Good news for progressives: Kloppenburg win and Beck demise

In a preview of the 2012 election, JoAnne Kloppenburg was elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday over the incumbent in a backlash to the union-busting attempt by teabagger Governor Scott Walker.

In a usually slow March election, voter turnout was very high, and Kloppenburg unseated incumbent David Prosser, a Walker pal who made it very clear how he will vote when the hastily passed union busting bill makes its way to the court.

The election was a clear referendum on the union busting efforts by Republicans in the Midwest states, and it was the first election since last November; allowing people to turn protest into action.

Going into the race after the primary election in February, incumbent David Prosser was the hands on favorite, having pulled in 55 percent of the vote over Kloppenburg, his second highest leading opponent, who received just 25 percent of the vote. After Walker’s union-busting legislation that would kill collective bargaining rights for state workers, the race became a focus for the energized Democratic base. However, A recount is expected.

The Wisconsin State Journal is reporting that the high voter turnout, double for a normal March election, has been a boon for the recall attempt of eight Republican Senators. The Journal is reporting that recall leaders got plenty of signatures outside of polling places on Tuesday, so much so that they have enough signatures to put them over the top for a second Republican recall.

The close vote indicates that not all eight will be successful, but it can change the makeup of the body, as well as keep the energy going until next year’s election. A recall of two Michigan Senators for a tax vote in 1983 gave Republicans control of the Senate they have never lost, despite more people voting for Democratic Senators in 2006 than Republicans.

I am not normally a fan of recalls for a single vote, but when that vote required you violate the law, sneak in and out of the Capitol under armed guard to make the vote and lock people out of their Capitol to do it then I would make an exception.

There is also recall attempt against a couple of the heroic Wisconsin 14 Democratic Senators who left the Capitol to deny a quorum, but it does not appear to be much of a threat. In fact, the recall against Sen. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee, has only two signatures so far; the organizer and his wife, and the 60-day window to gather signatures runs out April 25.

I can’t wait for next year’s election, and we only need to limit the damage Republicans can do in the next 16 months.

Yesterday saw even more good news. Faux “news” madman Glenn Beck announced he leaving his show; a victim of falling ratings and disgusted advertisers. It’s unclear if it is voluntary.

The ratings for the first quarter of 2011 showed Beck's show had lost close to a third of its audience, especially among advertiser-prized viewers ages 25 to 54, where he was down almost 40 percent. But, it was the advertisers that really did him in, and they were leaving in droves because they did not want to be associated with his crazy end-of-world conspiracy theories and racist rants.

I expect his ratings to make a surge for next couple of days and maybe weeks because people want to see what conspiracy theory he whips up and who he blames for this.

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.

Drolet’s pig pinned

Republican Michigan Senate candidate and teabagger Leon Drolet continues to have ethical problems, and last week he finally got caught.

Those of us having the misfortune of having witnessed some of the fake, Astroturf Republican rallies disguised as teabagger events have seen the large plastic pink, pig Drolet brings to these events on a trailer. It is clearly a political sign, but nowhere is there a disclaimer on the pig as to who paid for it. Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer filed a complaint that Drolet ridiculed, but the Michigan Secretary of State agreed with Brewer.

She has ordered Drolet to put a disclaimer on his pig immediately or he will face penalties.

“There’s no doubt Leon Drolet will squeal like a stuck pig because of this decision,” Brewer said. “Drolet continues to think he is above the law. Violating the Michigan Campaign Finance Act is just his latest offense.”

The Secretary of State ruled Drolet must put a disclaimer on immediately and that disclaimer must read, “Paid for by” and be “followed by the full name and address of the person or committee that paid for the communication.”

Drolet - a former Republican state Representative, Macomb County Commissioner and executive director of the so-called Michigan Taxpayers Alliance (MTA) - headed up the recall effort against House Speaker Andy Dillon, D-Redford, in 2007 because Dillon voted for a tax increase to avoid a state government shutdown. That eventual unsuccessful effort was ripe with corruption, and it led to the arrest and convention of two Drolet cohorts who forged signatures on the recall petition.

Anti-public school board member stirs up more Controversy to feed her ego

Things have been too quiet in the district for Howell School Board member and teabagger Wendy Day, so she has decided to whip up another controversy aimed at embarrassing the school and bring her more attention in an attempt to feed her huge ego.

She posted on her “blog" that board president Debi Drick violated the Open Meetings Act (OMA) by telling union leaders they could have a private audience with the superintendent candidates the board is currently interviewing, and on Thursday the local newspaper picked up on it and published yet another front page story featuring Day.

Drick denied Day’s claims and said union leaders merely asked her to introduce them to the candidates. That claim was backed up by a story in today’s paper where Interim Superintendent Lynn Parrish said the “events that led the Howell Public Schools Board of Education Trustee Wendy Day to publicly claim her fellow board members broke the law Wednesday was based on a "misinterpretation" of an e-mail she sent to board members the day prior.”

