by P.D. Lesko It’s no surprise Republican Rob Steele couldn’t unseat Representative John Dingell in 2010. However, Steele’s run, which campaign emails intimated would be financed with the doctor’s own “fortune,” rattled Team Dingell. Former President Bill Clinton came to Michigan and stumped for the Dean of the House prior to the November election. It’s [...]
by Amy Kerr Hardin When you next tune into your favorite National Public Radio broadcast, say… maybe it’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross, you might expect to hear a story like the one aired in 2010 about the billionaire Koch brothers and their ongoing egregious attempts to wholesale purchase our political system. NPR ran this segment [...]
by P.D. Lesko Fifth Ward Council member Carsten Hohnke has had enough. In his email to constituents, Hohnke told readers he was stepping down after two terms to “spend more time with his family.” A classic political dodge. Norman Fowler, a member of Margaret Thatcher’s Cabinet, was supposedly the first politician to give the “spend [...]
by Joseph DiSano It’s the time of year when every wannabe pundit and political Nostradamus unveils their prognostications on this year elections. Guess what? No one knows for sure, and those that claim to are lying. A common prediction you will hear from every player in the Pundit Olympics is which party will claim control [...]
by Amy Kerr Hardin Like to win a cool quarter million dollars? You may be in luck if you are a socially conservative artist. ArtPrize, a community art contest founded by Rick DeVos, kicked-off its 2012 call for entries this past week. There are just a few caveats to keep in mind though: you must make something very, very big, [...]
by Amy Kerr Hardin A big show is going on in the Michigan Legislature — with all the pomp and circumstance of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show — our elected leaders are being trotted about on the leash in a celebration of their utter stupidity. Mind you, just like their canine counterparts, there are various breeds of stupid politicians, each with unique characteristics and [...]
Representative Jeff Irwin, a Democrat, served for a decade as a Washtenaw County Commissioner. In January 2011, he began his first term in the Michigan House of Representatives. In his regular column, House Calls, A2Politico will pose a single question to Representative Irwin and he will answer it. The questions will focus on his work in [...]
by Rob Smith It’s not unfair to say that the Michigan GOP has been muscling aside the Democrats in Lansing on their way to pass some pretty pernicious legislation. Cut 11,000 families off of state assistance? Check. Expand Public Act 4 (Emergency Manager law) to the point of thwarting democracy—imposed primarily on black folks? Check. [...]
by P.D. Lesko Saline’s mayor, Gretchen Driskell, formed an “exploratory committee” in February 2012 to see if she could have a snowball’s chance in hell of winning back the 52nd District State House seat from Repblican Mark Ouimet. The Michigan GOP targeted the seat, held by Democrat Pam Byrnes, in 2010 when Byrnes stepped down [...]
by P.D. Lesko Fourth Ward Council member Margie Teall has talked a good game for a long time. The incredibly incurious (Ann Arbor News/AnnArbor.com), overly obsequious (Ann Arbor Observer) or just plain naive (Michigan Daily) local media have made it possible for her to talk a good game. To date, the city’s local media have rarely [...]
