I left Detroit for Los Angeles 10 years ago. I loved Detroit, but I had to go. It a town that most who live there, either love to hate or hate to love. It is as tough as city as there is in the United States. It is a example of what can happen when the American Economy can work for the people, giving the working man the ability to rise above, and then a sad demonstration of what happens when that very government lets them down, allowing all they have gained and worked for to deteriorate into urban rot. As we enter what we all acknowledge as the Most Important Election Of Our Lifetime, it is time for us to think about the City of Detroit, and how it could hold the key to winning the election for Barack Obama.
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For a background primer, lets start with local Detroit politics. Detroit has been in the grips of a mayoral crisis of epic proportions over the last year or two. Kwame Kilpatrick, now the former mayor was accused of among other things marital infidelity, incompitence, assault, abuse of office, conspiricy and perjury. Here is the timeline. It's pretty amazing. He resigned last week after Jennifer Granholm, the Governor, called a special hearing on his mayoral rein. He saw the writing on the wall and pled guilty to assault. The interim mayors name is Kenneth Cockrel, Jr. Here is a link to a few of things he said in his mayoral address. It would behoove us to become familiar with the interim mayor, as he may be able to help tremendously with what we need to do in Detroit. Kos has correctly assessed the power that mayors have. They are the machine. We need to work with this mayor, eager to make a difference in a difficult time for the city, as an infastructure to help make a difference for Obama!!!!
Now you may be wondering to yourself: Why do I need to care about a corrupt mayor in Detroit? It is because Michgan is acknowledged to be one the most contested swing states. It's traditionally a Democratic state, but as someone who has lived there, I can too you that they have a VERY strong and well funded GOP.
Michigan is a complicated state geographically speaking: it is a HUGE state. There are the cities: Detroit, Lansing, Flint and Saginaw, all with strong Union support (from its traditional, yet rapidly deteriorating manufacturing base) and a large african american population.
Dearborn: a large suburb just to the west of Detroit that is the largest home of arab americans outside of the middle east. I wonder how they feel about the GOP?
There are the college towns (Ann Arbor, East Lansing, Kalamazoo), liberal islands is a sea of Rush Limbaugh.
Macomb County, just northeast of the Detroit city limits, is known as the home of the "Reagan Democrats": Blue collar voters that have a strong feeling for McCain.
Oakland County, northwest of the Detroit borders, one of the wealthiest in America, home to many CEO's of the auto industry is also a loyal GOP stronghold, and is significant for its financial power.
Western Michigan, centered around the city of Grand Rapids, the cultural home of the Michigan GOP, with its ties to not only Gerald Ford, but Amway and the De Vos and Van Andle familes, and the BILLIONS generated by Amway. It is where Mitt Romney grew up, and where his father lived when he was elected governor. They are a force to be reckoned with.
Northern Michigan. A toss up politically, with liberal areas around Traverse City, and more conservative areas around Alpena.
The Upper Peninsula: Moving further north, across the Macinaw Bridge is the UPPER PENINSULA of Michigan, not to be confused with Northern Michigan. Yes, there are TWO peninsulas in Michigan, and this is the least populated area. It comprises geographically one third of the state, reaching nearly to Duluth, MN, yet there are only around 300,000 people in the region. The eastern part of the "U.P" as the locals call it, has ties to Northern (lower) Michigan, but the western half has strong cultural ties to Wisconsin (Green Bay in particular) and also shares MEDIA MARKETS with Wisconsin. Think of it this way. Eastern U.P: Lions fans. Western U.P: Packers fans.