In Day’s warped mind, the real crime is that Drick dared to be respectful to teachers and especially the union members, who are as much a part of the community as parents. She claimed on radio station WHMI that Drick routinely polls fellow board members and conducts public business via email, which is a violation of the OMA. However, only something involving and potentially embarrassing to the union promoted Day speak out on this alleged violation of the law.

She is an extremist who hates the union, and she collaborated with anti-union activist Chet Zarko a few years ago to obtained union emails from union members to try and embarrass them that have ended up in court, costing the district more money in attorney fees.

She has a long history of extreme rightwing activities and brewing up controversy to embarrass the school district she hates so much but gets her name in the paper.

We first heard of Day when she helped co-founded a now dead an anti-gay hate group called the “LOVE (Livingston Organization for Values in Education) PAC” that sprang up in 2006 in response to a diversity flag they mistakenly claimed is a gay pride flag that promotes and endorses homosexuality.

That misguided witch hunt gained her the national attention she so craves, and it helped her get elected to the school board in the spring of 2006, even though she is anti-public school and home schools her children.

It wasn’t long after her election that she launched a book-burning episode in the fall of 2006 by trying to ban the book “The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them.” That led to a book-burning campaign against such classic books as Slaughterhouse Five" by Kurt Vonnegut and "Black Boy" and "The Bluest Eye” by Richard Wright.

That saga finally came to an end in the spring of 2007, but not before she subjected the community to national ridicule and reinforced the image of Howell as a racist, intolerant community, but it did give Day the attention she craves.

But Day kept her name in the paper by helping organize the racist, corporate “tea parties” we were subjected to last year; she remains an organizer in that “movement.”

Day continued to spread hate and discontent among school board members and district employees, but that came to a head last summer when the board fired Superintendent Theodore Gardella after just a year on the job by a vote of 4-2.

Because he was anti-union, Day loved him, and she made the unprecedented move of helping launch and run a recall campaign against her four fellow board members who voted to fire Gardella. The effort, of course, failed, and this appears to be another salvo in that attack. The real funny thing is what Day said in her latest “blog” rant about the board:

“The worst part is that from my seat, the school board is more dysfunctional and less effective than it was the day I was sworn in.”

Ya think? I wonder why that is? It will be much better off when her term mercifully ends this year. This woman is so hated by a community that’s very conservative that she no longer allows any comments on her “blog.”

But the good news is that she again got her name in the paper. Apparently, her ego is even bigger than her hatred of unions, teachers and public schools.

The Capitol lawn will be a busy and diverse place during SOS speech

The Capitol lawn in Lansing will be a busy place on Wednesday evening when Gov. Jennifer Granholm gives her final State of the State address, and a very diverse group of people will gather to express their opinions.

Soon to be convicted felon and Republican Senate candidate Leon Drolet, head of the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance, is co-sponsoring a protest on the lawn called the "State of the Citizens" address. According to subscription only Gongwer, the group plan to “place 148 folding chairs on the lawn - one for each member of the Legislature - and invite them to attend their event instead of Ms. Granholm's speech.” This group is nothing but a thinly disguised teabagger group, so only a few extremist Republicans will take that invitation, if any. It should be even less when you consider that the House and Senate are actually in session during the speech.

You will recall that the so-called “Michigan Taxpayers Alliance” tried to recall Democratic lawmakers who voted to increase taxes in 2007 to avoid a government shutdown. They failed on almost all fronts, but they managed to recall Speaker of the House Andy Dillon, D-Redford, but voters soundly rejected it when it made it to the ballot. However, they had to use fraud and deceit to actually get it on the ballot, and at least two members are facing fraud charges because of it.

The co-sponsor with Drolet’s group is a group headed up by extremist Republican teabagger Wendy Day, who also happens to be a member of the Howell Public School Board. The fact is both group falls under the teabagger umbrella, known for their racist rhetoric and signs.

But the extremist teabaggers will be joined by a couple of liberal groups. A couple of groups called the Michigan Emergency Committee Against War and Injustice and The Moratorium NOW! Coalition to Stop Foreclosures and Evictions will be there also. They will be protesting against foreclosure, evictions and utility shutoffs.

Also getting a permit from the Michigan Legislative Council for Wednesday evening for a rally is a group called “Tears for the Mentally Ill and Disabled.” They will apparently be protesting the lack of funding for the mentally ill, who end up going to our jails and prisons costing taxpayers even more money.

It should be a very interesting evening on the lawn and in the House chambers.

Drolet says a little corruption is no big deal

Republican Senate candidate Leon Drolet called the corruption filled 2008 recall effort against House Speaker Andy Dillon, D-Redford, on the level because only two signature takers were indicted for fraud.

