LSJ Blogs: Capitol Journal by Scott Davis

State leaders may emerge from Mid-Michigan

Mid-Michigan could hold a few levers of power in the state Legislature in the aftermath of the Nov. 2 elections.

If Republicans succeed in their quest to wrest control of the House from Democrats, Rep. Paul Opsommer, R-DeWitt, is believed to be among four top contenders to assume the post of Speaker, according to the Detroit News.

If Democrats retain control of the House, Rep. Mark Meadows, D-East Lansing -- now essentially No. 3 in the House leadership -- is said to be a front-runner for House Speaker.

And Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, continues to be a frontrunner to become Senate minority leader in the likelihood that Republicans retain control of that chamber.

It never hurts to know people in the right places….

Is it OK for a black justice to use the N-word in private?

Michigan Supreme Court Justice Bob Young Jr. has been dodging plenty of bullets lately from state Democrats in his re-election bid. But he can’t blame the most recent dustup on Dems.

He can blame former Republican colleague, former Justice Elizabeth Weaver -- and perhaps his own mouth.

This week, Weaver said Young, who is black, had used the N-word when referring to a judicial candidate while in private conference with justices. Weaver, who is white, said she was outraged by the use of the word and told a group in Traverse City this week it showed why Young should not be re-elected.

On Friday, Young admitted to a reporter that he used the word, but said he had used it when he was “hot” about something. He said he couldn’t remember the details.

All of this begs the question: When exactly is it OK for a black person to use the N-word? All the time? Never? It’s been a subject of debate in the black community for many years -- with no clear resolution.

Now, it’s a debate that voters may weigh in on when they enter the voting booths Nov. 2.

Will Republicans split votes for Schauer?

What is supposed to be a banner year nationally for conservatives may not translate into a victory for Republican Tim Walberg in the 7^th Congressional District.

A new independent poll shows that Walberg, who held the seat only two years ago, is trailing incumbent Democrat Mark Schauer 39 percent to 45 percent.

Moreover, the poll showed Schauer receiving 19 percent of the support for Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Snyder in the 7^th District, likely meaning some Republicans are ready to split their vote.

Why is this happening? Walberg has a reputation for being an ultra-conservative and has repeatedly dismissed Schauer’s insistence that a key part of being a congressman is bringing home the bacon. Walberg says reducing earmarks are key to bringing down the deficit.

Also not helping matters for Walberg were his recent comments that President Barack Obama should prove he is an American by showing his birth certificate to a group of people including Rush Limbaugh and a “Supreme Court justice."

Still, Schauer’s lead is not overwhelming, and Walberg has time to turn things around before the Nov. 2 election.

 

 

Young's campaign tries to slam "Wisconsin Gate" shut once and for all

Michigan Democratic Chairman Mark Brewer has been making political hay out of a 2009 Women of the World flyer that provides a short bio of the wife of state Supreme Court Justice Bob Young, saying she lives with her husband and family near her healthcare job in Milwaukee, Wis.

Young has been living in Wisconsin, Brewer contended, and thus the justice, who now faces re-election, is constitutionally prohibited from being on the state bench.

Young’s campaign immediately denounced the claim as nonsense, saying the brochure was a misprint. Campaign officials said Young’s wife worked in Milwaukee four days a week and returned to the family home on weekends for two years until she found a job last March with Genesys Healthcare in Grand Blanc.

Brewer shrugged his shoulders and said the voters should decide the truth.

On Monday, Young’s campaign produced letters from his wife’s former employer and the flyer producer, confirming that she did indeed commute to Wisconsin from Michigan and that flyer was incorrect.

We’ll see if that puts the matter to rest.

 

 

Republicans: Bernero's to blame for Lansing recession

 For months, Lansing mayor Virg Bernero has been touting his job-creation record in the city as a reason he should be elected. This week, a TV ad by the Republican Governors Association has been trying to take steam out of the claim, but it may just be smoke and mirrors.

