POLITICS AS A SPECTATOR SPORT

Michigan held its primary elections last week and it was great fun to watch. In the governor's race, the Democrats put up Larry, Moe and Curly. Curly won.

One of the Democratic candidates for governor was former governor James Blanchard, who did a lousy job as governor last time and then couldn't find a job. Clinton felt sorry for him and made him ambassador to Canada. But, Blanchard wanted more out of life and so took a position as a lobbyist. He only received a dismal 24% of the Democratic vote this time around.

Another funny candidate was the far-left U.S. Rep. David Bonior. Few outside of his old union controlled district likes him and he knows that. So, Bonior jumped the gun and picked a Black running mate, hoping that would help. It did, but he only received 28% of the vote. Except, if we discount the Detroit vote, Bonior would hardly even show up on the board.

The Democratic Party primary winner for governor was Attorney General Jennifer Granholm(1), with a poor showing of just 48% of the vote. Granholm was very interesting to watch. She would make a good TV newsreader, but obviously has zero in the way of executive experience. The impression she gives is that not only does she not know the answers about what is ailing Michigan, she doesn't even know the questions. Most of her campaign was about what she did as a prosecutor in the Detroit area and zilch about why she wants to be governor. So far, the only fix she has hinted about for Michigan's ills would be to raise property taxes.

Actually, we kind of hope she keeps that nonsense up for the general election because most people are already fed up with it. Besides, there is a knowledgeable Republican candidate running.

The Republican primary was kind of interesting, too. Lt. Governor Dick Posthumus(2) ran against State Sen. John "Joe" Schwarz.

Schwarz probably ran one of the silliest political campaigns we have ever seen. He's a physician as well as a senator. But, in his TV ads, he seemed to want everyone to know that he was in Vietnam -- first in the military and second in the CIA. That CIA part did not track very well with veterans at all.

Schwarz said nothing of his record in the State Senate and there must be good reason for that. Instead, he made a major blunder by getting U.S. Senator John McCain to appear in TV and radio ads as his spokesman. The problem is, there are not many people in Michigan who like John McCain. Yeah . . . Whoops!

So, the hunter and fisherman, Lt. Governor Dick Posthumus, walked away with 80% of the Republican vote.

We will have a few pertinent questions for Posthumus. But they are real political questions. Posthumus is a good, honest man who supports things like gun rights and lower taxes.

Our questions will be about that obnoxious state legislature as a whole. Michigan is stuck with a full time legislature and they come up with some of the stupidest bills in the nation. Somehow, they need to become a part time legislature. Very part time.

The most obvious problem in Michigan is bad roads. Posthumus is addressing that. There is also a major budget problem because the state is burdened with about twice as many bureaucrats as it needs. Posthumus knows that. Granholm proposes hiring more for new programs.

In the metropolitan Detroit area, many expect Granholm to win in the general election. But, that's simply because those many people are not paying attention. Detroit's Black community does not like Granholm. They still remember her as a prosecutor jailing their people.

Posthumus has no such baggage in the Detroit area. Also, there is the gun issue. Posthumus supports concealed carry. Granholm actively worked against it and actually kicked up a big stink when the bill came up. And, if there is anyplace in Michigan where it is a good idea to be armed, Detroit is definitely that place. That's not a racial thing, either. The people of every race, religion and nationality understand that and are applying for permits.

The interloper Granholm was born in Canada and raised in California. Posthumus is 100% Michigan and promises to represent the "Michigan values" theme all the way. Granholm is said to be a good debater, but knows little about Michigan government and has zero experience running anything except her mouth. Posthumus, on the other hand, is soft spoken but has spent most of his adult life in government and knows Michigan and all affecting issues perfectly.

About the only groups that will help Granholm in the general election are the unions. And, nowadays, the rank and file of the unions do not pay much attention to who their leadership recommends.

So, Curly is going to be put out of politics just like Larry and Moe were. It's just going to take a couple months longer to get rid of her permanently.

James Blanchard did a lousy job as governor last time and then couldn't find a job.

David Bonior, far-left U.S. Rep., is disliked except for his old union controlled district.

Attorney General Jennifer Granholm gives the impression that she does not know what is ailing Michigan, and wants to raise taxes.

State Sen. John "Joe" Schwarz said nothing of his record in the State Senate and there must be good reason for that. Instead, he made a major blunder by associating with U.S. Senator John McCain.

The hunter and fisherman, Lt. Governor Dick Posthumus, walked away with 80% of the Republican vote. He is a good, honest man who supports things like gun rights and lower taxes. He supports concealed carry. The most obvious problem in Michigan is bad roads. Posthumus is addressing that. There is also a major budget problem because the state is burdened with about twice as many bureaucrats as it needs. Posthumus knows that. Posthumus is soft spoken and has spent most of his adult life in government and knows Michigan and all affecting issues perfectly.

About the only groups that will help Granholm in the general election are the unions. And, nowadays, the rank and file of the unions do not pay much attention to who their leadership recommends.

I sincerely hope that you are right. It would be pleasant to hear my co-workers who have been running around the office since January talking about "our next governor, Jennifer Granholm" and "won't it be nice finally to get a democrat in charge" have to continue cursing their ill luck at living in a "conservative" state like Michigan.

Granholm will win by 10 points. Engler fatigue (he's been there 12 years) will hurt his heir apparent and Granholm has excellent handlers who will keep her programmed well enough to avoid any tough questions.

It will also help Granholm that Posthumus is being just as coy about the budget situation as Granholm. With the income tax cuts continuing there's a $1 billion structural deficit. Either you freeze the income tax cuts or else you cut spending (the cookie jars that have been raided the last couple years are just about empty).

Granholm is promising to cut each Department by 2%, which on the face of it would save $200 million. Except she's going to exempt school aid and higher education and community colleges (because it's about the children), so the real savings will be a lot less, and she'll have to push for at least a tax cut freeze if not a tax hike at some point.

Posthumus is out there promising not to freeze the tax cuts and he's also promising to increase school aid, increase health care spending (i.e. Medicaid), not release prisoners (i.e. keep on increasing corrections spending), and increase higher education spending. There just ain't much left to cut once you put take four off the table. So either he's going to break his promises on cutting spending or else he's going to freeze the tax cuts he promised not to freeze.

Whichever candidate wins is going to have a hell of a mess to deal with.

Yeah, that's a great perspective. Whoever wins a football game, your taxes will be the same, wars will still happen at the same time and in the same places, and the law won't change. The winner of an election changes the way you live your personal life in dozens of ways.

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