How Competitive are 5 and 7?

Fritz Klug of the Gazette looks at how competitive Kalamazoo County Commission districts 5 and 7 are.  Unfortunately, his methodology is bad, at least in district 5.  He averages together the results of county commission elections from 2006, 2008, and 2010.  However, there were several uncontested elections in the average, which produces misleading results.

Southwest Michigan Politics: What way will the Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners go?

Shocker: Gazette Endorses Obama

All kidding aside, it actually is a bit surprising. Despite the Gazette's liberal editorial positions, 1996 was the last time they endorsed a democrat for President.

Recent endorsements:
2012: Obama
2008: no endorsement
2004: Bush
2000: Bush
earlier: many democrats

Let's break it down.

Barack Obama has earned four more years as president of the United States (Kalamazoo Gazette Editorial)

Four years ago, when Barack Obama stepped into the presidency, our nation’s economy was in shambles, we were at war in Iraq, and the way we financed health care in America was flat out broken.

Today, the economy is on the mend, the war in Iraq is over and the historic Affordable Care Act is the law of the land.

The President doesn't make the economy recover.  Economies recovered on their own long before governments tried to fix them.  What is notable about the "recovery" is how weak it has been, and how long it has taken.  Obama's policies are to blame.

We still have have troops in Iraq (not combat troops).  But we were already drawing down and ending the war under Bush. Obama inherited that!

Yes, the Affordable Care Act is flawed. But after years of hand wringing and do-nothing by Washington, a president finally came along who had the vision and the guts to force major changes in a health-care system that should be a jewel for America but is instead a disgrace because it is out of reach for so many.

And he made it much worse.

There are some who have said they wished Obama could have made his historic run for president at another time, that he could have claimed his presidency in an era of peace, calm and economic certainty. That, however, was not his destiny.

His destiny was to lead us through our current economic crisis, and he has done this work diligently in the face of enormous obstacles. We believe his work is not yet finished and thus we endorse Barack Obama for another term as president of the United States. Against tremendous odds, Obama has earned another four years in office to continue crafting his vision for our nation.

Diligently?  Everything that has come out about his work ethic says that he is not a particularly hard worker.

In 2008, the banking system was collapsing, the housing market was in upheaval and General Motors and Chrysler were heading toward catastrophe. America continues to reel from the worst financial crisis to face this nation since the Great Depression.

Job growth has been nominal, the deficit looms large and only now is the housing market beginning to come back. But, we believe we would be in a worse position had Obama not been in the White House, where he was able to stabilize our free fall through use of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, mortgage relief programs, the stimulus package and the bailout of General Motors and Chrysler.

TARP was passed under Bush.  So were the mortgage programs.  So were the GM and Chrysler bailouts.  Who is the Gazette endorsing again?

The last two programs had very visible impacts in Southwest Michigan with the widening of I-94 coming out of the stimulus package and numerous automobile parts manufacturers being able to stay afloat with the rescue of the auto companies.

The economy has done far worse than Obama projected that it would, both with and without the stimulus.  By their own standards, it failed.  Most of the money did not go to "shovel-ready jobs" (I-94 being an exception.)

While maneuvering through the troubled financial landscape, Obama has managed several other notable accomplishments. In foreign affairs, he has repaired strained relations with key allies, ended the war in Iraq and has begun to draw down troops in Afghanistan.

He made relations worse with our real allies, Britain and Israel.  Casualties are way up in our increasingly pointless war in Afghanistan.

Following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the administration of President George W. Bush kept the issue of terrorism at the forefront of its public policy, including using it as a pretext to launch the Iraq War. But let’s not forget that it was under President Obama’s watch that the true culprit of 9/11, Osama bin Laden, was finally tracked down and killed.

By Obama?  Obama cancelled the mission three times and drafted a statement blaming the military if it failed.  He also left our Libyan ambassador to die.

There are other accomplishments we could cite, but perhaps the greatest is that President Obama managed to get anything done at all in the face of ongoing hostility from Republican members of Congress, whose main legislative goal — perhaps their sole objective — has been to undercut his every move.

Which the voters massively rewarded in 2010.

Some of the best evidence of that can be found in the debt reduction talks between President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner. They were well on their way to reaching a compromise when the Republican Party forced the speaker to walk away from the talks.

No, Obama sabotaged the near-deal.

Have there been failures in the Obama administration? Yes. In his first campaign, Barack Obama promised more than he could — or did — deliver. He has failed to close the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center. He has not been able to repeal the Bush tax cuts for higher incomes. He has not been able to ban companies in bankruptcy from giving bonuses. He has not supported the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act.

He failed to be left-wing enough!

