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Mitt Romney, during campaign stops in Michigan yesterday, embraced his Michigan roots for all they’re worth. As he watches his popularity plummet in the state in which he grew up, he seems to be grasping at anything to keep from sinking any further. Romney tried to hit all the right buttons in order to resonate with Michigan voters leading up to their February 28 primary, by making himself one of them again. “I was born and raised here. I love being in Michigan,” Mr. Romney said. ”Everything seems right here. You know, I come back to Michigan; the trees are...

Former U.S. Rep Pete Hoekstra will trot out Herman Cain, who bowed out of a bid for the Republican presidential nomination, around Michigan next week to drum up support, his campaign said today. Cain will appear in Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Ypsilanti and Troy on a blitz across the state as they tout the Holland Republican’s Tea Party ties and taking incumbent Democrat Debbie Stabenow to task for her spending policies. Cain suspended his quest for the presidency in December amid rumors of marital infidelity. “The Tea Party conservatives have been increasingly supporting Pete Hoekstra over the years as a result...

Mitt Romney, once seen as a sure bet to win the Michigan Republican presidential primary, now appears locked in a surprisingly tight race with challenger Newt Gingrich. Michigan is home turf for the former Massachusetts governor. His late father, George Romney, was a popular governor of Michigan from 1963 to 1969, and the younger Romney grew up in the Detroit suburb of Bloomfield Hills. But with the state’s primary approaching on Feb. 28, Mr. Romney’s lead remains small, given his home-court advantage. A poll released last week by the Detroit Free Press/WXYZ-TV found that 31% of likely voters supported Mr....

Mitt Romney’s father, liberal Republican George Romney, met with and endorsed infamous progressive activist Saul Alinsky; meanwhile, in a defense of Mitt Romney against charges of racism, the National Black Chamber of Commerce points out the significant influence the elder Romney had on son Mitt and credits the Romneys for a long history of progressive activism. Emphasis mine. No, Mitt Romney is not a racist. As I researched history, over the years I have come to find that the opposite is the case. The Romney Family has a legacy of pro-civil rights, progressive activism and an understanding of how poverty...

BLOOMFIELD, Mich.—Not since George H.W. Bush​ carried Michigan over Michael Dukakis in 1988 has a Republican presidential candidate won the Water Wonderland’s electoral votes. In the 24 years since, Democrats have all swept Michigan with ease. In ’08, John McCain​’s high command publicly wrote off Michigan, causing major embarrassment to his instate supporters. But 2012 will be light years' different from those races, vows State Republican Chairman Bobby Schostak. In an exclusive interview with HUMAN EVENTS on Sunday, the party chieftain said without hesitation: “The race here is so close that [Michigan’s 16 electoral votes] are Barack Obama​’s to lose.”...

ROCHESTER, Mich. – With under two months before the first votes are cast in the Republican presidential primary, the GOP candidates gathered for a debate in a state that has suffered gravely during the nation’s economic recession – but what stole the show were the varying fortunes of the two candidates that pose the biggest threat to Mitt Romney’s chances of securing the nomination: Herman Cain and Rick Perry. While the former has surged in the polls and continues to enjoy support despite new allegations of sexual harassment, the latter has plunged in recent months, even falling outside the top...

In the past few weeks we’ve seen the media scrambling to promote a cat fight between Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann. As the UK’s Telegraph recently wrote: The first shots have been fired in what could become an ugly battle between Sarah Palin and her potential rival Michele Bachmann for the Republican presidential nomination. [...] A Republican consultant who declined to be named because he is aligned with a rival camp, said: “The claws are out. It’s the cat fight everyone has been waiting for – Queen Sarah being taken on by the Palin mini-me.” This is all obviously designed...

...Now we turn our attention to 2012. America must elect a new President. It is that hope, that necessity, that challenge, that draws me to announce my candidacy for the Chairmanship of the Republican National Committee. I don’t take lightly the fact that I am challenging a friend and colleague for the Chairmanship. When Michael was elected Chairman, I was the only candidate who stepped forward to attend the next morning’s RNC breakfast meeting, agreed to join the transition team, and later took on several roles as a team player on the RNC…and have attended every meeting since. Given my...

