Bill Hardiman governed as a RINO when he was mayor of Kentwood? Please provide examples of this.
He certainly voted as a conservative in his 8 years in the state senate: http://www.votesmart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=37483
As for Justin Amash, I have nothing against him, but
he has served just 2 years in the state house. I think he needs more time to prove himself (both on policy and electorally) before I would support him for Congress, especially against a proven candidate such as Hardiman. Amash is young and has only run in a safe GOP seat, so he may not yet have the skills needed to win and hold (I’m more concerned about the second part, since 2010 should be a slam dunk for us) a district centered in Democrat-trending Grand Rapids with an electorate more than 7 times as large as Amash’s state house district (particularly since we don’t know what the MI-03 will look like after 2011 redistricting, in which the legislature could remove Barry and Ionia counties and add part of Kalamazoo County to make the MI-06 and MI-07 more Republican).
Justin Amash should gain valuable experience in the state house for 4 more years before running for another office, especially if he wants his next office to be U.S. Congress. Then again, maybe he’s running for Congress this year not because he expects to win (prior to Ehlers’s retirement, Amash was a huge longshot), but as a way to bring up his name ID for a future run. I think it would be wiser for Amash to file for reelection to the state house instead.
Let me understand your reasoning for Hardiman is he is a career politician? I think the less experience the better if the person is a man of principle. I have nothing against Bill but his time has passed. The aspect that you dislike about Justin makes him appeal to me and many others who are sick of the status quo.
OK this is from a Calvin College forum on May 3rd 2005. You judge if he is a progressive or not.
Mayor’s Office Sets Urban Priorities
In a May 3 rd forum at Calvin College , Grand Rapids ’ mayor George Heartwell and state senator Bill Hardiman discussed what they termed the three most important issues facing Grand Rapids . “Twenty three percent of Grand Rapids children live in poverty line households,” said Heartwell. These kids are going off to kindergarten at age five with one hand tied behind their backs.” He pointed out that people will take to the streets over casinos and gay marriage but societal “blood pressure is flat-lined with it comes to poverty…no one is paying attention to poverty.”
Mayor Heartwell is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and served for 14 years as pastor at Heartside Ministry, a program serving the homeless community of Grand Rapids . He also directs the Community Leadership Institute at Aquinas College , teaching in the Community Leadership major.
Heartwell’s next issue was education. “As a mayor of an urban center, you can’t separate education and poverty. Education ought to take a higher priority on our national agenda,” he said. Heartwell’s third concern was “economic vitality.” With Grand Rapids a major manufacturing center and manufacturing on the decline, the Michigan economy has been hurt. The “challenge” to the state’s economy is finding its place with advancing technology. Senator Hardiman added, “I agree with those [three issues]. The economy is incredibly important right now.”
When Heartwell and Hardiman took questions, one student asked, asked what is being done to address the injustice of the gap between city poverty and the affluence of the suburbs. How are multimillion dollar developments in suburbs justified in the face of closing schools in inner cities? Mayor Heartwell responded that “there is a great gulf that exists between urban centers and townships that’s not only geographical; it’s a state of mind difference.” Both the senator and the mayor noted that poor children have higher academic success when learning with affluent kids.
Adapted from “ Politicians Talk Urban Issues,” b y Amanda Whitcomb, Calvin College Chimes, May 6, 2005
Hardiman voted to create the job-killing Michigan Business Tax. That’s enough to disqualify him for any elected position in my book.
Hardiman voted to CREATE the job-killing MBT. That’s enough to disqualify him for any elected position in my book.