Today, the Holland Sentinel reported that Meekhof decided to skip the debate and instead attend an event with Florida Governor Jeb Bush on the East side of the State.
Read more about Meekhof's middle finger to voters HERE
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Meekhof Chooses Detroit Fundraising Event Over Ottawa County Voters
Yesterday, WMP reported that State Senator Arlan Meekhof refused to debate his opponent Sarah Howard. WMP also revealed Meekhof has also not held open meetings for constituents in over a year, and his office lied to constituents who were inquiring as to why.
Today, the Holland Sentinel reported that Meekhof decided to skip the debate and instead attend an event with Florida Governor Jeb Bush on the East side of the State.
Read more about Meekhof's middle finger to voters HERE
Today, the Holland Sentinel reported that Meekhof decided to skip the debate and instead attend an event with Florida Governor Jeb Bush on the East side of the State.
Read more about Meekhof's middle finger to voters HERE
Monday, October 13, 2014
Schauer Ducks Media After Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Debate
After his rehearsed talking points fell flat and his lies were exposed, Mark Schauer ducked out of last night's gubernatorial townhall like a ref who just blew a huge call during a playoff game. Schauer wouldn't even talk to the media afterwards, instead leaving that job up to surrogates.
It's hard to imagine Gretchen Whitmer doing that if she were running-and fittingly, she was one of Schauer's surrogates, sent in to clean up after his mess. Perhaps this is why Bob King seemed to have wanted Whitmer to get in to the race months ago? What kind of gubernatorial candidate gives a giant middle finger to the Michigan press corps while trailing an incumbent Governor 23 days away from the election?
The hour long debate, moderated by Stephen Henderson of the Detroit Free Press and Nolan Finley of the Detroit News, had many interesting moments.
In one exchange, Snyder talked over Finley to address Schauer's lies about a contract Snyder's cousin received prior to Snyder even becoming Governor. Snyder continued as Finley attempted to cut him off.
Despite the fact Schauer's education lie has been debunked again and again, Schauer repeated it, leaving Stephen Henderson of the Detroit Free Press shocked.
On WXYZ Channel 7 last night, Henderson said:
"Mark Schauer remarkably repeated the billion dollar cut to education after we at the Free Press have spent a lot of time dissecting that and showing that it's not true. I was a little taken back by that. I wish we had more time to get into why is the math not right here."
Schauer spoke with rehearsed talking points-lacking in substance and short on style, he seemed like an anxious high school kid struggling to give a stump speech in pursuit of being Class President. And those hand gestures doe! Apparently Terri Land is not the only candidate who likes to "talk with her hands."
Perhaps this is why Schauer refuses to hold townhalls, like Gov. Snyder has.
Snyder looked calm, confident, and passionate. He was wonky when he needed to be, and did a great job of countering Schauer's rhetoric-especially while talking about the fake "Senior Pension Tax."
With three weeks to go until the election, this event probably won't make a huge difference. For the 140,000 households who watched though, their was a clear choice on display: the professional politician, or the professional problem solver. Michiganders will choose the latter.
 |
| Elaine Cromie | MLive |
It's hard to imagine Gretchen Whitmer doing that if she were running-and fittingly, she was one of Schauer's surrogates, sent in to clean up after his mess. Perhaps this is why Bob King seemed to have wanted Whitmer to get in to the race months ago? What kind of gubernatorial candidate gives a giant middle finger to the Michigan press corps while trailing an incumbent Governor 23 days away from the election?
The hour long debate, moderated by Stephen Henderson of the Detroit Free Press and Nolan Finley of the Detroit News, had many interesting moments.
In one exchange, Snyder talked over Finley to address Schauer's lies about a contract Snyder's cousin received prior to Snyder even becoming Governor. Snyder continued as Finley attempted to cut him off.
Despite the fact Schauer's education lie has been debunked again and again, Schauer repeated it, leaving Stephen Henderson of the Detroit Free Press shocked.