Perhaps these will make their way to the top of Obama’s agenda if he is re-elected, although we have to believe that the economic recovery of the country would remain his primary concern. The recovery would have to be the main focus for Mitt Romney, should he win the election on Nov. 6.

And, that is our concern with the Republican nominee. Romney echoes the failed economic philosophies that have brought us to this point in history.

We simply do not believe the relentless arguments that protecting the assets of the wealthy and cutting social programs for everyone else provide the only hope America has for economic recovery and growth.

What a distortion of what Romney advocates. Conservatives support property rights for everyone. "Social programs" promote dependency and punish individual responsibility.

To ask the wealthy to help fund a government that invests in education, health care, infrastructure and other essential services is not socialism — it is asking all members of our society to be socially responsible. Indeed, it is in the interest of the wealthy to have a strong middle class.

Ask?  What if they say no?  You want to put a gun to their heads.  Of course, it is not "the wealthy" who will be "asked", but high income earners (not the same group).  "Invests" is liberal propaganda-speak for "spend".  Education and health care could be provided far better by the free market.  Raising taxes is "responsible" for increasing poverty.  Capitalism gave us the middle class.

President Barack Obama has led with a steady hand for the past four years, opting to invest not in big government but in active government that will use its power to guide us toward a healthy future. We believe Obama deserves another four years to continue that work.

Not big government?  How much bigger would our "active government" have to be for the Gazette to consider it big?  The future Obama is guiding us toward is anything but healthy.

2012 Michigan General Election Preview

Cross-posted at The Western Right, Right Michigan, and Red Racing Horses.

This is an overview of competitive November 6 general election races in Michigan in 2012. More detailed profiles of some of the races are linked within the article.

President (Michigan) Leans democrat
Michigan leans slightly to the left in Presidential elections. This means that democrats need to win Michigan to win the White House, but Republicans don't. Michigan still has a weak economy thanks to eight years of democrat Governor Jennifer Granholm. Mitt Romney can still win here (current RCP average is Obama +4), but if he does, he's already won elsewhere.

US Senate Likely democrat
Democrat Senator Debbie Stabenow is seeking a third term. The Republican nominee is Pete Hoekstra, former congressman who represented the 2nd district in West Michigan 1992-2010. He won a contested primary that sapped resources.  Hoekstra aired a controversial China ad and labeled Stabenow the worst senator ever, but never found support beyond the Republican base.  The RCP average is Stabenow +13.

US House of Representatives
Only a couple 2012 Michigan Congressional Races are competitive.

District 1 (Upper Peninsula, Northern Lower Peninsula) Leans Republican
In 2010, Dr. Dan Benishek won an open seat vacated by democrat Rep. Bart Stupak against democrat state Rep. Gary McDowell 52-41. The new district gets more Republican, adding areas around Traverse City. McDowell is back for a rematch, but Benishek will be difficult to beat as an incumbent.

District 3 (Kent, Calhoun) Likely Republican
Moderate democrat former state rep. Steve Pestka defeated leftist Trevor Thomas, and faces Congressman Justin Amash.  Amash has had some scrapes with Right to Life and the NRA, neither of which endorsed in this race.  Still, the district in Republican enough that it likely won't matter.

District 11 (NW Wayne, SW Oakland, Troy) Safe Republican
Republican Thad McCotter saw the most improvement in his district, trading increasingly democrat suburbs of Detroit in Wayne County for Republican areas of Oakland County. But McCotter's staff committed fraud, leading to his being disqualified and dropping out. Tea Party Republican Kerry Bentivolio won the Republican nomination over write-in candidate former state senator Nancy Cassis. Democrat Canton Township Trustee Taj Syed defeated William Roberts, a "LaRouche democrat".

Michigan Supreme Court Lean Markman/Tossup, Lean Zahra
Conservative Republican Steven Markman was renominated, and Colleen O'Brien was nominated for the seat of age-limited democrat Marilyn Kelly. They face democrat (Irish women) Connie Kelley and Bridget McCormack.  Appointed Republican Brian Zhara is seeking to fill a two years partial term against democrat Sheila Johnson.  Republicans currently have a 4-3 majority on the court, so this election could result in anything from 5-2 D to 5-2 R.  On the ballot, races are nonpartisan and incumbents are designated as such.

Education Boards
Two seats on each of four boards will be up. These races usually follow the top of the ticket.  More details here.

Ballot Proposals
1. A referendum on the expanded emergency manager law passed by the legislature last year. The law allows emergency managers in distressed municipalities to rewrite union contracts; opposition comes mainly from public sector unions. Tossup.

2. Unions are behind an effort to amend the state constitution to enshrine mandatory collective bargaining, precluding a Right to Work law. It would also overrule a number of other laws that the unions don't like, including the emergency manager law, pension reform, and more, costing the state billions. Likely fail.