McCain has always been a strong figure here in the suburban blue collar areas, as well as the western areas around Grand Rapids. Palin WILL APPEAL to Northern and Upper Michigan voters, who generally all hunt, play hockey, look and talk like Sarah Palin. Yes, like Palin, in the fall (around voting time) most up north in Michigan are likely to be running around in hunters orange with a gun. (The first day of hunting season in Michigan is a holiday, with schools closed.......) Her choice, in my opinion, is a direct appeal to rural voters in states like Michigan, and is a wise one, politically speaking. For that reason alone, McCain will take the U.P and Northern Michigan areas. Obama will win the college towns, as well as of course, DETROIT, and the other urban areas, Flint and Saginaw. The key is: By how much? THOSE CITIES NEED TO BE OUR FOCUS. Along with of course the college towns, which are great places to organize volunteers. Our goal needs to be to run up the score as high as we can in Detroit, Flint, Ann Arbor, East Lansing, Kalamazoo and Saginaw. They hold the key to an Obama victory in Michigan!!!
Now for the challenge: Voter registration in Michigan ends 30 days (!!!) prior to the election. Between now and the end of SEPTEMBER, we need to get out and work everywhere we can in the city of Detroit to register voters. There are roughly 900,000 people in Detroit. There are anywhere between 500,000 to 600,000 registered voters. DO THE MATH. We have the opportunity in ONE CITY, to make a huge difference, to literally wipe out a McCain victory in the northern part of the state. (I was unable to find specific voter registration numbers for the other cities!! But I'm sure they are similar, if not much worse)
In order to keep the GOP from running up the score in the GOP strongholds, we need one person in particular: Hillary Clinton. She is enormously popular in Michigan. She needs to step up to the plate and actively unify a still divided party in Michigan, especially after the primary disaster here. She is the one who took a public role (for her own electoral gain of course) of "counting the votes". Well, we need those votes again. She is the one weapon that the democrats have to disrupt Sarah Palin in the blue collar and rural areas. And then, all energy needs to be focused, in the next 30 days, on voter registration in Detroit, Flint, Saginaw, Grand Rapids (to hold our own there) and Lansing. Here is info on Michigan's voter registration requirements.
I repeat: Voters MUST BE REGISTERED 30 days before the election in Michigan. Our energy, and the energy of the Obama/Biden campaign in Michigan, needs to be focused on economic message, as well as simple get out the vote operations. Biden will do VERY well communicating with the blue collar vote. Put him in the suburbs and rural areas. Obama needs to visit The City of Detroit NOW and generate excitement at a large event, and provide an opportunity for massive registration. Detroit is over 80% african american. Here is the demographic breakdown of the city. It is safe to assume that most voters we register in Detroit will be Obama voters.
SIGNIFICANT resources on election day must be devoted to GOTV operations, as Detroit and the other cities are VERY poor. Every personal car, ride, bus and van will matter!! I was unable to find any organizations on the web that can coordinate rides to the polls for voters, or a way for people to volunteer. This is a MUST in Detroit. Its a poor city. With spotty (at best) mass transit. An army of rides must be available to get people to the polls on election day. Every door must be knocked on with a ride waiting.
And also we need to make sure that all precincts in Detroit have enough voting booths, workers, provisional ballots and space to serve the voters of the city. Our victory in November in Michigan starts NOW in Detroit. We do not want another Cleveland in the City of Detroit, Flint or any other city in this country for that matter. Get involved at a precinct level and INSIST that they have insane amounts of volunteers, monitors, and provisional ballots. And yes, lawyers would be nice too. They will be needed. This is a back alley fight at this point, and to win, we need to be willing to THROW the punches, not duck.
Take some time, even if you live on the other side of the country. Learn about Detroit. Learn about the new mayor. Call people that you know in Michigan. Urge them to get involved for Obama. Get involved with the Michigan DNC. If you can afford to spend a weekend or more in Detroit registering voters, do it. Detroit is (to use a Bushism) the "central front" in the war of this election. It wont be won sitting on our laptops sharing links about how evil or flat our weird and unqualified Sarah Palin is. We know. We cant let McCain and Palin win. Better said: we cannot allow ourselves to lose. Not this time. Action people. Action. No more words. This is a ground game at this point. Obama's message is clear. We need to get the voters that hear it to the voting booth!!! It's as simple as that. Dont end up the day after the election asking yourself: Could I have done more? I refuse to put myself in that place. REGISTRATION AND TURNOUT WILL WIN THIS ELECTION!!!!!