Cross-posted to MichiganLiberal.com.
In This Week's Edition
- Michigan Lucky Numbers
- Motown Politics
- What's Happening in Washington
- Looking Ahead to 2006...and 2008
- Legislature Update
- Around the State
- Sound Bites of the Week
Motown Politics
Down to a Two-Man Race?. It looks more and more like Kwame Killpatrick and Freman Hendrix are going to face off in November. The latest EPIC-MRA poll has Hendrix in front with 38 percent, followed by the Kilpatrick with 28 percent, Sharon McPhail with 11 percent, and Hansen Clarke with eight percent. The poll also has Hendrix 21 points in front of Kilpatrick in the general election.
Hendrix #1 in Fund-Raising. Hendrix not only holds a double-digit lead in the polls, but he also has a big advantage over his rivals in money raised. Since the beginning of the year, he's has raised nearly $1.5 million, compared to just under half a million dollars raised by Kilpatrick.
Free Press's Adwatch. The Free Press has been fact-checking television ads run by mayoral candidates. Not surprisingly, Hendrix has been on the receiving end of most of the negative ads. Kilpatrick took Hendrix to task for "the lost years", during which Detroiters lost their right to vote for their school board, the city spent $126 million on a computer system that never worked, and $18 million in HUD funds were mismanaged. Sharon McPhail also attacked Hendrix, accusing him of lacking the temperament to be mayor and for his role as appointed school board chair. Meanwhile, Hendrix returned fire against Kilpatrick, reminding voters of the scandals that have dogged the mayor's administration.
In Brief. Council is exploring ways to reduce the amount the city pays out in lawsuits alleging police misconduct....There's more than mayor and council on Tuesday's ballot. For the first time in seven years, Detroiters will elect a school board....According to one expert, Detroit's voter rolls might be inflated by as many as 180,000 names. This isn't just a Detroit problem: rolls throughout Michigan contain deceased, ineligible, and duplicate voters.
What's Happening in Washington
Energy Bill Heads to President's Desk. The massive energy bill has cleared both houses of Congress, and now goes to President Bush, who's expected to sign it. That's good news for opponents of oil and gas drilling on the Great Lakes. The bill, as amended in conference committee, would ban new permits or leases for drilling. Conferees also stripped a provision immunizing the makers of the gasoline additive MTBE from lawsuits. Nevertheless, the Free Press maintains that the bill's minuses--especially billions in handouts to the energy industry--outweigh its pluses.
Columnist Frank Beckmann of the Detroit News credits four members of Michigan's House delegation for key provisions of the bill, including the extension of daylight saving time and the ban on Great Lakes drilling.
How Michigan's Delegation Voted on Key Legislation. Even though the House narrowly ratified the Central American Free Trade Agreement, the Michigan delegation voted 8-7 against the treaty. Joining the six Democrats in voting "no" were Candice Miller (R-Harrison Township) and Thaddeus McCotter (R-Livonia). When the Senate approved the treaty earlier this summer, both Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow voted against it. In an article in the Mining Journal, , Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) and other House members explained their votes on the CAFTA treaty.
The House voted on other key legislation as the summer recess draws near. The Michigan delegation voted along party lines on a GOP-sponsored malpractice bill. The legislation, which would cap damages in medical malpractice suits, now goes to the Senate. The Michigan delegation approved the energy bill by a 12-3 margin, with John Conyers (D-Detroit), Dale Kildee (D-Flint), and Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-Detroit), voted "no." And the highway bill won the unanimous support of Michigan's House members.
Stabenow Co-Sponsors Drug Reimportation, Online Porn Bills. In the wake of reports showing explosive growth in the number of pornographic websites, Senator Debbie Stabenow and a number of her Democratic colleagues are proposing legislation that would protect minors from visiting porn sites. Their proposal would require age-verification filters and slap a 25 percent excise tax on transactions by adult sites.
Senator Stabenow is also co-sponsoring a bill that would ease barriers to the reimportation of prescription drugs. The other sponsor is David Vitter (R-LA). A similar bill in the House also has bipartisan sponsorship.
In Brief. While Stabenow praised China's decision to revalue its currency, she said the Chinese government must do more to ensure fair trade with the United States....Representative Stupak explained why he voted against reauthorizing the Patriot Act. One reason: 90 percent of the "sneak and peek" warrants authorized by the Act were used to fight garden-variety crime, not terrorism.... Michigan will get an extra $200 million a year for road construction under the highway bill that has cleared both houses of Congress.
Looking Ahead to 2006...and 2008
Fraud, Petitions, and Affirmative Action. Some who circulated petitions for the "Michigan Civil Rights Initiative" lied to would-be signers, telling them that their proposal would promote affirmative action. Actually, the measure would ban it in state employment and education. Dirty pool? Absolutely. Fraud? Perhaps. Grounds for throwing the petitions out? That's debatable. Peter Luke of Booth Newspapers analyzes the knotty legal questions.