3. Various out-of-state alternative energy companies are behind an initiative to mandate that Michigan get at least 25% of its energy from alternative sources by 2025. Since alternative energy costs more than traditional energy (that's why it's the alternative), this would raise energy prices. Lean fail.

4. The SEIU is behind this proposition take union dues from home health care providers, disguised as a measure to protect the elderly. Tossup.

5. A proposal to require a 2/3 majority in the legislature or statewide vote to raise taxes. It's supported by Tea Party groups and opposed by the government class.  Polling has been all over the place.  Tossup.

6. The Detroit International Bridge Company, owned by Matty Moroun, is funding a proposition to require voter approval for any new bridge to Canada. This would create a roadblock to the Canadian-government funded bridge agreement recently signed by Governor Snyder. Tossup.

Michigan State House
Democrats will probably gain a few seats, but Republicans should retain the majority. Races to watch with fundraising totals: (I=incumbent)
1. (open) Brian Banks (D) may have committed eight felonies and been evicted from his campaign headquarters for not paying rent, but that's not going to stop Detroit from electing him.
23 Somerville (RI) 148K, Boritzki (D) 71K Tossup
25 (open) Clark (R) 74K, Yanez (D) 108K Tossup
39 (open) Kesto (R) 163K, Jackson (D) 54K Lean R
41 (open) Howrylak (R) 79K, Kerwin (D) 59K Lean R
52 Ouimet (RI) 333K, Driskell (D) 179K Lean R
57 Jenkins (RI) 141K, Schmidt (D) 106K Lean R
63 Bolger (RI) 259K, Martin (D) 20K Lean R Democrats have been spending heavily attacking Speaker Bolger for his knowledge of  Roy Schmidt's party-switching scheme.
67 (open) Oesterle (R) 81K, Cochran (D) 102K Tossup
70 Outman (RI) 176K, Huckleberry (D) 78K Lean R
71 Schaughnessy (RI) 199K, Abed 95K Lean R
76 Schmidt (D/RI) 120K, Brinks (D) 106K Safe D Roy Schmidt switched parties at the filing deadline and recruited a patsy to run as a democrat.  The scheme blew up in his face and destroyed his chances of reelection.
84 (open) Dan Grimshaw (R) 29K, Terry Brown (D) 96K Lean D Grimshaw beat embattled incumbent Kurt Damrow in the primary.
85 Glardon (RI) 78K, Ray (D) 20K Lean R
91 Hughes (RI) 199K, Lamonte (D) 125K Lean R
101 Franz (RI) 98K, O'Shea (D) 113K Tossup
106 Pettalia (RI) 129K, Hubbard (D) 55K Lean R
108 McBroom (RI) 113K, Gray (D) 99K Tossup
110 Huuki (RI) 118K, Dianda (D) 97K Tossup

Overall Ratings:
Safe D: 44
Lean D: 1
Tossup: 6
Lean R: 10
Safe R: 49

Arlen Winther for Mattawan School Board

The Gazette has an article on the Mattawan School Board election.  There are two open seats up, as Grace Borgfjord and Jeff Dufon are not running for reelection.  Borgfjord is the democrat nominee for county treasurer.

Mattawan school board candidates offer range of perspectives on need for new facilities

There are five candidates.  Only one, Arlen Winther, opposes tax increases.  The other four all support yet another bond measure to raise taxes.

Mattawan already tried to raise taxes twice in 2011, first by 80 million, then by 60 million.  Both attempts were rejected by 55% of voters.  Winther actively opposed both measures.  He is the only candidate who represents the majority of voters.

The other four candidates talk about the need to better "explain" the tax increase, i.e. propagandize the voters with guilt trips about how it's "for the children".  Most of them don't appear interested in listening to the voters, and understanding their difficult financial situations.

Some candidates argue that raising school taxes is necessary for economic development.  I don't doubt that "good schools" correlate with economic development, but correlation is not causation.  The main factor producing "good schools" is good students.  If the populations of Mattawan and Benton Harbor switched places, Mattawan schools would suddenly be bad, and Benton Harbor schools would suddenly be good.  None of the candidates provide evidence that raising taxes would help the economy.

Vote for Arlen Winther.

Jeffrey Getting's Bad Math

The race for Kalamazoo County Prosecutor between Republican Scott Pierangeli and democrat Jeffrey Getting is heating up. Pierangeli is currently an assistant prosecutor, and Getting was one before he was fired in 1998.

Candidates for Kalamazoo County prosecutor differ on visions for the office

One of the major differences in the race is Getting's objection to "plea to the offense".  If I understand it correctly, this means that the charges are not reduced, but the penalty may be reduced.  Of course, the reason plea bargains exist is to reduce the workload in the courts and prosecutor's office, which would otherwise have difficulty handling so many trials.