It seems each day brings some poll almost too good to be true for Republicans. In Michigan: A new independent poll has the dean of the U.S. House, Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., trailing his Republican opponent, Rob Steele, by 4 percentage points. The automated phone survey of 300 people in the 15th Congressional District shows Steele getting 43.8 percent of the vote while Dingell, a Dearborn Democrat and the longest-serving member of Congress, at 39.5 percent and undecided voters at 11 percent. The gap is within the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 5.6 percentage points. The poll...

New Health Microsite Launched How will the new health care law affect me, my family, my job, my business, my country? How much will it cost? How will we pay for it? Could we really lose the health care coverage we have now? Americans deserve answers to these questions about how the massive health care overhaul will impact our country. But they aren't getting these answers from Washington, D.C. That is why I have launched a comprehensive online source of information, "Fix My Health Care Now," with facts, figures, and unknown or unreported details of how this new law will...

Abolish Michigan’s criminal/felony child support laws! A National plea goes out to Boycott Michigan Business (see list below)as an effort is under way to stop Michigan from prosecuting its citizens with Criminal felony’s con-victions for child support. The State of Michigan is convicting its citizens with felony, child support charges and sending them to prison for up to 4-years at the expense of taxpayers. The majority of these people are non-violent, low income citizens who can’t afford attorneys.

State Sen. Jason Allen is joining a very crowded Republican field for this August’s First District congressional primary. “He going to get in it,” said Allen’s Chief of Staff Norm Saari Friday, who added that the necessary paperwork to form a campaign committee and start raising money should be filed by “early next week ... hopefully it’s Monday.” Allen, who had previously been eyed as a potential Lieutenant Governor candidate this fall, became the subject of Republican speculation as a potential candidate within a just a few days of Rep. Bart Stupak’s announcement that he would retire from Congress.

Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land says she won't be running for the congressional seat currently held by fellow Kent County Republican Vernon Ehlers (AY'-luhrs). The 76-year-old Ehlers announced Wednesday that he'll retire at the end of this term. Land, 51, had been considered a likely successor to Ehlers when he stepped down. But Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard has chosen her as his running mate in this year's GOP gubernatorial campaign, complicating Land's potential run for federal office. The Byron Center resident ended speculation Friday in a Bouchard campaign e-mail, telling supporters: "For those of you who might be...

• Terri Lynn Land: She is term-limited as secretary of state and lives in the district. But she is a running mate for gubernatorial candidate Mike Bouchard. Will she ditch him for a job she has long desired? • Kenneth Sikkema: The former state Senate majority leader from Kent County was long viewed as a potential heir apparent to Ehlers. Now he' i a "senior policy fellow" with Public Sector Consultants Inc., a Lansing lobbying firm. Is it too late for a comeback? • Jerry Kooiman: The former Grand Rapids state legislator began his political career 25 years ago as...

The Capitol is shut down for the third straight day, but two new retirements have been announced by members of the House of Representatives. AP reports that the threat of a primary from his right has led Rep. Vernon Ehlers (R-MI) to retire. He's serving his ninth term. "Each of us should recognize that the world doesn't depend just on us and I've been there 16 years now and that's more than enough time for most people and I've accomplished a great deal," Ehlers told AP. "I just felt this was a good time to go." State Rep. Justin Amash...

Former three-term state Rep. Bill Huizenga jumped into the race the day after Hoekstra announced he’d forgo another term in the House to run for governor. The two men have a long history together, as Huizenga was Hoekstra’s director of public policy for six years and ran three of his campaigns. Michigan’s term-limit law barred Huizenga, a former chairman of the state House Commerce Committee, from seeking re-election in 2008. His jump start for the 2010 campaign has helped him secure a number of early endorsements from current and former legislators in western Michigan. State Sen. Wayne Kuipers has taken...