Michael Bastianelli, 28, of Westland and Harvey Robinson, 39, of Redford were arraigned back in December in 16th District Court in Livonia on two felony counts of uttering and publishing and making false statements related to recall petitions during the Dillon recall attempt. On Friday, Bastianelli pled guilty to a felony charge of uttering and publishing. He had forged the signature of Redford's fire chief on a petition form.

Drolet - a former Republican state Representative, Macomb County Commissioner and executive director of the so-called Michigan Taxpayers Alliance (MTA) - headed up the recall effort because Dillon voted for a tax increase to avoid a state government shutdown. Drolet claims he only met Robinson once, and he also claims he had nothing to do with the fraud because he hired a company to collect signatures.

Even more incredible, he told subscription only Gongwers that he disputed criticism that “the recall effort was rife with fraud. If anything, that only two people out of 200 workers were charged vindicates the integrity of the campaign.”

Say what?

He went even farther and said the committee that sought Dillon's recall should be repaid by Bastianelli. He’s using the GOP strategy that if you’re going to tell a lie, you might as well go big.

"This was two guys out 200," Drolet told Gongwer. "No, I don't believe it does (taint the campaign) anymore than one person can go and sign the name Mickey Mouse on a petition and taint the whole petition.”

That’s the same situation with the favorite Republican boogieman, ACORN, who are under fire because a few workers collecting voter registrations forged them because they were paid for each one. But ACORN was a nationwide effort with thousands of workers. Drolet’s crooked recall took place in one single township. The claim that Drolet didn’t know anything about it is ridiculous.

He is either lying or he is a poor administrator who had no idea what was going in something he was in charge of. Considering how small an area he was in charge of that, it’s clear he knew what was going on.

Not only that, but the State Police began investigating in May 2008 after receiving 499 complaints of documented forgeries and nearly 2,000 additional suspected forgeries, indicating a widespread campaign to commit fraud. Again, for Drolet to claim he did not know what was going on is ridiculous.

Charges of carpet bagging and political operatives surround the 11th District Senate race

The race in the 11th Senate District just got a little more interesting; Capitol Newsletter MIRS is reporting that Rep. Kim Meltzer, R-Clinton Twp?, has hired John Yob’s Strategic National to run her campaign.

Yob is the youngest son of long-time Michigan National Republican Committeeman Chuck Yob, but Yob the younger already has a reputation. He served as the national chairman of the College Republicans while a student at the University of Michigan. That’s the same position some of his heroes sprang from, the kings of dirty tricks, Karl Rove and Lee Atwater.

Yob also ran Terri Land’s successful Michigan Secretary of State campaign, the most partisan SOS in Michigan history. He also served as the deputy national political director for the unsuccessful McCain presidential campaign.

It was that connection that ties Yob to one of the Republicans’ more dirty tricks. You will recall in the fall of 2008, the Michigan Messenger broke the story that Michigan Republicans planned to challenge voters at the polls whose homes are in foreclosure. Only the publicity stopped them. While other state SOS addressed the issue, Land refused to address any questions on the matter.

Ironically, Meltzer has been the point person in the House fighting any attempt to increase voter turnout and make it easier to register and to vote. I guess she knew she was running for the Senate.

But she already has her problems in the right leaning 11th Senate District in Macomb County, and she has been accused of being a carpetbagger. Apparently, Meltzer moved from Clinton Township to a rented home in Macomb Township on Oct. 31, which allows her to run in the 11th District Senate race instead of the 10th District held by term-limited Democrat Mickey Switalski.

The 11th is held by term limited Republican Alan Sanborn, the most conservative member in the Senate, and it is considered a safe Republican district. In fact, the race has drawn some real rightwing tools. In addition to Meltzer, former state Rep. Jack Brandenburg is in the race. It would be polite just to call him an extremist.

Also in the race is former state Rep. Leon Drolet. He has led the “tea parties” and a crooked recall of Speaker of the House Andy Dillon. This is a guy who has never held a job in the public sector. It remains to be seen if he will stay out of jail long enough to even run.

The recall was accomplished with fraud and deceit, out-of-state money, illegal petition gathers, cash for signatures and illegal campaign contributions. Two men have already been charged with felonies over it, and it remains to be seen if the long arm of the law will reach to the people running that fraud, like Drolet.

Dillon recall accomplished with fraud

It took a little while, but apparently the law has finally caught up with Leon Drolet and the fraud he used in the recall attempts back in 2007 against primarily Democratic state Representatives who voted for revenue increases to keep the state government going and avoid a shutdown.