On WXYZ Channel 7 last night, Henderson said:
"Mark Schauer remarkably repeated the billion dollar cut to education after we at the Free Press have spent a lot of time dissecting that and showing that it's not true. I was a little taken back by that. I wish we had more time to get into why is the math not right here."
 |
| Elaine Cromie | MLive |
 |
| Elaine Cromie | MLive |
Schauer spoke with rehearsed talking points-lacking in substance and short on style, he seemed like an anxious high school kid struggling to give a stump speech in pursuit of being Class President. And those hand gestures doe! Apparently Terri Land is not the only candidate who likes to "talk with her hands."
Perhaps this is why Schauer refuses to hold townhalls, like Gov. Snyder has.
Snyder looked calm, confident, and passionate. He was wonky when he needed to be, and did a great job of countering Schauer's rhetoric-especially while talking about the fake "Senior Pension Tax."
With three weeks to go until the election, this event probably won't make a huge difference. For the 140,000 households who watched though, their was a clear choice on display: the professional politician, or the professional problem solver. Michiganders will choose the latter.
_________________________________________________________________________
Brandon Hall is a lifelong political nerd from Grand Haven, and is the Managing Editor of West Michigan Politics.
Email him at WestMiPolitics@Gmail.com
:)
 |
| Photo By Darlene Dowling Thompson |
Meekhof to Constituents and League of Women Voters: Go to Hell
By Brandon Hall
(Email him at WestMiPolitics@Gmail.com)
Arlan Meekhof has not held an open public meeting in over a year, and now when it is time to debate his opponent, Democrat Sarah Howard, Meekhof refuses. The first debate is supposed to be tonight in front of the local League of Women Voters, but Meekhof is running scared of Howard, a prominent West Michigan attorney.
 |
| Meekhof |
A second debate is scheduled for October 29th in Spring Lake. Will Arlan show up? History indicates he will not... Where will Arlan be? Perhaps in Lansing, campaigning to be the next Senate Majority Leader?
Meekhof's office was recently exposed for lying to constituents about the Senator's availability and the cost of securing a venue.
 |
| Howard |
Meekhof's staff cited the cost of venues as a reason for not being available, yet he gets access to local libraries for free. His office also cited lack of attendance, despite the fact his last two public events were well attended-and one was during a blizzard!
This exchange really speaks for itself:
_________________________________________________________________________
Brandon Hall is a lifelong political nerd from Grand Haven, and is the Managing Editor of West Michigan Politics.
Email him at WestMiPolitics@Gmail.com
:)
|
| Photo By Darlene Dowling Thompson |
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Center for Michigan CEO Has A "Hillary Clinton" Moment On Snyder Education Funding
At
MLive's "Ballot Bash" Monday in Grand Rapids, Governor Snyder continued
to call out Mark Schuaer for his lies on education funding during Snyder's administration.
At the media panel after all the candidates had finished, Center for Michigan CEO John Bebow, speaking about the issue, exclaimed multiple times, "who cares?" Bebow wants to hear about future education plans.
Ironically enough, Mr. Bebow helps administer the "Michigan Truth Squad," which seems to take its job very seriously judging by their website.
Did
Governor Snyder really cut a billion dollars from the education budget?
Who cares? Who gives a damn?! Or as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
famously said, "what difference does it make?"
It's critical.
Schauer's narrative-promulgated from the beginning-is that Snyder is a rich, out of touch, ass who cares more about CEO's than regular Michiganders.
The education funding issue is the foundation of Team Schauer's Orwellian House of Cards masquerading as a campaign: a fake Aramark scandal, education "cuts" and a non-existent "Senior Pension Tax." If the education cut lie collapses, Schauer could face a double digit defeat.
Unfortuantely, polling indicates a majority of Michiganders currently believe the education funding lie.
Yet still, Bebow thinks the issue had been examined, the link showing the facts is on the internet, and we should move on.
As Teddy Roosevelt said, "people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." Shouldn't Michiganders know they have a Governor who cares?
And hell, why even have a "Truth Squad?" If Michiganders are just going to remain clueless to the facts on a vital issue with or without it, who cares? "What difference does it make?!" ;) :)
(Of note: I met Mr. Bebow in 2010 and am a HUGE fan of his, the Center for Michigan, Bridge, and Phil Power!)
Contrary to MLive Article, Schauer's Numbers With Women Are Actually Horrible
Despite four years of relentless "war on women" rhetoric, Governor Snyder is almost tied with Mark Schauer with female voters, polling within just a couple points when including the margin of error.
