Attack of the right-wing cannibals

It’s the electability, stupid.

Conventional wisdom says ideology is king and Republicans must wheezingly lurch to the right to win in November. John McCain better pick Mitt Romney, Sean Hannity or Tom DeLay (if he’s not in the slam) as veep if he wants to perk up the base.

The same debate is bobbing up in the 7th Congressional District. In the most overlooked story last week, some Michigan GOP poobahs are fishing for a candidate to knock off freshman U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg in a primary.

The preacher’s problems evidently go beyond the congressional cafeteria mucking up his coffee, as he recently whined to the media. The darling of the Religious Right is a top 10 Democratic target, has burned through a lot of green and is desperately struggling to raise more.

Walberg just might be able to accomplish a feat no one thought possible: He could lose the blood-red 7th District.

Though there are several good prospects – popular former state Rep. Clark Bisbee of Jackson, is rarin’ to go – a primary remains unlikely.

Why? Just look at 2006, when Walberg handily defeated then-U.S. Rep. Joe Schwarz, an almost universally respected public servant of four decades who had won his seat with almost 60 percent of the vote.

“Republican powerbrokers can’t go to the right of Tim and still be Republican,” says former state Sen. Phil Hoffman, a Walberg supporter. “And Tim’s shown that if you go to the left of him, he can beat you.”

Hoffman knows more about the 7th District than just about anyone I know. And primaries tend to be orgies for extremists.

But the times, they are a-changin’. Republicans can change with them or be left behind. After all, the (conservative) Weekly Standard soberly estimates only 3.6 percent of the electorate is very conservative.

It’s not 1984 anymore (sob) and the crazy-quilt coalition of Wall Street, the Moral Majority, fiscal conservatives, Reagan Democrats and old-fashioned moderates has fissured amidst competing and incongruous interests.

So the case against Tim Walberg is all about electability, baby. It’s something he’s wrestled with his entire career, barely eking out wins in the 2006 general election against Sharon Renier (a chicken farmer with $1.03 in the bank) and even as a state rep for the Bible Belt of Lenawee County.

“If Joe won in 2006, it would be a safe seat today and (Democratic challenger) Mark Schauer would be concentrating on being a good Senate Minority Leader,” Hoffman notes.

That’s why party elders should sit Timmy down and politely tell him to get the hell out.

Look, it’s no secret the state GOP brass preferred Walberg’s ultraconservative views to those of the moderate Schwarz and basked in his defeat. The 7th will always stay red, they chortled, so why not have someone who swizzles the Kool-Aid?

Not so fast, boys and girls.

Tim’s politics aren’t most people’s politics. Most of us don’t believe in abolishing the Department of Education or banning abortion without an exception for the mother’s health.

Most importantly, Walberg’s done nothing to create jobs in the depressed district by voting against a new runway for the Battle Creek Airport or save jobs at the Canadian National Railway Co.

It’s shaping up to be another colossal congressional year for Democrats, whose war chest is 13 times the GOP’s. Republicans keep retiring, leaving 28 open seats to defend.

The question for the right-wing is simple: Do you want to win or soak in self-righteous defeat?

In the 7th, they need someone who appeals to more than the Club for Growth and Right to Life lobbies. Otherwise, their only hope is to tar and feather Schauer, who’s made himself an easy target with votes to hike taxes and against a partial-birth abortion ban.

On the national front, Republicans need to let McCain be McCain – a straight-talking conservative who can woo the swelling ranks of independents.

But many party and talk radio kingpins will nihilistically sit on their hands for him. The idea of excoriating a pinko president for four years (particularly if it’s a Clinton, praise be!) will be boffo for ratings and fundraising.

Indignant ideologues will, of course, hiss that this is about principle. Indeed.

It makes me nostalgic for the University of Iowa in the ‘90s, when Socialists led the fight for free speech and against sweatshops. But they could never band together with non-believers to run a student government slate. In fact, the Marxists despised liberals (capitalist pig sellouts) even more than the radical right.

Anyone who questioned this calisthenics in logic was treated to a huffy, “You don’t understand the politics.”