Drolet is former Republican state Representative, Macomb County Commissioner and executive director of the so-called Michigan Taxpayers Alliance (MTA). All the recalls fell by the wayside except the recall of Speaker of the House Andy Dillon, D-Redford, but it was accomplished with fraud and deceit, out-of-state money, illegal petition gathers, cash for signatures and illegal campaign contributions. Although it actually made it on the ballot, voters soundly rejected it.

However, today Michael Bastianelli, 28, of Westland and Harvey Robinson, 39, of Redford were arraigned in 16th District Court in Livonia on two felony counts of uttering and publishing and making false statements related to recall petitions during the Dillon recall attempt. They were released on $20,000 personal bonds. A preliminary hearing is set for January 5.

Subscription only Gongwer reported “Bastianelli allegedly forged petition signatures, while Mr. Robinson allegedly paid homeless people at a Detroit shelter to sign the names of residents living in Mr. Dillon's (D-Redford Twp.) district, said Attorney General Mike Cox spokesperson Nick DeLeeuw,” a former blogger. DeLeeuw was singing a different tune back before the 2008 election when he said, “This is exciting stuff. Rose (Bogaert) and Leon did a great job fighting the thugs, the criminals, the powers-that-be (Miles Handy) and the courts to give voters in Andy Dillon's House district the choice to recall him this November.”

Who are the thugs again?

Drolet, of course, denies knowing the pair, telling Gongwer that “he met Mr. Robinson once when he turned in some signatures. Mr. Robinson was working for a petition signature collection firm, Mr. Drolet said. However, he did not recognize Mr. Bastianelli's name.” Right.

“This is an indictment of Leon Drolet,” said Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer in a press release. “The Drolet-led recall now has two people charged with felonies – proving Drolet may even stoop to breaking the law in order to get what he wants.”

The State Police began investigating in May 2008 after receiving 499 complaints of documented forgeries and nearly 2,000 additional suspected forgeries, indicating a widespread campaign to commit fraud. Still, the measure went on the ballot in November of 2008.

“These arrests are also an indictment of the entire recall effort against Speaker Dillon,” said Mark Fisk, partner of Byrum & Fisk Advocacy Communications, the lead consultant for Dillon in the anti-recall effort. “Drolet and the recall supporters used forgery, fraud, and deception throughout the recall campaign. Thanks to the Michigan State Police, the criminals are being punished and these tactics continue to be exposed.”

Looking for candidates for Hamburg Township Clerk

Now that voters have recalled Hamburg Township Clerk Matt Skiba, a special election to fill the almost three years remaining of his term is set for Feb. 23.

Because it’s a special election because of a recall, there is no primary election to fill the partisan office, and the Livingston County Democratic Party is looking for a qualified candidate. The deadline for informing the Livingston County Clerk's office of the party’s candidate is 4 p.m. Nov. 19.

The party will form a five-member committee of Livingston County Democratic Party members from Hamburg Township to choose the candidate, and that committee will select the candidate at a regular meeting of the party set for 7 p.m. Nov. 12 at party headquarters, 10321 E. Grand River, Suite 600, in Brighton.

If you are interested in serving on the committee or running for the office, contact the party at (810) 229-4212 or Email: contact@livcodemocrats.org.

A rally to help fight politically motivated recall is Thursday

A rally is set for Thursday to support Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, as she fights a recall attempt by Grosse Pointe billionaire and Republican benefactor Matty Moroun.

Moroun has been trying to build a second span right next to the current Ambassador Bridge he owns - only one of two international border crossings in the country in private hands - but the Canadian and U.S. government want to a new public-private bridge at a site located downriver from the current Ambassador Bridge. He has already begun to build the bridge despite not having a single permit, and Tlaib has been very vocal that he have an economic impact study completed.

The recall attempt is simply intimidation. Ambassador Bridge Company employee and connected Detroit political consultant Adolph Mongo is running the recall campaign against Tlaib. The clarity hearing to verify the language that will go on the recall petitions is set for tomorrow in front of the Wayne County Election Commission, and that’s where the rally will be held.

The rally is set for 1-4 p.m. Thursday Sept. 10 in front of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, 2 Woodward Ave, in downtown Detroit.

Misguided recall effort fails

HOWELL – Today is the deadline for the organizers of the illegitimate recall of three members of the Howell Public Schools Board of education to collect 5,000 signatures, and despite assurances since the recall began on July 14 that they were “collecting signatures in droves” and they would have no problem, it fell well short of the goal.

That speaks volumes for the good, common sense of this community. As you may know, there was a misguided effort underway to recall three of the four school board members who voted to fire Superintendent Theodore Gardella after just a year on the job last month. The Livingston County Daily Press and Argus is reporting organizers collected about 30 percent of the 5,000 signatures needed. That is not even close.

The paper also reported that they are not giving up, and they want to get it on the ballot in February when even less people vote in elections. The approved recall language is good for 180 days, but the paper failed to mention that there must be 90 days between the first and last signature. In other words they have until Oct. 14 to collect the remaining 70 percent of the required signatures.