Snyder also performs 10% better with women than Terri Land, and she's a woman.
The article says that:
"Polls on the Michigan gubernatorial race show a tight race between Gov. Rick Snyder and Democratic challenger Mark Schauer, but the majority also show Schauer winning in one area: with women.
Real Clear Politics, which aggregates and averages polls, shows Gov. Rick Snyder leading Schauer 44.5 to 41.7 percent. Of the eight polls conducted in September and recognized by Real Clear Politics, seven made information on gender available.
MLive looked at the breakdown of those polls, most of which had Snyder winning, but four showed him losing with likely female voters. In each of the eight polls, men supported Snyder at higher rates than women."
So only four of the seven polls show a lead for Schauer with women? Interesting. Also:
"Vanguard and Denno Research conducted a poll that put Snyder ahead in the gubernatorial race 43 to 40 and showed likely female voters picking Schauer over Snyder 43 to 36 percent. It was conducted Sept. 11 through 13 had a 4 percent margin of error."
So after four years of propaganda at every turn specifically aimed at women, Snyder is only down 7% with them? 21% are undecided? Schauer can't even break 45%? Wow. This is horrible- hardly anything to celebrate for Team Schauer. Perhaps a Schauer press release was the foundation for the article?
Schauer and co. want women to feel perpetually victimized-the "war on women" is a cynical attempt to procure votes-it is not about actually helping women, nor anyone else.
Rick Snyder's mantra of "Relentless Positive Action" is one women (and all Michiganders) can embrace-it's substantive and straight forward: stay optimistic, and never stop working hard to make Michigan a better place to live.
Maybe that's why Schauer is doing so poorly: Michigan's female voters aren't victims in a fictional war concocted at the DNC, they're tough, hard working people trying to do their best. They want a Governor who embodies those qualities, not one who continually condescends them.
Schauer should be well over 50% with women, instead he is barely above 40%. This is very telling.
Snyder also performs 10% better with women than Terri Land, and she's a woman.
"Polls on the Michigan gubernatorial race show a tight race between Gov. Rick Snyder and Democratic challenger Mark Schauer, but the majority also show Schauer winning in one area: with women.
Real Clear Politics, which aggregates and averages polls, shows Gov. Rick Snyder leading Schauer 44.5 to 41.7 percent. Of the eight polls conducted in September and recognized by Real Clear Politics, seven made information on gender available.
MLive looked at the breakdown of those polls, most of which had Snyder winning, but four showed him losing with likely female voters. In each of the eight polls, men supported Snyder at higher rates than women."
So only four of the seven polls show a lead for Schauer with women? Interesting. Also:
"Vanguard and Denno Research conducted a poll that put Snyder ahead in the gubernatorial race 43 to 40 and showed likely female voters picking Schauer over Snyder 43 to 36 percent. It was conducted Sept. 11 through 13 had a 4 percent margin of error."
So after four years of propaganda at every turn specifically aimed at women, Snyder is only down 7% with them? 21% are undecided? Schauer can't even break 45%? Wow. This is horrible- hardly anything to celebrate for Team Schauer. Perhaps a Schauer press release was the foundation for the article?
Schauer and co. want women to feel perpetually victimized-the "war on women" is a cynical attempt to procure votes-it is not about actually helping women, nor anyone else.
Rick Snyder's mantra of "Relentless Positive Action" is one women (and all Michiganders) can embrace-it's substantive and straight forward: stay optimistic, and never stop working hard to make Michigan a better place to live.
Maybe that's why Schauer is doing so poorly: Michigan's female voters aren't victims in a fictional war concocted at the DNC, they're tough, hard working people trying to do their best. They want a Governor who embodies those qualities, not one who continually condescends them.
Schauer should be well over 50% with women, instead he is barely above 40%. This is very telling.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Precinct Delegate Considers Lawsuit Against Ottawa GOP, State Sen. Arlan Meekhof
An Ottawa County GOP Precinct
Delegate tells WMP he is mulling legal action over what happened at the
Ottawa County GOP Convention and the subsequent aftermath that led to
the firing of Ottawa County GOP Exec. Director Faith Steketee.
The delegate, who wishes to remain anonymous at this time, is frustrated with the lack of an investigation into what occurred.
