prosecuted more than 20,000 criminal cases to Schuette’s zero. The teabggers have driven the Republican Party so far to the right they are in danger of falling off the cliff, but one thing they constantly claim is that they will not support career politicians. Yet almost all of the Republican candidates can qualify for that label.

While Leyton was serving in local government as an elected prosecutor, he also served on the Flint Township Board of Trustees, first as a Trustee and later as the Township Clerk; Schuette was, first, a U.S. Congressman, a member of former Gov. John Engler’s cabinet, then a state Senator and finally an Appellate Court Judge.

This is just more Republicans teabagger hypocrisy.

The ad that was pulled off the air claimed that Leyton was “overly lenient in the plea deal he reached with a drunken driver who led police on a chase that resulted in the death of Flint police officer Owen Fisher,” according to subscription only Gongwer.

“Flint police officer Owen Fisher, murdered while on duty. An open and shut case: not for David Leyton," the ad says. “He plea bargained down to just three years in prison; said it was just and right."

But Gongwer said David and Vida Fisher, the deceased officer's parents, said “the ad is wrong and that Christopher Bentoski would see more than three years in prison for his convictions on assault with intent to do great bodily harm and fleeing police.” The Fishers also criticized Schuette for using the story without consulting with them first and for making an ad that was disrespectful to their family.

"We request that Mr. Schuette remove this ad from the airwaves," David Fisher said. "Our son was a tremendously civil human being and this ad is both uncivil and incorrect. We believe that Genesee County prosecutor David Leyton approached this case with appropriate gravity and treated our family respectfully."

Back to the drawing board, and since Republicans have so much unregulated corporate money to burn, a new ad is already up in its place featuring Republican Oakland County Executive Brooks Patterson criticizing Leyton for plea bargains. Patterson is very familiar with plea bargains; like the one he took in 2003 to reckless driving after being pulled over for possible drunk driving.

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.

Republicans use discredited smear add to slime AG candidate David Leyton

You have to wonder if there is anything Republicans won’t say or anyone Republicans won’t exploit to regain and keep power.

That person is Debbie McIntosh, of Grand Blanc, whose son, Adam, 25. was murdered in 2006. She is very angry that the killer did not get more time and that he was the only one charged, even though there’s no evidence that anyone else was involved. Republicans are using the millions of dollars of unregulated corporate cash to run a TV smear ad agaisnt Democratic Attorney General Candidate David Leyton featuring McIntosh holding a photo of her son and calling Leyton a liar. The last line of the ad says it all.

“How do you get over the death of your son.”

Exactly. You don’t, and the Republicans exploited her anger to falsely smear Leyton. In his two terms as Genesee County Prosecuting Attorney that has prosecuted more than 10,000 criminal cases this is the best smear they could come up. One out of more than 10,000. That’s like saying every single person will agree with every call an umpire makes over the course of a 162-game season.

Republicans exploited the grief and anger of the mother of a murdered son. They had to do that because the Republican candidate has not prosecuted a single criminal case; not a single one.

How angry is Mrs. McIntosh? Well, a racist comment on the Flint Journal gives you an idea where she comments as “ADAMSMOM.”

“…how dare the FLINT URINAL not show me the respect to get my side of the story, instead of ONE SIDE,,,oh A JEWISH OWNED PAPER,,,,and lEYTON IS THE PRESIDENT OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION,,,,FLINT JOURNAL…”

It just makes you wonder if there is anything Leyton or anyone else can do that will allow her to let go of her anger. What it does is give the Republicans some mud, and they will not hesitate for a second to spread it far and wide.

According to the Flint Journal, “Prosecutors convicted Horatio Brown of manslaughter and he is now serving up to 22 years in prison, but McIntosh said the family only agreed to the plea deal if Leyton would charge two other individuals who were involved.”

The problem is there has to be evidence to charge someone, let alone convict them, and there simply is no evidence to even charge anyone else.

Capt. T.P. Johnson of the Flint Police, who oversaw the homicide unit at the time of the McIntosh killing, said the case was investigated thoroughly. In fact, he went even farther in a press release.

“The claims made in the Michigan Republican Party’s advertisement are simply untrue,” Johnson said. “We thoroughly investigated the homicide, leaving no stone left unturned. The killer confessed to the crime and he has been sentenced.