They remained ideologically pure - and lost time after time. The left, as any student of history (and observer of the blogosphere) knows, has a dreadful habit of devouring its own.

Right-wingers, take note. That’s food for thought.

On swine and spines

Right now, jittery state lawmakers are wishing the anti-bullying legislation they passed this spring applied to one Leon Drolet.

Drolet, the elfin former Republican state representative, has reinvented himself as chair of the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance, fond of stalking his old colleagues with a half-ton foam pig named Mr. Perks.

Considering a tax increase to give kids better schools? Mr. Perks and his adorable corkscrew tail beseech you to reconsider.

It's good, old-fashioned third-grade fun by a bunch of guys who haven't quite grasped the concept that evil taxpayer dollars allow us to flush dookie down the toilet.

But now the mirthful Mr. Drolet has turned serious, evidently intent on earning his $39,000 salary, more than half the alliance's funds, Gongwer news service reports.

(One does have to admire Drolet's conservative work ethic. When life gives you term limits, find a think tank, run back to the Macomb County Board of Commissioners from which you came and end up almost matching your sweet $79,000 Lansing salary — sans perks.)

Drolet is gearing up to file recall petitions against 10 Democratic and Republican legislators in swing districts (can you say politically motivated?) to browbeat them into supporting his group's extremist anti-tax agenda.

If need be, Drolet says he'll go after 20 more.Just what we need, to hemorrhage more moderate, reasonable voices in politics, just for doing what they think is right to represent the people of their district and the state of Michigan.

Nine times out of 10, recalls are an ill-conceived scare tactic — a waste of time and money. They should be reserved for cases of rampant illegality when the bum refuses to step down.

What we could face next year is total electoral chaos.State Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer has vowed to recall two Republicans for every Democrat. Not to be outdone, the Michigan GOP is floating a recall of Gov. Jennifer Granholm to motivate the base, throwing the presidential and state House races the Republicans' way.

This takes politicking to a whole new level of insanity, thanks to people allergic to making prudent policy.And it's superfluous. Despite last year's Democratic tsunami, it's not all doom and gloom for the GOP, which could still win in '08 fair and square.

If Michigan-native Mitt Romney is the presidential nominee, he could easily take the state — and thus the Electoral College. The trickle-down effect in state House races could restore GOP control.

Plus, the Dems could deliver a surprise Christmas gift. If state Sen. Mark Schauer unseats U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, (an almost statistical impossibility if Romney's on the ballot) then his old seat is in the bag, thus bestowing the GOP with a healthy 22-16 majority till 2010.

No Democrat, not even those closest to Schauer, thinks the seat will hold.As for the budget, if you seriously believe the Legislature can solve the $1.8 billion shortfall by Sept. 30 without a modest tax increase, then you've spent too much time inhaling Mr. Perks' fumes.

Do the math. Of the $42 billion state budget, most is in restricted funds for things like road repair. The only funds in play are the $13 billion K-12 school aid and the $9 billion general.

Neither party wants to get tagged with hating children, so that leaves deep cuts to corrections, higher education, human services, local governments and community health.

Go ahead and further gut the Department of Human Services and feign surprise at the next Ricky Holland case — the savings still won't go very far.

Nobody's eager to let the bad guys out to shrink the bloated $1.9 billion prison budget. And even if we pillage the entire $1.9 billion from higher ed (Lansing's favorite whipping boy), we'd still run short next year because our Paleozoic tax code never raises the revenue intended.

This isn't tax-and-spend madness. It's trying to keep the Capitol's lights on and ensure the Mitten State has a future.For those morally offended by taxes, I suggest you declare the glorious Republic of Notaxistan in the hinterland, where perhaps Dick DeVos will subsidize your police and public works. Or maybe you'll be content to let the dookie run free.

As for our leaders in the real world, just do your job.

Try something new, like passing a budget and pertinent laws to grow jobs, broaden health care access and improve schools. Seems that would be better for your job security than bumbling around in a daze of fear and confusion.