The petition controversy has resulted in plenty of commentary. Brian Dickerson of the Detroit Free Press argued that focusing on legal issues will make affirmative action that much harder to defend on the merits. Chris Christoff, also of the Free Press, warns his readers what should be obvious: don't sign something without reading it first.
School Funding on 2006 Ballot, Too? Last month, thousands of education advocates rallied in Lansing in support of legislation that would guarantee minimum funding for the state's public schools. Now they're opening up a new front in their fight: a petition drive to put the funding issue on next fall's ballot. They'll need to gather 254,206 signatures by the end of next May. And, if they do, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce is prepared to assemble a coalition to fight the measure.
In Brief. A Republican presidential candidate hasn't carried Michigan since 1988. GOP chairman Ken Mehlman is determined to break the losing streak.... Dick Posthumus has endorsed Keith Butler for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate.... GOP gubernatorial front-runner Dick DeVos is pressing the flesh in West Michigan....Citing her refusal to confront the legislature over education funding, Jack Lessenberry of the Metro Times called Governor Granholm "the most weak-kneed governor this state has had in modern times"....Veteran Lansing correspondent Tim Skubick has had it up to here with the Higher Office Speculation Game. He called Representative Candice Miller (R-Harrison Township) and Domino's Pizza CEO David Brandon the worst culprits.
Legislature Update
Democrats: Reimport Prescription Drugs. House Democrats plan to introduce legislation that would allow Michigan residents to participate in I-Save-Rx. The program, started by the state of Illinois, provides savings on about 150 brand-name drugs shipped from outside the United States. The bill's sponsor is Representative Marie Donigan (D-Royal Oak).
State House Flexes Its Muscle. In recent years, the House has been a junior partner in state government. However, under the leadership of Speaker Craig DeRoche (R-Novi), it has become a powerful player in state government. How powerful? We'll find out when House-passed initiatives go before the Senate and the governor.
Crackdown on "Payday Loans" Business. Cash-strapped Michiganders often resort to storefront lenders, and wind up paying steep fees--often, 15 percent or more--for a short-term "payday loan." A bill, sponsored by Representative Tupac Hunter (D-Detroit), would curb the worst payday-loan abuses by capping fees, limiting the amount of money a consumer may borrow, and barring rollovers of outstanding balances. The bill has passed the House.
In Brief. The Associated Press has compiled the highlights of the House, Senate, and Granholm economic plans....The Jackson Citizen-Patriot examines legislation that would do away with preliminary hearings in most felony cases....Representative John Stewart (R-Plymouth) has accused Governor Granholm of foot-dragging over funding for state colleges....A Senate panel heard testimony concerning the proposed creation of a statewide health-care plan for school employees....If Republican lawmakers approve further tax cuts, Senate Democrats plan to seek tax credits for low-income workers....By a 5-2 vote, the Supreme Court has affirmed Michiganders' right to walk on Great Lakes beaches.
Around the State
Eighty Years After Scopes, Another Evolution Battle?. Eighty years after the famous Scopes "monkey trial," the controversy over evolution appears headed back into the courts. One battlefield is in our state. Two teachers in the Gull Lake public schools are fighting for the right to teach "intelligent design" in the classroom. A Christian legal foundation in Ann Arbor is prepared to go to court on their behalf.
Pros and Cons of Marriage, Parenting Programs. Michigan spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on programs designed to encourage people to get married, become better parents, and engage in more responsible sexual behavior. These programs raise a larger issue: is it a proper function of government to improve family life? Jack McHugh of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy says government has no business intruding on family life, but supporters of these programs argue that the state pays a huge price tag for broken families.
Will AFL-CIO Rift Affect State Democrats? According to George Weeks of the Detroit News, the decision by two major unions to cut their ties with the AFL-CIO won't affect Michigan Democrats, who can expect continued support from both factions. Weeks adds that the current labor rift is mild in comparison to past fallings-out.
In Brief. Michigan wineries are gearing up to fight a proposed ban on direct shipments....The Macomb Daily's Chad Salewski says that critics of hiking the minimum wage are focusing on the wrong target, arguing that highly-paid, poorly-performing executives are a bigger drain on the economy....Attorney General Cox expressed his support for open government laws but, at the same time, said that charging citizens for public records protects taxpayers.... The Department of Civil Rights is investigating allegations of racial "steering" of would-be homebuyers in the Detroit area....Citing a sharp increase in the number of children living in homes with no full-time wage-earner, the Free Press has appealed to lawmakers not to make further cuts in state programs aimed at the poor....The Board of Education is considering sweeping changes to public eduction, including smaller schools, higher standards, and more testing.
Sound Bites of the Week
You're really opening up Michigan consumers to risk. At the end of the day, you don't know for sure where these drugs were manufactured--Jason Brewer, a spokesperson for House Speaker DeRoche, on the importation of drugs from Canada.
In a democracy, people can harass their government whether we like it or not--Attorney General Cox, on "frivolous" requests for public records.
The mayor's got some work to do--Ed Sarpolus of EPIC/MRA