LSJ Blogs: Capitol Journal by Scott Davis

Ground assault vs. air attack: Battle lines for (D)em Day

In the weeks before the Aug. 3 Democratic primary, the battle lines are becoming clearer in the gubernatorial race between Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero and House Speaker Andy Dillon.

It appears that Dillon is utilizing a statewide TV ad campaign, while Bernero, who may be more cash-strapped, will be relying heavily on a ground assault by United Auto Worker members to knock on doors and hand out literature.

"Rest assured we'll get our message out,” Bernero told reporters in Wixom after their final debate Monday. “You'll be hearing plenty from us.”

A political consultant told the Detroit News that Bernero may see some success in this approach if voter turnout is low and union members come out strong for him.

But without TV ads, another expert said, Bernero is “dead in the water.”

Stolen Cox ads? It was just a matter of time

Charges of Nixonian-style dirty tricks are swirling in the Republican gubernatorial primary.

Campaign officials for Attorney General Mike Cox are claiming that someone stole unaired TV political advertisements -- which defend Cox from claims that he covered up a possible 2002 party at the Manoogian Mansion – and then posted them on YouTube, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Cox officials are asking the Michigan State Police to investigate the matter.

"We've seen a lot of unethical things happen in this campaign," said Nick DeLeeuw, campaign spokesman. "But Mike Cox's political opponents who did this have sunk to a new low by committing a crime and stealing private property."

Rumors that Cox covered up misconduct at the party have long hounded him. Cox’s office investigated the matter and concluded the party was merely an “urban legend.”

Cox is in a race for the Republican nomination with four other candidates.

New blog design, added features

We've rolled out a new look for Scott's blog. Along with the new design we've upgrade many of the features in the comments section.

Cox isn’t giggling over Google goggling

Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox is wagging his finger at Google for peeping into people's homes.

This week, Cox fired a missive at Google over its recent admission that some of its employees driving Street View vehicles inadvertently collected data from unsecured wireless networks.

Google officials claim they discovered the problem after German regulators began an inquiry into Google’s Street View program, which involves taking pictures of neighborhoods for Google Maps. Company officials say data may have been collected in more than 30 countries.

In a letter, Cox demanded that the company disclose whether data was collected in Michigan and whether it now is being stored, and he is seeking assurances it no longer collects such unsecured information.

Cox requested that Google provide the information by June 27. That seems like plenty of time for a company that can provide links to 25,000 news articles on Barack Obama in a quarter of a second.

 

State retirement plan losing momentum

The prospect of a new retirement incentive plan for state employees is looking increasingly doubtful.

On Tuesday, Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm acknowledged that it has become an “upward climb” to pass her proposal in the Legislature, but said she would continue to push for it, Gongwer News reported.

House Speaker Andy Dillon, a Redford Township Democrat, has not said when the House will begin work on it.

Granholm proposed the measure in January as a way to implement long-term budget reforms, but some Democratic lawmakers have called the proposal anti-labor because it does not provide sufficiently sweet retirement incentives.

Last month, the Legislature approved a similar measure for public school employees. As of this week, more than 17,000 teachers and school workers had said they plan to accept the offer to retire.

Tea Party, second serving......

Yesterday's post on the Michigan's Tea Party drew some responses from posters, who suggested that I just don't get the party or that Republicans and Democrats are the ones who have no principles guiding their course.

So please, I'm all ears. I want to believe the Tea Party has a plan for America. I'd like to hear what it is.

As far as Republicans and Democrats, I know where they are coming from.

Generally, through the decades, Republicans have been opposed to any expansion of entitlements. If Republicans had their way, there would have been no Social Security, no Medicare. (One exception was George Bush committing hundreds of billions of dollars to expand that socialist program, Medicare, to include prescription coverage)

By contrast, Democrats have consistently been in favor of expanding entitlements since at least the New Deal of the 1930s.

We can have a healthy debate as to which approach has been better for the country.

I get that many Tea Party members believe that government is too big -- and needs to be drastically downsized. Aside from repealing healthcare reform, I have no idea what they would cut. Any serious federal downsizing would have to include deep cuts to Medicare and Social Security. There is no way around it.

Given that polling shows that the lion's share of people identifying with the Tea Party are in their 50s and 60s, I would be astonished to find the party taking an axe to these entitlements.

So if there is a secret Tea plan out there to fix the country, please let me know. Believe me, I want this country to be fixed. I may even join the cause....

Would you like Tea with your state constitution?

Efforts to revamp Michigan’s Constitution have gained steam with new proposed legislation by state Sen. Tom George.

The Republican gubernatorial candidate has introduced the legislation to lay out the procedures and rules for constitutional delegate elections and compensation in the event voters approve a constitutional convention ballot proposal this fall.

Here’s hoping those rules won’t be needed. Michigan is at such an unusual juncture in its history – with chronically high revenue shortfalls – and voter dismay is so widespread that any major changes to the constitution are likely to be knee-jerk. Merely a reaction to the misery of the day.

Moreover, there’s a good chance that Michigan’s Tea Party will dominate the delegate election process; a recent poll showed that four out of 10 state residents identify with the movement. I have nothing against Tea Party members; by and large, they seem like decent, well-intentioned people. It’s just that I – and many others – have no idea what they stand for. I know generally what Democratic principles are; ditto for the Republicans.

It strikes me as risky to turn over the state’s constitution to a group of Tea partiers whose only consistent, definable characteristic is that they are angry.

Michigan, you may have to get used to the taste of Tea.

Hey reporters. License up to date?

Apparently the task of solving a billion-dollar budget shortfall this year is not enough for state Sen. Bruce Patterson.

The Canton Republican wants to rewrite First Amendment freedoms by proposing a state law to regulate reporters, much like the state licenses plumbers and auto mechanics. While many Americans no doubt see no harm in regulating reporters, this reporter and blogger is typing a little more nervously at the notion that the government could pull my license – and my livelihood – whenever it takes offense at something I write.

Patterson said his proposed law is not an attack on journalists; it’s merely an attempt to separate “legitimate media sources” from the tidal wave of bloggers and non-traditional news groups that are disseminating misinformation.

So how would Patterson judge a journalist to be fit for a license? Well, the journalist must have “good moral character,” have a journalism or equivalent degree and have awards or recognition related to being a reporter.

A government agency assessing "good moral character." Just what we need. Here’s hoping that law doesn’t pass – and the proverbial stage hook isn’t coming my way.