Getting's other complaint is that the office has too many prosecutors.

Getting also voiced concern about staffing within the office, which he says is well above that of Ottawa County, which has a similar population as Kalamazoo County, and nearly matches that of the more densely populated Kent County.

“We’re not being efficient with our resources,” Getting said.

The comparison is absurd.  Different counties have different levels of crime.  Ottawa County, the most Republican in the state, does not have a large, poor urban area to generate crime.  Anyone who studies issues of crime knows that demographic factors correlate strongly with crime rates.  The percentage of blacks in Kalamazoo (9.73) is higher than that in Ottawa (1.05) or Kent (8.93).

On the office's staffing, Pierangeli said it is based on caseload and that a previous review of the prosecutor's work force by the Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners “found we were short an attorney.”

“We’ve been deemed to be efficient as an office,” he said.

Furthermore, how does Getting expect to cut the number of prosecutors while also making lots more work for them by reducing plea bargaining?  It doesn't add up.

And if this blog can so easily destroy his arguments, it doesn't say much for his skills as a lawyer, either.

2012 Michigan Pre-General Fundraising Reports

Fundraising reports for Michigan elections have been filed.

Moroun puts $31.3M into Prop 6 campaign
Michigan House Speaker Jase Bolger spent $108,000 for reelection bid in past 2 months, challenger Bill Farmer has raised $20,000
Candidates for Kalamazoo County offices raise $262,000 combined this election cycle
Kalamazoo County Fundraising Spreadsheet

Republicans are supposed to be the party of the rich, but that hasn't translated into local fundraising. Democrats have outraised Republicans in four of the five countywide races.  Only Republican prosecutor candidate Scott Pierangeli outraised his opponent, Jeffrey Getting.

In the county commission races, only two Republicans (Iden and Tuinier) outraised their opponents.  Several uncompetitive races saw no fundraising.  The one county commission race attracting a lot of funding is Dave Worthams v. Julie Rogers in the 5th district.

In local state house races, we have:
60 Perrin (R) 1K, McCann (D) 55K Safe D
61 O'Brien (R) 46K, Martin (D) none Safe R
62 Behnke (R) 62K, Segal (D) 91K Safe D
63 Bolger (R) 259K, Martin (D) 20K Lean R (from Safe R)
66 Nesbitt (R) 91K, Rajkovich (D) 2K Safe R

Other competitive state house races:
17 Rossio (R) 3K, LaVoy (D) 29K Safe D (from Lean D)
23 Somerville (R) 148K, Boritzki (D) 71K Tossup
25 Clark (R) 74K, Yanez (D) 108K Tossup
39 Kesto (R) 163K, Jackson (D) 54K Lean R
41 Howrylak (R) 79K, Kerwin (D) ?? Lean R
52 Ouimet (R) 333K, Driskell (D) 179K Lean R
57 Jenkins (R) 141K, Schmidt (D) 106K Lean R
64 Poleski (R) 107K, Shelton (D) 21K Safe R (from Lean R)
67 Oesterle (R) 81K, Cochran (D) 102K Tossup
70 Outman (R) 176K, Huckleberry (D) 78K Lean R
71 Schaughnessy (R) 199K, Abed 95K Lean R
76 Schmidt (D/R) 120K, Brinks (D) 106K Safe D (from Lean D)
84 Dan Grimshaw (R) 29K, Terry Brown (D) 96K Lean D
85 Glardon (R) 78K, Ray (D) 20K Lean R
91 Hughes 199K, Lamonte (D) 125K Lean R
97 Johnson (R) 106K, Breznau (D) 19K Safe R (from Lean R)
99 Cotter (R) 135K, Lawrence 16K Safe R (from Lean R)
101 Franz (R) 98K, O'Shea (D) 113K Tossup (from Lean R)
106 Pettalia (R) 129K, Hubbard (D) 55K Lean R
108 McBroom (R) 113K, Gray (D) 99K Tossup (from Lean R)
110 Huuki (R) 118K, Dianda (D) 97K Tossup

Updated Ratings:
Safe D: 44
Lean D: 1
Tossup: 6
Lean R: 10
Safe R: 49

Illiegal Aliens Protest Ruth Johnson

A few supporters of illegal aliens held a protest at the Secretary of State office.

Kalamazoo protesters demand rights for immigrants in rally on steps of Secretary of State branch

They are upset that Ruth Johnson refuses to give IDs to criminals who are in this country illegally.  Some of these criminals have benefited from "administrative amnesty", an illegal executive order by President Obama to defy immigration laws.