(Headline courtsey of "THE BOSS" from "My Hometown") Obama was to speak at the Macomb County Community College in Warren, Michigan where he would inform them that the thousands of jobs lost in the collapse of the auto industry would never return and it was time to start looking to new industries for future employment, as well as the training of workers for those jobs. As to just what those industries might be or any specifics on the type of training needed it was too soon to say... Entire text at: http://www.edistojoe.com Edisto Joe "INCREASE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT"

Former Michigan and Buffalo Bills tight end Jay Riemersma has designs on Congress. Riemersma has filed paperwork to run for U.S. Rep. Peter Hoekstra's (HUCK'-struhz) 2nd District seat in southwestern Michigan. Hoekstra, a Republican, has announced his candidacy for governor in 2010. Riemersma also is a Republican. He is listed as Regional Director of Development on the web site of the Family Research Council.

State Rep. Bill Huizenga jumped first, but he likely won't be alone in seeking a U.S. House seat being vacated in 2010 by longtime Republican Congressman Peter Hoekstra. At a press conference today, Huizenga was to tout his legislative experience and his ties to Hoekstra in announcing he would seek to replace his former boss. "A lot of people have asked me to run and I feel I need to fill a void that Pete's announcement has created," said Huizenga, R-Zeeland. "I've been through every part of the district and I know it from every aspect, from fruit growers to...

One of the greatest Democratic tricks this past 8 years has been the Patriotism Dodge: their inexplicable ability to convince the press that their patriotism was being attacked at every turn. Sadly, the press rarely followed up the Democratic harumphing with a simple corrective: "However, nothing had been said about their patriotism." Their feigned outrage after the Max Cleland ad was probably the first notable example of this misdirection tactic, but they used it routinely. Even more impressive, if that is the word, has been the Democratic ability to play the martyred patriot even as they were explicitly questioning the...

Question Of The Day: Many in Michigan reacted Friday with disappointment and outright disgust to news that a $14 billion emergency bailout for Detroit's automakers collapsed late the night before in the U.S. Senate. Does the bill failure anger you? Yes No I don't care Poll is near the bottom of the page...

Michigan Christians for Life, a non-denominational Christian organization since 1997 endorsed McCain-Palin on September 19, 2008. There has been no reply from McCain-Palin notwithstanding MCFL's telephone calls, Email, snail mail and weekly Fax copies to Campaign offices in Arlington, VA and Michigan. What is going on? They need help in getting the message to Sen. John McCain or Gov.Sarah Palin, can YOU help?

Today's Rasmussen Reports Daily Presidential Tracking Poll shows John McCain reaching the 50 percent level for the first time since Barack Obama won enough delegates in June to nail down the Democratic presidential nomination. Ending with surveys taken Saturday night, McCain has maintained a three-point lead over Obama for three days and today leads 50 to 47 percent on a large sample of 3,000 likely voters. CLICK HERE for the poll summary. The Gallup lead for McCain is two points with a sample of 2,787 registered voters as of this morning. The number of voters who say they are undecided...

John McCain and Sarah Palin have received a rousing welcome in Democratic-leaning Michigan. As they made their post-convention debut they stressed a strong America and the economy. Big crowds cheered the Arizona senator and Alaska governor as they arrived at Freedom Hill Amphitheater in Michigan's Macomb County, the home to a multitude of working-class union members. Republicans hope to win the blue collar vote with conservative positions on cultural and social issues. Senator McCain told the crowd: "These are tough times for many of you, in the state of Michigan, times are tough. Many people here were worried about keeping...

Female Muslim supporters were told, "because of the political climate in the world, it's not good to be seen on TV or associated with Obama."

off you go

Oh boy one has to believe that Huckabee will be getting some blow-back from this. These push polls have even brought out the South Carolina Attorney General to make this statement: “Last evening the Associated Press reported that that an out-of-state special interest group, Common Sense Issues, had launched a massive push polling effort disparaging John McCain and other candidates for president. In their push poll, Common Sense Issues makes several misleading claims regarding John McCain’s record.“Allow me to set the record straight. In the U.S. Senate, John McCain has been an unwavering voice for the rights of the unborn....