After all, even Mr. Perks appears to have a spine.

2006 Governor’s race: What will they do for Jackson?

By Susan J. Demas
Jackson Citizen Patriot

Andy Nastally swapped the assembly line for the unemployment line after spending almost his entire adult life at TRW Automotive.

Nastally, 28, was one of 400 workers to get the ax when the plant closed in July. Now the Jackson dad worries how to pay his heating bill and afford clothes for his three kids.

“I’ll never find another job like that,” said Nastally, an almost 9-year TRW veteran. “It’s getting used to poverty, I guess.”

Former floor inspector Elizabeth Powell, 44, also is among the 80 percent who hasn’t landed a new job since the layoffs.

“It’s a struggle,” said Powell, a 7-year TRW employee from Blackman Township.

As Jackson County faces an uncertain future, with 7.3 percent unemployment and another 500-plus jobs on the line at Eaton Corp., voters such as Powell and Nastally are anxiously looking to the governor’s race Nov. 7.

They’re not party loyalists. They don’t care about the $50 million-plus ad campaign, the priciest in Michigan’s history.

They have just one question for Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm and GOP challenger Dick DeVos:

What will you do for us?

“I have a program, ‘No Worker Left Behind,’ for auto workers who are victims of the global economy,” Granholm said. “It helps them afford collapsed training in a new career like skilled trades or health care.”

DeVos counters it’s too little, too late – and he can do better.

“I’d tell them it’s time for a change,” DeVos said. “What (Granholm) is doing in Michigan obviously isn’t working.”

Governor’s grades

At the Jackson Coffee Co. this week, a khaki-clad Granholm came armed with hugs and handshakes for 200 supporters. After a full day on the campaign bus, her magnetic blue eyes still locked with every worker behind the counter.

What gets lost amid the shouts and cheers is that the governor — who has never lost an election — is fighting to keep her own job.

Four years ago, she was flying high as the state’s first female governor, with analysts lamenting Granholm’s Canadian birth blocked her road to the White House.

That was before Michigan bled 85,000 jobs, Ford Motor Co. announced 40,000 layoffs and General Motors hemorrhaged 35,000 buyouts.

Studies by University of Michigan economists and the nonpartisan,
Kalamazoo-based W.E. Upjohn Institute both project a net job loss through 2008 — regardless of who’s in the governor’s mansion.

Michigan’s dependence on the auto industry is one reason for its 7.1 percent state unemployment, Granholm argues.

Granholm also hastens to point out the state lost 240,000 jobs in the last three years of Republican Gov. John Engler, who also handed her a budget $4 billion out-of-whack.

“Like so many other women, I’m a mother and I’m used to cleaning up other people’s messes,” the mother of three said at a Michigan State University rally in October.

The centerpiece of her economic plan is the $2 billion 21st Century Jobs Fund investing in advanced manufacturing, alternative energy, homeland security and life sciences start-ups. She also signed a $600 million tax cut for manufacturers.

Granholm wants to replace the $1.9 billion in revenue lost from the repeal of the Single Business tax — almost one-quarter of the general fund — with a business tax weighted more on profits than wages.

U.S. House candidate Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, said Jackson County voters know Granholm has been “incompetent” at bringing the economy out of the doldrums.

“I would give her a ‘D’ grade,” said Walberg, who’s facing Sharon Renier, D-Munith, in the 7th District. “She won’t work with the Legislature. Engler worked with the Democratic House to get 21 tax cuts passed.”

Millionaire challenger

DeVos, 51, is shakier on the campaign trail than Granholm, but he was quick with a crinkled smile and hearty laugh at a 400-person Greater Jackson Chamber of Commerce mixer last week.

The father of four has run as a political outsider, having only served two brief stints on educational boards. His wife, Betsy, is the former state GOP chairwoman and the Ada Township couple has given millions to Republican groups.

DeVos says the race comes down to leadership.

Touting his credentials as the former CEO of Amway/Alticor, DeVos helped spearhead this year’s petition drive to kill the Single Business Tax in 2007.