“We were so concerned about the case that we asked the State Police to review it,” he said. “They are in agreement with us that nothing more can be done.”

My bet is that the truth and a little anti-Semitism will not deter the Michigan Republican Party from a good smear.

Next AG and SOS chosen at convention

DETROIT -- Anyone who thinks organized labor no longer has any political clout should have been at the first ever Michigan Democratic Party Endorsement Convention in Cobo Hall in downtown Detroit on Saturday.

Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton edged out attorney and Wayne State University Trustee Richard Bernstein fro the party endorsement for Michigan Attorney General by a vote of 1634-1481 with help from the UAW. The vote went down to the wire, and Leyton did not win until the roll call of the 15 Congressional districts was complete.

“I am humbled, and I can tell you we are going to take this campaign all over Michigan,” Leyton said. “We are going to stand up for the Michigan working man.”

The vote is not binding or official until the summer state convention on Aug. 28, but the losing AG and Secretary of State candidates agreed to withdraw from the race if they do not win in order to take back the seats that have traditionally belonged to Democrats.

More than 189,000 Democrats were credentialed to cast votes on Saturday. Although Bernstein had some labor support, Leyton had much more. Immediately after the vote, Bernstein took the stage to endorse Leyton and introduced him as the next Michigan Attorney General.

“I want to say what a privilege it has been to compete with Richard Bernstein,” Leyton said. “He has been a class act all the way.”

Leyton said he wants to return the AG Consumer Protection Division to the stature it once had under former Eternal General Frank Kelley. Leyton is also a former member of the AFL-CIO.

“I will work to my last breath to see that Michigan will never be a right to work state; never,” he said.

Leyton said the first thing he will do once he is sworn into office is to drop the blatant political lawsuit that challenges the constitutionally of the health care insurance reform bill filed by current AG Republican Gubernatorial Candidate ‘Manoogian’ Mike Cox.
The race for Secretary of State was not even close, and Wayne State University law professor Jocelyn Benson won in a landslide 2,964 to 151. She has been campaigning for more than a year, and the Republicans are so scared of her that they have tried to smear her with lies.

“What a journey it has been, and it has just begun,” she said. “The General Election starts tomorrow.”

None of the Republican candidate’s credentials come close to Benson’s. She graduated magna cum laude from Wellesley College. She subsequently earned her Masters in Sociology as a Marshall Scholar at Oxford University, and she received her J.D from Harvard Law School, where she was a general editor of the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review. Benson also worked as the Voting Rights Policy Coordinator for the Harvard Civil Rights Project, worked as a summer associate for voting rights and election law for the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and she was an investigative journalist for the Southern Poverty Law Center.

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.

Whitmer announces run for Michigan Attorney General

State Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, became the first Democratic candidate for Michigan Attorney General, according to a story in the Lansing State Journal.

According to the paper, she filed paperwork announcing her intention to run for state attorney general in 2010. She became the first Democrat to openly say she wants the Democratic nomination that will be chosen at the state Democratic Convention next year. The three Republican candidates have been campaigning activity.

It has been speculated that Whitmer will run for the past couple of months, even though she has a term left in the Senate, and she could be the Senate Majority Leader in 2010. She had this is just a first step in the process. Also mentioned as possible Democratic candidates are Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton and Farmington Hills lawyer Richard Bernstein.

Whitmer has a record of standing up for the consumers and the vulnerable, and she has been a sharp critic of Senate Republicans, and she has drawn the ire of Republicans, and some of it has been vicious, strident and sexist. In the LSJ article, GOP mouthpiece Greg McNeilly said Whitmer is a "liberal elitist" and "another Jennifer Granholm clone seeking fame and glory over the best interests of residents."

I’m not sure why being called a liberal is a criticism, considering the programs that have made life better for most Michiganders are liberal programs, but it is a code word to activate the GOP base.

Whitmer was first elected to the State Senate in March of 2006 after serving served in the Michigan House from 2000 to 2006. Whitmer was born in Lansing earned a BA degree in Communications law degree, Magna Cum Laude, from Michigan State University. Whitmer was a corporate litigator specializing in administrative and regulatory law with the Lansing law firm of Dickinson Wright. She practiced administrative law before the Ingham County Circuit Court and the Michigan Public Service Commission.