Recall group calls fighting back against this intimidation attempt a conspiracy

HOWELL – The group trying to recall three of the four Howell Public School Board members for casting a vote they disagree with is seeing black helicopters and conspiracy theories because the targets of the intimidation tactic are fighting back.

As you know, there is a misguided effort underway to recall three of the four Howell Public School Board members who voted to fire Superintendent Theodore Gardella after just a year on the job last month. Apparently, the recall organizers are up in arms because the spouses of two of the board members targeted in the recall sat in the parking lot of the Baymont Inn on July 9 when the organizational meeting was held, according to a story in the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus.

According to the story, “Members of the group leading the recall effort said they’re worried that their opponents would monitor an organizational meeting and count the number of people showing up. They believe this type of behavior could be the start of more aggressive and possibly illegal activity.” Are they for real? What illegal activity are they talking about? Fighting the false charges?

There was nothing illegal, shady or creepy about it, and they should have gone inside to the meeting. I can only speculate the reason they didn’t go inside was, perhaps, to avoid a confrontation.

Monitoring the recall is a common and accepted tactic, and they should be doing it. You will remember the recall attempt in 2007 when Republicans tried to recall Democrats who voted for the tax increase that kept Michigan’s government up and running. This, like most recalls, is nothing but raw intimidation, and this is also just an attempt to circumvent the election process.

Only the recall of Speaker of the House Andy Dillon was successful, and Leon Drolet and company had to lie and bend the law to get signatures. It made it on the ballot, but was soundly defeated by voters. The other recalls failed to get enough signatures. They fought off the recall by having people “shadow” the people collecting signatures to give the other side of the story and to stop them from telling lies.

There were a few mild confrontations involving dueling video cameras, but that was because Republicans did not like being exposed and challenged. The sane and rational people opposing this recall/intimidation attempt should do the same thing. It’s legal and an accepted tactic.

In a move I have never head of before in 12 years as a reporter covering school boards and local government, the recall group has hired a Lansing-based attorney. It’s unclear who or how he is being paid. He claims, “surveillance is often the first step of more aggressive steps that could be illegal,” and he also he said “their actions and mind-set could evolve into something more serious.” Really; Like what?

The parking lot incident, apparently, came to light because the recall group, allegedly, “intercepted” emails between a board member and Doug Norton, a retired teacher who previously served as president of the Howell teachers’ union. The recall group and extremist rightwing board member Wendy Day are using that as proof of a conspiracy between the rest of the school board members and the teachers’ union.

Day’s anti-union views – as well as her anti-government, anti-teacher and anti-pubic school views – cloud her judgment.

Day, along with her co-conspirator Vicky Fyke, are founding members of the apparently defunct anti-gay hate group known as the LOVE PAC - (Livingston Organization for Values in Education) that embarrassed the community nationally when it tried to ban Pulitzer-Prize winning books.

Day is actively participating in the recall of her colleagues; a rare event, and perhaps the first time that has ever happened The irony is that the board has been criticized in the past for not working together. When this recall fails, how do they expect to work with somebody who pulled this double-cross against them?

It may appear that the “LOVE” group is not dead, and this is their way to circumvent the election, which are what these type of recalls are deigned to do.

“LOVE” went underground following the school board election in May 2007 when voters soundly rejected the two “LOVE: backed candidates in favor of, ironically, two of the three board members being recalled.

Fyke on this very blog wrote, “I look forward to the next election when we will add two more like-minded people to the school board, and get our important changes accomplished.”

She is not waiting for the election, and this is how she plans to get “like-minded people” on the school board.

Misguided long shot recall effort has some new and old faces

HOWELL -- Move over Vicky Fyke, there’s a new sheriff in town trying to push you out of the spotlight for her 15 minutes of local fame.

District parent Deborah McCormick is leading an effort to recall three of the four Howell Public School Board members who voted to fire Superintendent Theodore Gardella after just a year on the job. She held a meeting at a Howell Township motel Thursday attended by 15-20 people, depending on what media source you read. Basically, she is leading a recall of board members for making a vote she disagreed with, and she’s letting one off the hook. This is a clear abuse of the intent of the recall process, in my opinion.

The recall group is pushing to get the issue on the November ballot, which means organizers need to collect about 5,000 signatures before July 31. They can’t get started until at least July 14 when the clarity hearing is held before the county Elections Commission and the language is approved as clear.

This simply will not get done, and I hope it doesn’t. Basically, if all 20 people collect signatures, they have to collect about 48 signatures a day.

You knew Fyke had to be at the meeting, and she had to be quoted. The article in the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus never said if Fyke’s partner, board member Wendy Day, was at the meeting.