What Bernero has claimed is this: Since 2006 as mayor, his administration has retained or created 6,000 jobs in Lansing. He bases this on figures supplied by the Lansing Economic Development Corp., which has used a variety of tax credits and incentives to retain or create jobs in the city.

During that period, it is clear that the state’s -- and the nation’s -- recession has cost the city many more jobs than that. According to state figures, the unemployment rate in Lansing increased 83 percent from January 2006 through July; the RGA pegged the increased at 88 percent, but it’s unclear what it based that number on.

In its ad, the RGA blames Bernero and his policies for this rise in unemployment, but that seems silly. Unemployment has skyrocketed all over the country, and some economists question whether even a U.S. president has much power to influence the economy and unemployment rates.

For a mayor to somehow magically heal the jobless rate of a medium-size city would be quite a miracle.

All mayors can do really is put a finger in the dike and create jobs where they can. No doubt Bernero was trying to create the impression in his own TV ads that he has been a savior of Lansing, but his campaign staff has always been careful to say he has created or retained only 6,000 jobs.

And in these days of mudslinging and ad distortions, that’s a fairly accurate claim.

Bernero: 'Don't count me out' (and don't count the numbers)

By the accounts of most pundits, Lansing mayor Virg Bernero didn’t score the knockout punch against his gubernatorial rival, Republican Rick Snyder, during Sunday’s televised debate in Wixom.

The Democratic mayor desperately needed to score a big win Sunday night -- land a blow that would be a game-changer. But Bernero’s repeated charges that Snyder is a serial job out-sourcer barely seemed the ruffle the businessman’s feathers.

After the debate, Bernero stills insisted he is in the race, though recent polls show that he continues to trail far behind Snyder.

“Don’t count me out,” Bernero told reporters.

No one wants to count Bernero out. Nothing puts reporters and pundits to sleep more quickly than a dull, lopsided election.

Still, it may surprise some readers (and editors) that reporters can actually count. An independent poll released Sunday showed that, less than a month before the election, Snyder has a 20 percentage point lead over Bernero. Only 19 percent of voters say they are undecided.

That means that if Bernero grabs every single undecided vote in coming weeks, he still loses.

Anyone have a No Doz?

Bernero tells bankers "we're up to here"

 

Lansing mayor Virg Bernero likely didn’t make too many friends at the Detroit Economic Club when he laid this bomb while addressing them Thurdsay.

“If you are part of the Wall Street breed that runs over people for ever-growing profits and growing bonuses, you will have a problem, because I’ve had it,” the Democratic gubernatorial hopeful said to club members. “We’re up to here with it. Enough is enough.”

Of course, Bernero wasn’t there to play nice. Most certainly, his goal was to use a populist bludgeon to shake up his Democratic base in a year when his party faithful is lacking enthusiasm.

And going after banks -- and demanding they stop home foreclosures -- as a sure-fire winner among the working class, many of whom have lost their homes in a sagging economy.

We’ll see if this message registers with Democrats and independents, and his polling gap closes in coming days.

 

Whitmer making run for a top Senate post

East Lansing’s Gretchen Whitmer is making a bid to become the Senate’s Democratic leader when a new legislative session starts in January.

A senator in the 23^rd District since 2006, Whitmer is vying with Sen. Glenn Anderson of Westland to become the chamber’s caucus leader, Gongwer News reported.

Whitmer had long been considered a favorite to run for the leadership post, partly because she has become among the most vocal Democratic opponents to legislative initiatives by Senate Republicans.

Earlier this year, she withdrew from the race for Attorney General, citing a need to spend time with her family.

Both Whitmer and Anderson, who took office in 2007, have been busily campaigning for other Senate Democratic candidates throughout the state in hopes of restoring a Democratic majority in the Senate for the first time in nearly three decades.

But the chances for that are seen as slim, since most political pundits consider this a year for Republican wins.