Conservatives, mainline Republicans and family history made it Mitt Romney's day in Michigan, underscoring the fractured nature of the 2008 Republican presidential race as he became the third GOP winner in the first three high-profile contests. In addition to restoring the former Massachusetts governor's fortunes, the outcome underscored Arizona Sen. John McCain's challenges translating support centered on independents and moderates in a party dominated by conservatives and mainline Republicans. It again showed former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to have a weaker lock on evangelicals than he enjoyed in Iowa. And it made former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani look less...

epublicans gear up for Michigan Getty Image removed Michigan could be make-or-break for Mitt Romney, analysts say Voters in the US state of Michigan are gearing up for the Republican primary on Tuesday in the next stage of the race for the White House.Polls suggest a very close battle between Arizona senator John McCain and local boy Mitt Romney. The Democratic contest has been weakened because Michigan chose to hold its vote early and the party barred its delegates from the final convention. Analysts say Michigan's fragile economy is the main issue. High unemployment Some commentators say this could be...

The liberal Web site Daily Kos is encouraging Democrats in Michigan to cross over and vote for Mitt Romney in Michigan Tuesday primary. Apparently, the thinking of the liberals encouraging the crossover vote is that a Romney victory there will further muddle the Republican presidential picture and help the Democrats win the White House in November. Fox News reports that “it’s a classic dirty trick, but perfectly legal. And while Machiavellian political ploys of this sort rarely work, the author’s logic is thus: ‘A Romney victory in Michigan will keep him in the presidential race. And the more candidates slugging...

The College Republicans at Central Michigan University introduced their concept for a "Turn Michigan Red in '08" t-shirt in April of 2007, both as a fundraiser for their origanization and in an effort to show Republican unity heading into the 2008 elections. In the last few years, Central Michigan University has hosted liberal speakers such as Michael Moore, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Thomas Hayden and Wes Clark. There have been no high profile conservative speakers brought to campus in recent history.

All right, a little grab bag for you here to polish off the highlights. It starts with what J-Pod calls the most “blatant act of obnoxious misbehavior during a debate” he’s ever seen and the long, awkward silence that ensues, then segues into the candidates’ dusting off some prefab zingers as the clock runs out. Fred did well here, especially in parrying Mitt’s “Law & Order” thrust. Like MK says, not a great performance but good enough overall. (VIDEO)

There's a debate coming up. Fred has made it pretty clear in the past that these little dog and pony shows don't do much for him as far as anyone getting any REAL chance to speak up and speak out. In fact, not so far back I mentioned his quote about accepting the fact that he needed to "be a good boy and stand in line and wait for them to throw me a fish just like everybody else." He continues to field the pot-shots about being lazy...that's fine-no one seems interested enough challenge his policy positions or his general...

U.S. Rep. Dave Camp got more company this week atop Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's Michigan campaign team. Advertisement Camp, R-Midland, has been a co-chairman since January. Romney announced this week that Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard endorsed him and will be a co-chairman. The other co-chairmen are U.S. Reps. Pete Hoekstra of Holland and Joe Knollenberg of Oakland County's Bloomfield Township and Michigan House Republican Leader Craig DeRoche of Novi. Former Lt. Governor Dick Posthumus is honorary chairman. Bouchard, Michigan Republicans' 2006 U.S. Senate nominee, got 41 percent of the vote as he lost to Democratic incumbent Debbie Stabenow....

One of the hottest races in August features two Republicans going toe to toe in Michigan's 7th District. The incumbent, establishment candidate Joe Schwarz, is facing off against conservative challenger Tim Walberg in a Republican primary that will be decided next week, on August 8th. Because there is no serious Democratic challenger in the district, the winner of the primary will be going to Congress. Although Walberg tells me his internal polling has him up, 41-34 over Schwarz, this is an open primary. That means Democrats are allowed to vote and they're expected to heavily favor Schwarz. So, not only...

Michael Bouchard was a full-time public safety officer at age 20. After a few years in police work, he grew frustrated with a legal system he said was sometimes unfair to victims of sexual assault and other crimes. He sought out Oakland County candidates he thought might make good judges and began working on their campaigns in the mid-1980s. Bouchard soon decided he should dive deeper into politics and run for office himself, helping to make the laws rather than just enforcing them. “It opened my eyes to another reality,” said Bouchard, now a Republican primary candidate for U.S. Senate....