Fyke apparently told the paper, "We have to send a message (to the school board) that we're not going to tolerate this. I'm excited because I think we can do it." That would be the first time Fyke and Day managed to get something on their rightwing agenda.

Fyke is the co-founder with Day of the now the defunct anti-gay hate group known as the “LOVE PAC” - (Livingston Organization for Values in Education).The group was first heard from in the spring of 2006 in response to a diversity flag they mistakenly claimed was a gay pride flag that they claimed promotes and endorses homosexuality. In the fall on 2006, Day, Fyke and her group began a book banning crusade that ended with an embarrassing FBI investigation and national embarrassment.

Firing of HPS Superintendent just more controversy surrounding school district

HOWELL – The big news in Howell last week was the firing of Howell Public Schools Superintendent Theodore Gardella after just a year on the job by the school board at a rare Friday afternoon special meeting.

The surprise vote was 4-2 at a meeting called to address extremist rightwing trustee Wendy Day’s baseless allegations on her blog, but hassles with Gardella over the past year led the board to let him go. As a former reporter, anytime a Friday meeting is called my suspicions are raised, but with all the controversy surrounding the board since early June when Vicki Fyke, the co-founder with Day of the defunct anti-gay hate group known as the LOVE PAC - (Livingston Organization for Values in Education), circulated an e-mail saying Gardella would be fired there was no way the meeting would be a secret.

Apparently, Day was feeding info to Fyke gleaned from closed executive sessions called to discuss Gardella’s evaluation at his request, and it must have been clear the writing was on the wall. I have not heard one good word about Gardella from anyone but Day, and that makes him suspect in my book.

There has been lots of controversy surrounding Howell Schools in the last three years, but all of it can be traced back to Day’s arrival and that of the so-called “LOVE” group.

“LOVE” raised its ugly head back in the spring of 2006 in response to a diversity flag they mistakenly claim is a gay pride flag that they claim promotes and endorses homosexuality. Day was then elected to the board shortly after that, and she and LOVE immediately tried to impose their extremist agenda on the district.

In January 2007 Day tried to get a Bible course in the high school, and it would have been supplied by North Carolina-based National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools - an affiliate of The American Family Association, the most well-known anti-gay hate group in America.

In the fall on 2006, Day, Fyke and her group began a book banning crusade that ended with an embarrassing FBI investigation and national embarrassment. The group then launched a successful smear campaign to oust long-time Superintendent Chuck Breiner, who spent 13 years here, nine as superintendent; he left in March 2008 with a very generous severance package.

Day is admittedly anti-public school, and she has made her dislike for teachers and unions very clear. She also makes some pretty outrageous claims on her blog, claiming, an “underground group of Howell business owners and political officials has been working to control this district all along. They have a vested interest in making sure there is a good contract for the Chamber regarding the Balloonfest and Homeshow.”

Although the chambers of commerce are traditionally extremely pro-Republican, I have to defend them. The Home Show is held at the high school in the spring, and it features local businesses that pay school taxes.

The Balloonfest, also put on by the chamber this past weekend, is held on the grounds of the high school, middle school and 9th grade campus. It normally draws a 100,000 people from all over the state to Howell, and it leaves a good impression and they spend money in local businesses.

So, we have book banning giving us a bad name, and the Balloonfeat giving Howell a positive reputation. Which one do you choose?

Now, apparently, there is a move to recall three of the four board members who voted to fire Day's superintendent. Why three and not all four is a little unclear, but it may have something to do with how the replacements are chosen.

Paperwork was filed with the county clerk to start the recall attempt of board President Edwin Literski, Vice President Jeannine Pratt and Trustee Debi Drick, but not Trustee Ann Routt, who also voted to fire Gardella.

I am not a fan of recalls, and they have been routinely abused to circumvent the normal election process; as is this misguided recall abuse. A recall against people for making a vote you disagree with is simply wrong. They should be reserved for the elected official doing something wrong, illegal or immoral; not for a vote you disagree with. That is what elections are for.

The solution is to not sign a petition if the recall language is approved, and to vote against Day’s opponent – not recall her – next year when her term is up. The board will run smoother, and we will have a board member who supports the district and wants to make it better. Day can go back to organizing her fake “tea parties.”

GOP using Astroturf partisan political rally disguised as a “tea party” as a fundraiser

We already knew the April 15 rallies were partisan Republican political affairs with plenty of anti-Obama hate speech thrown in, so it should come as no surprise that right-wingers are using the Astroturf rally organized by Washington, D.C. lobbying groups as a fundraiser.

Former GOP state Representative and head of the so-called “Michigan Taxpayer Alliance (MTA)” Leon Drolet is using the occasion to send out a fundraising email. The MTA is co-sponsoring the Lansing event along with the extreme rightwing Washington, D.C. lobbying group “Americans for Prosperity,” and Drolet is also asking people send a check to his Macomb Township home.