He supports replacing “at least half” the lost revenue through a business-based levy but said he’ll propose a new tax structure after Election Day. To make up for the shortfall, DeVos wants to “trim the fat” from state services.

DeVos also wants to overhaul personal property taxes for business, which generates $1.8 billion, and enact a “30-day shovel in the ground” policy for construction. He said Ohio and Indiana have benefited from “high taxes driving Michigan businesses away.”

“We need a businessperson in the governor’s office,” DeVos said. “We need to transform taxes and have one-stop shopping in state government.”

It’s DeVos’ record in business that Democrats have seized on — pointing to 1,400 Michigan jobs lost while Amway invested $200 million in China in the 1990s.

DeVos calls the claim “salacious,” maintaining he did not ship jobs overseas.

But state Sen. Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek, says DeVos’ history hasn’t played well with Jackson County voters nervous about their jobs.

“He’s part of the problem in Michigan,” said Schauer, who’s being challenged by Elizabeth Fulton, R-Battle Creek. “People know Granholm is going to fight, like she has for the Big Three car companies.”

Jackson bound

During DeVos’ stop in Jackson, he called its 2004 “Cool Cities” designation a “nice-sounding idea” but questioned how much Granholm’s initiative had improved the area.

“I might be a little biased, but I think cities that work — that’s a cool thing,” DeVos said. “I know a little bit about that with what we’ve done in Grand Rapids.”

Granholm highlights the Armory Arts Project — which in May netted $10.5 million in state funds — as her “first example of how arts can foster economic development.”

She said it’s critical for manufacturing-based cities like Jackson to attract other development and attract young people.

Jackson County faces more challenges than with its economy. About 20,000 residents — 12 percent — lack health insurance, the Department of Community Health reports.

Granholm has proposed “no-frills” coverage for Michigan’s 1.1 million uninsured modeled around a plan signed by Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass. She argues it’s an investment since the high cost of health care is costing Michigan companies jobs, especially within the auto industry.

DeVos said it’s another example of “all talk, no action” by the governor, who hasn’t taken her plan to the Legislature. He favors tort reform to keep costs down and revamping Medicaid.

“We have got to get Michigan back to work,” DeVos said. “The best way to have health care is to get a job.”

Education is another area in which Jackson County lags, with only 16 percent of residents 25 or older holding bachelor’s degrees compared to 22 percent statewide.

Granholm has proposed a $4,000 merit scholarship for every Michigan student to meet her goal of doubling the number of college graduates by 2015. Vowing to invest more in K-12 education, she also signed a law beefing up high school graduation requirements.

“What I stress to kids is that there is a $1 million lifetime earning differential between those who graduate from high school and college,” she said.

DeVos argues Granholm has cut education too much. Though he led a 2000 effort for school vouchers, he said he’s “firmly committed” to public education and will fight to funnel more funding into the classroom.

Workers’ winners

So after sifting through the plans, the rhetoric and the non-stop TV ads, what do the laid-off TRW workers have to say about the race?

Nastally, who said he’s never voted a straight ticket, said he’s worried DeVos will slash school funding and other programs. Granholm won his vote with her plans for education and improving the skilled workforce.

“(DeVos) is wishy-washy in his answers on everything,” he said. “The governor has taken one hell of a mess and tried to turn it around. I don’t know if she could have done it any quicker.”

But Powell, who says she’s a lifelong Democrat, is pulling the lever for DeVos because “Granholm fell short of what she promised” about creating jobs. She also raised taxes on cigarettes.

“Things are so critical. I’ll vote for whoever can get the job done,” Powell said. “(DeVos) ran a corporation like Amway — he knows the ins and outs to bring new business here,” Powell said.

On Nov. 8, both Nastally and Powell will still be looking for work – and whoever falls short in the gubernatorial contest could be joining them. But offers likely will pour in for the multi-millionaire entrepreneur DeVos and Granholm, a Harvard-trained former federal prosecutor.

The TRW workers are in a different boat.
Facing her fifth month without a job, Powell lets out a long sigh. “I don’t know if either of them is concerned about us people.”