Mich. Rock star Ted Nugent is speaking out again, this time for Michigan Republican U-S Senate candidate Mike Bouchard. Nugent and Bouchard, the Oakland County, Michigan, sheriff, met with supporters tonight before the "Motor City Madman" performed at a Sault Sainte Marie casino. Bouchard faces Troy minister Keith Butler in the August-eighth G-O-P primary. The winner will face incumbent Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow in November. The 57-year-old Nugent lived in Michigan most of his life before moving in 2003 to Crawford, Texas -- where President Bush has a ranch. Nugent endorsed Bouchard in January.

Yesterday Senator Debbie Stabenow voted against an amendment that would have funded construction of the fence and vehicle barriers that she voted to build in May. (S.2611, CQ Vote #126: Adopted 83-16: R 55-0; D 28-15; I 0-1, May 17, 2006, Stabenow voted Yea; H.R.5441, CQ Vote #200: Rejected 29-71: R 27-28: D 2-43; I 0-1, July 13, 2006, Stabenow voted Nay) “Debbie Stabenow says that she wants to secure the borders, but votes against funding the technology designed to protect our families,” said Michael Bouchard, U.S. Senate candidate. “She is saying one thing in Michigan, but voting another way...

Mitt Romney to us, his neighbors...

The Branch County 4-H Fair will be underway, and on Tuesday of that week, Aug. 8, there may very well be a couple of real horse races coming down to the wire as voters go to the polls.

Key races in Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, and Washington State are covered.

"Dick DeVos is a man of integrity," said Hoogendyk, R-Kalamazoo. "He has a track record of leadership in business and a history of leadership in working to improve education in our state. Furthermore, he is an example of leadership by the way he lives his life and I have great respect for him. We need a leader for Michigan that people can put their trust in to do what is needed in this state to change the economic climate. I am happy to offer my endorsement and I look forward to helping him any way I can as he continues...

You guys should check this group out. I met one of their members out in Ohio working with a congressional candidate. They knew what they were doing and I was impressed but i didn't realize that Alex had his own team until yesterday. I looked at their website its got some really solid ideas in terms of strategy. Check it out: http://www.vandenberg-strategies.com

OFF TO THE RACES Butler's Chances Black Minister From Detroit May Prove To Be A GOP Exception By Charlie Cook Tuesday, May 3, 2005 Central to the job of a political analyst is to assess the partisanship and voting patterns of a state or congressional district, the strengths and weaknesses of the incumbent if one is running and of the other candidates in the field, the availability of resources and any other circumstances that might become important in the contest, and then weigh the importance of each of these factors. After almost three decades of watching congressional elections, I have...

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Decision 2004: American Jews must make our voices heard American Jews, who value Israel's security, have an important stake in this election. Senator John Kerry has been endorsed by Arafat, and hundreds of Muslim leaders, including the Protocol spouting form PM of Malaysia, Mohammed Mahathir. Senator Kerry's vision is increased reliance on the UN and European Union, both of which are anti-Israel. He has made it clear that he would support former President Carter, James Baker, or someone similar to pressure Israel on the Palestinians. President Bush, while imperfect on Israel, has supported the right of Israel to define the...

Every republican should by Fahrenhype 9/11. Then they should have a party watching first MOOREs movie and then the rebuttal. This is the best way to get liberals to see Fahrenhype, because you will tell them that you will watch Fahrenheit 9/11 if they do so. None of them want to admit that they won't listen to both sides of the story. So they will come. (I suggest also copying Stolen Honor onto a cd or dvd to show afterwards). I am doing this at work in California and I have got a lot of people together to watch them...

Gannett Fails One-Newspaper Communities/Counties- Port Huron Times Herald a Queue for Government Intervention? In particular, with today’s concentration of all reporting medium with just a few companies- who determines the void or lack of reporting in the best interest to citizens. I’ve challenged a Gannett newspaper, the Times Herald of Port Huron Michigan of its obligation citizens in one-newspaper counties. There appears to be an immediate need to make certain legislation be brought requiring corporate newspapers to better report news and serving the communities they cover. At a crucial time with the 2004 Primary literally days away- this particular newspaper,...

The poll of 600 likely Republican voters in St. Clair County Michigan’s State Representative District 81 countywide found Alloway leading Pavlov by 12 points, 48 percent to 40 percent in a three-way race with Yale Republican Steve Pray Nader included in the ballot test.