As you may recall, Drolet’s 15 minutes of infamy came in 2007 when he tried to intimidate lawmakers from voting to keep the state government going and avoid further harmful spending cuts when the budget faced a $1.8 million deficit. After much blustering and threats to go after Democrats who did the right and courageous thing and voted to keep government open, he only managed to gather enough signatures to place a recall on the ballot against House Speaker Andy Dillon.

However, it was accomplished with fraud and deceit, out of state money, illegal petition gathers, cash for signatures and illegal campaign contributions. Once it got on the ballot, voters soundly rejected it. Drolet, who has never had a job in the private sector, was seen around Lansing and in districts represented by Democrats hauling a large, model pink pig.

What was the benefit of that sham? According to the pig man:
“Battling to recall the House Speaker wasn't cheap - the Michigan Democratic Party and the Speaker spent well over a million dollars to fight the recall.”

I don’t know if that is true, and since Drolet said it, its suspect. However, is that a reason for people to attend the allegedly nonpartisan Astroturf “tea party?” To send him money to campaign against Democrats?

Then the man who has never had a job in the private sector took his standard shot at government employees that has become a standard GOP refrain.

“Just last week, the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the average public employee is paid $39.25 an hour in salary and benefits - $11.90 an hour more than comparable private-sector citizens. Benefit costs for government workers cost $13.38 an hour compared to $7.98 for private-sector workers. Who is serving who? “

He, of course, provides no reference, but even worse, he is comparing apples to oranges to smear dedicated state employees. Private sector employees include minimum wage, low skilled workers, but most state employees are not entry level, and the majority of them hold college degrees. In fact, if you go to the Michigan Civil Service web site, 80 percent of the jobs listed have this education requirement: “Possession of a bachelor’s degree in any major.”

Not to be out done in taking advantage of the Astroturf, GOP campaign event, RNC Chair Michael Steele sent out his own letter to make some scratch. Steele sent out a mass email urging people to send a tea bag to Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, and while you are at it, he hopes “you will also take this opportunity to make a secure online contribution of $25, $50, $100, $500 or $1,000 to the RNC today.

The Astroturf and misnamed “tea parties” should be well intended after the way Faux News has been playing it up and doing promo after promo advertising where their “unbiased” hosts will be present. Plus, almost 60 million people voted for Republicans in November, but the good news is almost 70 million voted for President Obama.

No matter how many people and rightwing hate groups show up tomorrow, they will continue to be in the minority. A recent Gallup poll finds that 61 percent of Americans say they regard the income taxes they have to pay this year as fair.

I guess we will see the other 39 percent tomorrow.

Long arm of the law inching closer to Drolet

It finally looks like the long arm of the law may finally reach Leon Drolet - former Republican state Representative, current Macomb County Commissioner and executive director of the so-called Michigan Taxpayers Alliance (MTA) - for his illegal activities in the misguided recall attempts against primarily Democratic lawmakers who voted to increase taxes to avoid a government shutdown and eliminate a $1.8 million budget deficit in October.

Subscription only Gongwers is reporting that the State Police are in the “early stages of investigating the tactics used by petition signature gatherers attempting to recall House Speaker Andy Dillon, D-Redford.” Dillon’s recall attempt was the only one to collect enough signatures, but it was accomplished with fraud and deceit, out of state money, illegal petition gathers, cash for signatures and illegal campaign contributions.

Last month the Bureau of Elections found 7,789 invalid signatures out of the 15,739 signatures presented to them. The Department of State turned all evidence of forgery and fraud over to Attorney General Mike Cox and the Wayne County prosecutor’s office.

According to Gongwer, “a State Police spokesperson said Monday that one interview has been conducted by the Metro South post of the department. But Shannon Akans said the investigation is still in the beginning stage and there is no timeline for when it will be completed. “

Its official: Recall is dead

LANSING – The recall against House Speaker Andy Dillon is officially dead after Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land issued an official declaration saying the petition drive fell 776 short of the 8,724 signatures necessary to put the recall question on the Aug. 5 primary ballot.

"I commend the professionalism of the local election officials and the Bureau of Elections as we moved through this extensive and time-consuming review process," Land said in a press release.

The Bureau of Elections' preliminary findings released on May 23 showed that only 8,224 signatures were valid, but after a more intensive look at the petitions the number of invalid signatures grew to 7,789 invalid signatures.
Republican Macomb County Commissioner Leon Drolet and his group filed 15,739 signatures with the Bureau of Elections on May 1, but the Michigan Democratic Party presented evidence of fraud and forged signatures.

The Department of State said all evidence of forgery and fraudulent signatures would be turned over to Attorney General Mike Cox and the Wayne County prosecutor’s office.