He emailed WMP because "your blog has been the only media outlet trying to tell people what really happened." A conversation then ensued.
The delegate is considering a lawsuit against the Ottawa County Republican Party and State Sen. Arlan Meekhof.
"The Executive Committee doesn't care what really happened. If they did, they wouldn't have voted 14-12 to stop (an investigation) from taking place. They claim they have made changes so that it won't happen again, but how can we really prevent it in the future if we don't really know what happened the first time?"
Meekhof's admission that he commissioned the "orange flyer" places special scrutiny on him, according to the delegate.
"Almost all the people on that flyer made it as delegates, that is not a coincidence."
"They say it's all (Faith's) fault. She didn't benefit from this in any way known to me. I want to see proof she did something wrong."
The delegate believes a lawsuit may be the only way to reveal the truth.
"I have spoken to a lawyer, and I have standing (the ability to file a lawsuit), I just don't know if it is worth the repercussions from (the Ottawa County GOP "Establishment"). I don't want to be on their blacklist...but I want to know the truth."
The delegate worries the incident will dissuade future volunteers.
"I ran to be a precinct delegate so I could help my party, and I wanted to learn more about politics. I am pretty appalled at what I have seen so far. We have too many good Republicans out there to let people like this ruin things for guys like me who are just trying to help."
Detroit Free Press Proves Schauer Is Lying About Snyder's Education Budget
In an article published Monday in the Detroit Free Press, the paper admitted that Gov. Snyder has increased education funding, and that it was in fact Gov. GRANHOLM who cut school funding.
The Orwellian rhetoric from the Schauer campaign will not be hindered though. "A lie repeated often enough becomes truth." Unfortunately, polling proves a majority of Michiganders believe Schauer's lie. For now...
(CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL ARTICLE)
Claim: "At least we're not cutting state education funding like Granholm and Schauer did."
Reality: True. According to the nonpartisan Senate Fiscal Agency, the state share of total K-12 funding in the 2003 fiscal year, when Democratic former Gov. Jennifer Granholm took office, was $11.3 billion. The total amount of state funds spent on K-12 education in the 2011 fiscal year, under Granholm's last budget, was $10.8 billion.
Granholm's budgets, as passed by the Legislature, cut state funding for K-12 education in 2004, 2008, 2009, and 2010... Schauer served in the Michigan Senate for most of the Granholm years, from the start of 2003 to the end of 2008, serving his last two years as Senate Minority Leader. Though he and his party were not in control of the Senate, Schauer supported Granholm.
Claim: "Gov. Snyder has increased K-12 state funding every year he's been in office."
Reality: True. Again using numbers from the Senate Fiscal Agency, state funding for K-12 increased to $11.1 billion in fiscal year 2012, which was Snyder's first budget, to $11.2 billion in 2013, $11.5 billion in 2014, and $12.1 billion in 2015.
The Orwellian rhetoric from the Schauer campaign will not be hindered though. "A lie repeated often enough becomes truth." Unfortunately, polling proves a majority of Michiganders believe Schauer's lie. For now...
(CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL ARTICLE)
Freep Fact Check: New Snyder ad confronts $1B claim about education funding
Claim: "At least we're not cutting state education funding like Granholm and Schauer did."
Reality: True. According to the nonpartisan Senate Fiscal Agency, the state share of total K-12 funding in the 2003 fiscal year, when Democratic former Gov. Jennifer Granholm took office, was $11.3 billion. The total amount of state funds spent on K-12 education in the 2011 fiscal year, under Granholm's last budget, was $10.8 billion.
Granholm's budgets, as passed by the Legislature, cut state funding for K-12 education in 2004, 2008, 2009, and 2010... Schauer served in the Michigan Senate for most of the Granholm years, from the start of 2003 to the end of 2008, serving his last two years as Senate Minority Leader. Though he and his party were not in control of the Senate, Schauer supported Granholm.
Claim: "Gov. Snyder has increased K-12 state funding every year he's been in office."
Reality: True. Again using numbers from the Senate Fiscal Agency, state funding for K-12 increased to $11.1 billion in fiscal year 2012, which was Snyder's first budget, to $11.2 billion in 2013, $11.5 billion in 2014, and $12.1 billion in 2015.
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