The article has the usual weepy sob-stories, without mentioning the harm that illegal aliens do to America.  People aren't buying it, though.  So far, ALL of the comments are against illegal aliens.  (Are you listening, Mitt?)

Jack McHugh at Western

Jack McHugh of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy spoke at Western on Thursday, October 25.  He gave an informative rundown of the six propositions on the ballot in Michigan in 2012.  He entertained quite a few substantive questions

He and the other Mackinac Center speakers deserve a lot of credit for traveling across Michigan to get the word out on these proposals.

Mackinac Center: MIballot2012.com
AFP: MichiganBallot.com

Proposal 3: Interstate Informed Citizens Coalition
PDF: 25×25 Constutional Suicide

Proposal 6: ThePeopleShouldDecide.com

Brian Johnson: "I have absolutely no experience"

County commissioner Brian Johnson made an interesting admission at the forum for candidates running for Kalamazoo County Clerk/Register of Deeds.  The exchange begins at 17:35 on the video embedded at the Mlive article.

Live coverage recap: Candidate forum for Kalamazoo County clerk, drain commissioner and treasurer tonight at MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette hub

In response to Clerk Tim Snow's question what experience Johnson has, Johnson admitted:

"I have absolutely no experience whatsoever running the Register of Deeds office.  I think that's quite clear."

He did add that "Recording stuff is not rocket science".

How Does Kalamazoo County Lean?

The Gazette has an article analyzing Kalamazoo's electoral lean. I looked at this issue in a recent post, where I also noted that Kalamazoo leans more Republican at the local level, and offered some thoughts on why.

Why is Southwest Michigan More Republican at the Local Level?

Southwest Michigan Politics: What party does Kalamazoo County lean toward?

In four of the last five presidential elections, Kalamazoo County has voted for a Democrat for president. But in countywide races for sheriff, prosecuting attorney, drain commissioner, clerk and treasurer, Republicans have won 22 of the 25 seats and Democrats just three in those elections.

Here is a chart that looks at how Kalamazoo County went for president, as well as how it voted for the countywide seats.

The 2000 election was the first time in recent memory in Kalamazoo County that Democrats had candidates run for all the countywide seats, besides surveyor, which is a part-time job and the candidate has to be a registered surveyor. Twelve years ago, Democrat presidential candidate Al Gore won the county by some 500 votes and a Democrat, Mary Powers, won drain commissioner. But, Republican candidates won countywide races by an average of 49,254 to 41,807 votes.

One reason for the strong Republican hold is that many of the Republicans who have run for office in Kalamazoo County have been long-time incumbents. And Democrats often have not had candidates run for many seats. In 1992, when Democrat Bill Clinton won Kalamazoo County with 52 percent of the vote, Democrats didn’t put up candidates for county prosecutor, clerk, treasurer or drain commissioner.

This comment by Mark Miller, the dems 6th district chairman, is also worthwhile.

For some years now, I have been keeping detailed statistics on Kalamazoo County elections. I calculate what I call the "Partisan Index", which is simply the average of the Dem% - Rep% across all county-wide or higher races for that year. So it includes Pres., US Sen., US Rep., Gov., SoS, Att Gen, MI Sen., countywide offices (but not the Educarion Boards, which are lower profile). So a negative number means the balance is towards the Republicans, positive towards the Democrats.

Recent results: 2002 -8%, 2004 -11%, 2006 -2%, 2008 +6%, 2010 -14%.

These are influenced strongly by Fred Upton's strong results (so far). But it does give an easy to understand single variable to compare across elections.

Students for LIfe Event Tomorrow

The Students for Life are sponsoring an event on campus tomorrow.

MTV's '16 and Pregnant' stars speaking about adoption at Western Michigan University

KALAMAZOO, MI -- Catelynn Lowell and Tyler Baltierra, MTV reality stars from the "16 and Pregnant" series, are coming to Western Michigan University to speak about unplanned pregnancy, adoption, and share their personal stories on Tuesday.

The free and public event takes place at 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 9 at WMU's South Ballroom in the Bernhard Center.

The couple is from Marine City and was featured in Season 1 of MTV's "16 and Pregnant." Both attend Baker College, according to their website, www.tylerandcatelynn.com.

Lowell was 16 years old when she became pregnant with a daughter. They decided adoption was the best choice for them.

"In mine and Catelynn’s eyes, adoption was the best option," Baltierra said on their website."Me and Cate chose a completely open adoption, which means that we get pictures, letters, emails, phone calls, and even face-to-face visits with our daughter. We handmade a baby blanket and a scrapbook for her to have so when she is old enough to understand she can really look back and see the reasons why me and Catelynn made our decision to give her a life we couldn’t provide."

Bethany Christian Services is sponsoring their tour. For more information visit www.impregnant.org/tour or call 269.372.8800.