Dillon recall attempt bites the dust

LANSING – Apparently the charges of voter fraud and forged signatures are true after the Michigan Secretary of State issued a press release today saying the recall against House Speaker Andy Dillon is short of signatures.

Republican Macomb County Commissioner Leon Drolet and his group filed 15,739 signatures with the Bureau of Elections on May 1 with 8,724 signatures needed to put the recall question on the Aug. 5 primary ballot. However, a preliminary review found only 8,224 were valid and those of registered voters.

"Verifying the registration of every signer is a meticulous and time-consuming process," Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land said in the press release. "However, it's a necessary step to ensure the integrity of our elections. I appreciate the hard work of our Bureau of Elections team and the support of local election officials during this review."

Dillon has also filed challenges claiming fraud, and that has not been determined. A final determination on whether the recall petition is sufficient must be made by June 5, but it appears the recall threat against Democratic lawmakers who voted to increase the state income tax and place a sales tax on some services that helped balance the state budget and erase a $1.8 billon budget deficit last fall is over.

Republican lawmaker introduces resolution supporting Andy Dillon

Sane people of all political stripes continue to line up behind House Speaker Andy Dillon to denounce the ridiculous and illegal recall against him for his vote for the increase of the income tax - and the since repealed sales tax on some services - that avoided a government shutdown and helped balanced the state budget on Oct. 1.

Both the subscription only MIRS and Gongwer reported that Rep. Dick Ball, R-Bennington Twp, introduced House Resolution 358 Thursday that would "express the sense of the House that recalls should be based on specific misconduct, criminal activity, or abuse of office and should not be based on a single vote and to denounce the effort to recall Speaker Andy Dillon." That’s also what the majority of voters think, and most state newspapers have editorialized that position. Both nonpartisan groups, like the Michigan Townships Association, and more partisan groups, like the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, have also taken the same position.

Some of the political posturing by some other Republicans was laughable. Rep. Kevin Elsenheimer, R-Bellaire - who is running to be the minority leader or for the Michigan Court of Appeals, depending on what day it is – said, according to Gongwer, that the supporters of the resolution were “…engaging the chamber in a political issue.” What, the House of Representatives is a political organization that engages in politics? Why, I never.

Even more funny was the reaction of Republican Macomb County Commissioner Leon Drolet, who launched the illegal and unethical recall that used faked signatures, paid petition collectors who lied to get signatures and used out-of-district petition gathers to collect signatures. He said in MIRS that “he felt he could get some public relations traction just on the basis that the House was considering taking the resolution up.” With Drolet, that’s exactly what this witch-hunt is all about.

He also, of course, brought up Dillon’s long planned week of vacation with his family. Ironically, the bill that Republicans used to embarrass Dillon and illustrate the fact that he was gone, passed by a vote of 60-44 on Thursday. You will recall that on Wednesday, the Capital Outlay Budget – Senate Bill 511 – failed by just one vote. Drolet and company used that to try and say that if Dillon had been in the chamber it would have passed. They ignored, of course, that eight members were not at session yesterday and three Republicans did not even cast a vote in order to embarrass him.

Somebody better tell Elsenheimer about this politics thing in the chamber. I fail to see how introducing a bill or a resolution is political, but refusing to do what you were sent to Lansing to do is not political. To me, the actions by the three Republicans in refusing to vote might be more of a reason to recall a politician; for not doing what they were elected to do, instead of for doing what we sent them to do.

Gongwer also reported that the Department of State said on Thursday that it has conducted its initial review of the recall petition signatures found they have the required 8,724 signatures. Now if the SOS does its job properly, the fraud will begin to surface even more. The department will now proceed in matching the signatures to the qualified voter file to determine if there are enough to put the measure on the ballot.

Michigan Chamber latest group to come out against Dillon recall

The Michigan Chamber of Commerce became the latest group to come out against the misguided and illegal recall against House Speaker Andy Dillon, D-Redford.

The chamber, which never endorses a Democrat, joins the Michigan Township Association in speaking out against the recall, calling it "counterproductive," according to subscription only MIRS.

A hearing over whether Republican Macomb County Commission Leon Drolet and company violated a court order by using out-of-district residents to collect petition signatures was postponed from Monday to May 12 before Wayne County Circuit Court Chief Judge William Giovan. Drolet, who asked for the postponement, wants to keep their illegal actions out of the public for as long as possible.

In more recall news, Drolet, a former state Representative, said he will not run for reelection to the Macomb County Board to devote more time as the executive director of the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance. It might be because he hasn’t spent much time in Macomb County recently. He also might be concerned about being recalled for his illegal actions, which most people believe recalls should be reserved for. We also know why he pushed so hard for this recall; so much so that he stopped to illegal activities, job security. Drolet has never held a job in the public sector.
That’s good news for Macomb County, but bad news for the rest of the state.