Michigan Ballot Proposal Resources

There are several websites set up by conservative organizations to inform voters about the six proposals on the ballot for the November election in Michigan.

Mackinac Center: MIballot2012.com
AFP: MichiganBallot.com

Proposal 3: Interstate Informed Citizens Coalition
PDF: 25×25 Constutional Suicide

Proposal 6: ThePeopleShouldDecide.com

Triple Crown!

Congratulation, Miguel Cabrera!

Triple coronation! Tigers' Miguel Cabrera officially tops in HRs, RBIs, average

And congratulations to the Detroit Tigers for winning the AL Central division and going to the playoffs!

Snyder Still Stalling

The NRA reports that Governor Snyder is still stalling the repeal of handgun registration.

Help Repeal Handgun Registration in Michigan

--------------------------------

House Bill 5225, legislation that would eliminate the state handgun “permit-to-purchase” and registration requirements, is currently stalled in the Michigan Senate. The reason for this delay stems from opposition by the Michigan State Police, as well as Governor Rick Snyder’s office, asking Senate leadership to "hold" HB 5225. The Michigan State Police, never friendly to pro-gun reforms, including the current state Right-to-Carry law, has even proposed a number of crippling amendments to HB 5225 that would perpetuate Michigan’s antiquated registration system in the event that they are unable to stop its passage.

The Michigan State Police (MSP) has made its position clear. The MSP wants to maintain records of law-abiding citizens that legally purchased handguns in Michigan. In essence, MSP wants to have easy access to a list of guns owned by law-abiding citizens, like YOU. The MSP continually ignores the fact that criminals do not buy guns at retail stores and criminals do not register firearms. This gun control scheme has failed to prevent the violence in Detroit and Flint, two of top five most violent cities in America. Guns misused in a crime can and are traced in the forty states without such a permit-to-purchase/registration requirement. In fact, last year alone over 5,000 firearms recovered in Michigan were run through the federal trace system.

The next legislative session is scheduled to be on October 17, for only one day. Please contact your state Senator and Governor Rick Snyder TODAY and again before that date! Respectfully urge them to reject any hostile amendments to HB 5225, and to end Michigan's costly and unnecessary gun registration scheme as well as the onerous handgun purchase permit process.

Previous:
Snyder Stalling Gun Rights Bill?
Michigan House Repeals Handgun Registration
NRA Alert
Gun Bills in Michigan
New Gun Law
Ending Registration

New Sangren Hall

On Friday, Western held the official opening ceremony for new Sangren Hall.

$60-million Sangren Hall completion celebrated by Western Michigan University and political leaders

The building is certainly nice.  It cost $60 million, which was not without some controversy.

It has four floors, all of which have classrooms.  There are lecture halls on the bottom floor.  The education library is on the second floor.  There are offices for various education departments on floors 2-4.

As far as I noticed, there were only two elevators in the middle of the building.  There were an oddly large number of emergency-only exits.

There are bulletin boards, but they are not easy to spot, as they look like walls and are not the usual color.

Overall, new Sangren is a very nice replacement for the dumpy old Sangren.  HHS is still the nicest building on campus, though.

The expanded Lee Honors College and pedestrian mall also look good.  I still have concerns about traffic flow though.

Previous:
Campus Improvements Obstructing Traffic

Decline of the Herald

The Gazette reports that the Herald is reducing its publication schedule even further.

Western Herald, WMU student newspaper, switches to monthly print cycle, goes web-first

The schedule has been:
1991-2009: Monday-Thursday
2009-spring 2012: Twice a week
Spring 2012-now: Once a week
Now: Once a month

A journalism professor relates:

“When I started, I would arrive to an entire classroom of students with Heralds; every student read the newspaper,” said Junger, who has been a professor in the journalism department since 1996. “Now I have to make them read it. It’s a challenge to keep up with the times."

This is absolutely true.  You used to see students reading the Herald all the time.  Now you never do.

The Herald is trying to ramp up its website.  But getting students to actively seek out a website is a lot harder than getting them to pick up a physical paper right in front of them.

The same thing is happening throughout the newspaper industry.  The Gazette has reduced its size and publishing schedule significantly.

This blog has had a lot of fun attacking the Herald for its poor quality and absurd leftism.  Still, it's sad to see it go.

Nullification by Thomas Woods

Nullification: How to Resist Federal Tyranny in the 21st Century
by Thomas Woods

The Constitution was established to create a federal government that would unite the several states while limiting its powers. But this immediately leads to the problem of how violations of the Constitution by the federal government can be resisted. In this book, Thomas Woods argues for the obscure but storied principle of Nullification.

The basic idea of nullification is that the states should formally resist unconstitutional laws. They are the partners that created the federal government, so if the federal government violates the restrictions on its actions, the states have no duty to comply.  Indeed, they must resist.  The federal judiciary could not be the appropriate remedy since it is part of the federal government and so naturally biased toward it.

Thomas Jefferson is primarily responsible for developing the principle of nullification.  It dates to the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798.  The acts were designed by the Federalists to weaken the Democrats.  The Sedition Act was definitely unconstitutional, and the Democrats believed that the Alien Acts were as well.

In Response, Jefferson drafted the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions of 1798.  These resolutions laid out the basic principles of nullification.  These resolutions were passed by the Democrat-dominated legislatures of these states.  They succeeded in helping to resist these acts, which came to an end when the Democrats came to power in Washington in 1800.  These resolutions became known as the Principles of '98.

Woods lays out the case that the Constitution really does limit federal power.  He refutes expansive interpretations based on the general welfare clause, commerce clause, necessary and proper clause, and the "living constitution".  This material should be familiar to well-read conservatives.

After explaining the origin of the Principles of '98, Woods explains their relevance throughout the 1800s. Ironically, New England cited the principles against President Jefferson due to his poorly conceived trade embargo protesting the seizure of American ships during the Napoleonic Wars.  They were favorably referenced by Northern states in the subsequent years. They were used by South Carolina in 1832-33 to help resist restrictive tariff policies backed by President Jackson. They were used by Wisconsin in 1859 to resist the Fugitive Slave Law.  Woods is pained to point out that they were never used to defend slavery.

Woods then explains the origin of America, advocating the compact view that the states began as separate colonies, then separate countries, which united with the Articles of Confederation and then the Constitution.  He refutes the nationalist theory that the states were somehow united from the beginning, implying that the federal government is the supreme authority over the entire country.

Woods explains how nullification is used today, from medical marijuana to the REAL ID act and firearms freedom acts.  In the final chapter, he discusses various ways of officially enshrining nullification in the Constitution.  These include a constitutional amendment (not going to happen) and constitutional convention (extremely dangerous).  This is the weakest section of the book.

Readers should be aware that about half the book consists of historical documents.  These begin with the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions themselves and include later resolutions and commentaries on nullification.

Overall, this is an important, if somewhat basic book on a little-explored but vital issue.  It is recommended to interested readers.

Previous:
Who Killed the Constitution?
Meltdown by Thomas Woods
Questioning History
How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization

Bad Ideas Never Go Away

You just have to keep beating them. At least that's how it seems.

The Gazette has an article on the downtown arena project, which has been in limbo since 2010. There was a big push in 2009-10 by Ken Miller, Bill Johnston, and other local bigshots to impose an $80 million restaurant tax to pay for their arena project.  It collapsed due to public opposition.

Miller tries to convince readers that the project is in a "holding pattern", though not very successfully.  The comments are very unsympathetic.

Downtown Kalamazoo arena: 'It's not dead, it's in a holding pattern'

Previous:
Snyder Appoints Democrat WMU Trustee
No Arena, for Now
Rejecting the Arena
Kitchens' Tossed Salad
Mackinac Center on the Arena
Dome of Deceit
Arena of Conflict
Forum of Discontent

Snyder Stalling Gun Rights Bill?

This alert from the NRA says that Governor Rick Snyder is stalling the bill to repeal handgun registration in Michigan. The bill passed the state house 74-36 in June.

This bill is long past due. Only six states require any form of gun registration. Michigan, California, Hawaii, and New York register handguns, and New Jersey and Connecticut register "assault weapons". The other five are all considerably more liberal than Michigan.

Here is the complete NRA alert.

Michigan: Your Immediate Help Needed- NRA's Top Agenda Item in Jeopardy!

Please contact your state Senator and Governor Snyder TODAY to get registration repealed before it is too late!

House Bill 5225, legislation that would eliminate the state handgun “permit-to-purchase” and registration requirements, is currently stalled in the Michigan Senate. The reason for this delay stems from opposition by the Michigan State Police and Governor Rick Snyder’s office asking the state Senate leadership to "hold" H.B. 5225. H.B. 5225, introduced by state Representative Paul Opsommer (R-93), would abolish the bureaucratic “permit-to-purchase” for handguns. This system became obsolete when the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) took effect in 1998. Under the current state system, gun buyers must apply with their local law enforcement agency before being authorized to buy a handgun. This “permit” is valid for only one gun and it expires after ten days. Since 1998, federal law has required a national criminal records check for the purchase of any firearm from any licensed gun dealer in every state. Accordingly, the state-required "permit" is duplicative, wasteful and antiquated. This legislative package includes two companion bills House Bill 5498, sponsored by state Representative Richard LeBlanc (D-18), and House Bill 5499, sponsored by state Representative Ray Franz (R-101).

In June, this package of bills passed in the Michigan House of Representatives by an overwhelming 74 to 36 vote. It has also passed in the Senate Judiciary Committee and now awaits consideration by the state Senate. All indications are that H.B. 5225 enjoys supermajority support in the Senate. There is no doubt that the state Senate will pass H.B. 5225 by a wide margin when they vote on it. However, Michigan's first-term Governor has now asked leaders in the Senate to hold this bill, delaying and preventing critical and final action on this important Second Amendment legislation. Because the Michigan Legislature has few remaining working days before the election, this stall tactic will almost guarantee the bill's demise.

It is extremely urgent that you contact your state Senator and especially Governor Rick Snyder today and respectfully ask them to end Michigan's costly and unnecessary gun registration scheme as well as the onerous handgun purchase process. This is an historic opportunity to repeal longstanding gun control which only the most restrictive, anti-gun states currently have. Please act today to ensure that Governor Snyder does not ignore Michigan gun owners. In 2010, gubernatorial candidate Rick Snyder did not answer NRA's state candidate questionnaire, so his position on this vital legislation is unknown.

To e-mail Governor Snyder, please click here.
To find your state Senator please click here.
Governor Rick Snyder (517) 373-3400 (517) 335-7858

Previous:
Michigan House Repeals Handgun Registration
NRA Alert
Gun Bills in Michigan
New Gun Law
Ending Registration

Is Mitt Romney Repeating Dick DeVos' Mistakes?

This column by Nolan Finley of the Detroit News draws some uncomfortable parallels between the current presidential race and Michigan's 2006 gubernatorial race between Jennifer Granholm and Dick DeVos.

Finley: Obama using Granholm's playbook

In both races, there was a charismatic but incompetent democrat incumbent running against a Republican rich businessman challenger. In both cases, the democrats blamed the preceding Republican for the poor state of the economy and claimed that it would otherwise be worse. They attacked the Republican challengers for being rich and falsely claimed they outsourced jobs.

Of course, there are some differences as well. Romney has actually won an election before, and he has a much broader fundraising base. 2006 was an anti-republican wave, which 2012 shows no signs of being.

The strategy of letting a bad economy sink an incumbent certainly can work. But it can also fail if the incumbent is clever enough about blaming others for the economic problems and insisting that "it would have been worse otherwise" (which cannot be conclusively disproven, after all).

So what did Dick DeVos do wrong? As I wrote at the time,

More seriously, DeVos never made a compelling case for why he should be governor. He pointed out Michigan's uniquely bad economy and blamed the governor. But he never really explained why it was her fault or what he would do differently. Meanwhile, after years of promising government miracles, Granholm eventually more accurately blamed systematic factors like the bad state of the auto industry. I don't doubt that Granholm contributed to the state's problems, or that DeVos would have been a better governor. But government cannot make the economy do well.

DeVos also completely ignored social issues in his campaign. He gave up many valuable opportunities to hammer the Governor on her record. She vetoed the partial birth abortion ban, opposed the concealed carry law when it was passed, opposed the state marriage amendment, and opposed limiting the expansion of gambling. On all these issues, a clear majority of Michiganders were on the opposite side of the governor.

Instead, he focused solely on Michigan's bad economy, hoping to ride it to victory without having to talk about "divisive" social issues. In a better year, with a different opponent, that might have worked. But he gave up the opportunity to peel voters away from Granholm on all these issues.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that DeVos should have focused exclusively or mainly on these issues. The economy was definitely the number one issue. But it was not the only issue.

DeVos's biggest mistake was opposing the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, which passed by a large margin despite the opposition of top Republicans. He could have done a lot better if he had supported it.

If Republican gubernatorial nominee Dick DeVOS had received the votes of the Republicans, ticket splitters and only 5 percent of the Democrats who voted yes on the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative (MCRI) and for Gov. Jennifer GRANHOLM, he would have won the 2006 election, a recent report concluded.

So what does this have to do with Mitt Romney? While the economy should be his main focus, it shouldn't be the only issue. He needs to connect to white working class voters skeptical of a big business guy.

• He should attack Obama's illegal executive order granting amnesty to many illegal aliens. This ties back to the economy as well, since illegal aliens take jobs that could be filled by Americans.

• Romney could certainly pledge to end affirmative action as president. This is certainly an important economic issue to many Americans.

• Romney should attack Obama's disastrous gunwalker program, which attacked the Second Amendment rights of American. It is a scandal far worse than Watergate.

These issues all poll better than the budget-cutting that Romney has been hinting at.

Will Romney make the necessary corrections in time? If not, in five years, you're gonna be blown away.