If @SenMikeShirkey and @LeeChatfield really did reject Trump's attempt to overturn the election, we will see them quickly disavow the president's statement here and say they recognize Joe Biden as president-elect.
If you would like to know why I am cynical about a vague press release from Michigan Republicans last night (as are many Michigan reporters), here is a brief thread of some of their actions while running the Legislature. michiganadvance.com/2020/11/09/mic…
Within a few days of the election, the GOP Legislature quickly convened a special committee to look into unproven voter fraud. michiganadvance.com/2020/11/06/bre…
The committee was held on a Saturday, which almost never happens. As the AP and other media outlets declared Biden president-elect on Nov. 7, they voted to subpoena the Bureau of Elections in a fishing expedition. michiganadvance.com/2020/11/07/mic…
The special committee held a hearing the day before Shirkey, Chatfield and other GOP lawmakers jumped on planes to meet with Trump. michiganadvance.com/2020/11/19/gop…
I'd like to take a break to note that there's been no special Saturday hearing on Republicans lawmakers' plan to fight #COVID19, which has sickened about 300K and killed almost 8,400 in Michigan. Priorities. michiganadvance.com/2020/11/07/sus…
Republicans, by the way, successfully sued Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer over her emergency COVID orders thanks to a ruling from the GOP-majority Supreme Court. But they still won't pass a mask mandate or any mitigation efforts. It's been eight months. michiganadvance.com/2020/10/02/whi…
Cases have spiked since that October ruling, as have hospitalizations in recent weeks. Now we're starting to see deaths rising. We could be on track for 1,000 deaths a week next month, especially with Thanksgiving travel, per the state model. michiganadvance.com/2020/11/16/whi…
What does Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey have to say about all this? Well, last month, he went all Scott Atlas, and talked about needing a little "herd immunity." Doctors and public health experts weren't having it. michiganadvance.com/blog/public-he…
So should we buy that Republicans were just chatting with Trump about COVID aid, even though Trump tweeted out this morning that reporting (which stressed that) was wrong? Well, they haven't backed fed aid in the past and didn't sign on to Whitmer's letter michiganadvance.com/2020/11/19/gop…
There's also been a terrible problem with right-wing extremist violence in recent years and Whitmer has been the most high-profile target, as federal and state agents uncovered a plot to assassinate her in a televised show trial. michiganadvance.com/blog/anti-whit…
The plot was in response to Whitmer's COVID orders. When it was announced, Shirkey and Chatfield issued statements condemning violence. Then what did they do a few hours later? They attended another anti-Whitmer rally held at the Capitol. michiganadvance.com/2020/10/08/rep…
That came after Shirkey and Chatfield refused to condemn the confederate flag-waving, automatic-rifle toting extremists who repeatedly protested at the Capitol in the spring and summer. Some of the terrorists plotted there. michiganadvance.com/2020/05/01/sus…
Shirkey attended a rally with some of the plotters. He's also called Whitmer a dictator, just like those arrested did. michiganadvance.com/2020/10/20/bla…
None of this extremism is unique to COVID or the election. Right after Whitmer and other Democrats were elected statewide in 2018, the GOP Legislature in lame duck started introducing legislation to yank their power. michiganadvance.com/blog/conservat…
I'll also note that Republicans have repeatedly used sexist language to show how little respect they have for the Democratic governor, as well. michiganadvance.com/2019/11/21/shi…
There's been a long history of GOP power grabs in Michigan and across the country, so overturning an election is pretty much the logical endpoint. michiganadvance.com/2019/11/12/mic…
So color me jaded that Michigan GOP lawmakers — who did not rule out taking further post-election action even in a press release people are putting enormous faith in — are acting in good faith as they apparently went from the White House to a celebratory time at the Trump hotel.
I am not a lawyer, but several have pointed out the myriad ways that this little White House jaunt could land Republicans on the wrong side of a criminal investigation. But by taking the meeting, that's a risk they're apparently willing to take. michiganadvance.com/2020/11/20/whi…
For the good of our country and for democracy writ large, I would like nothing more than for my skepticism to be proven wrong here.
LGBTQ+ equality, abortion rights, climate change policy, voting rights, education investment, gun reforms, unions on the march — the Mitten State has it all.
For years, Michigan was a national laughingstock, with a bruised auto industry that tanked the economy, which Republicans used as an excuse to enact Right to Work, followed by austerity measures that culminated in the Flint water crisis. @MichiganAdvance michiganadvance.com/2023/12/04/sus…
We were breathlessly told by pundits and reporters that the Whitmer-Dixon race was a nail-biter. But those of us who didn't imbibe the Republican "red wave" Kool-Aid weren't surprised by the blue blowout in Michigan Tuesday. Me, in the @MichiganAdvance. michiganadvance.com/2022/11/14/sus…
Let's start four weeks out, when a story appeared in the Detroit News trumpeting that it was a “pivotal week” in the race, even tough Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was 17 points up in polls, with Republican Tudor Dixon announcing she’ll “prove them all wrong.” michiganadvance.com/2022/11/14/sus…
Whitmer was running a smart campaign on kitchen-table issues, including abortion rights. AG Dana Nessel and SOS Jocelyn Benson hammered that democracy, sanity and voting rights were at stake, as the GOP nominated a slate of outré election deniers. michiganadvance.com/2022/11/14/sus…
Lisa McGraw of the @MichiganPress said she'd like the practice of shutting out press to end "immediately."
“Barring journalists from events like this seems counterintuitive and anti-democratic (little d). Reporters are the watchdog for the people." michiganadvance.com/2022/11/12/mpa…
“Historically, the press has always been welcome at these post-election events,” said Joe Schwarz, a GOP former state senator and U.S. House member, who added that the relationship between the GOP and media has become “a little bit adversarial.” michiganadvance.com/2022/11/12/mpa…
Michigan Republican Party Chief of Staff Paul Cordes released a memo Thursday to party members, noting that gubernatorial nominee Tudor Dixon came out of the August primary as an “untested candidate” who was “relatively unknown” and low name recognition. michiganadvance.com/2022/11/11/mic…
Not only did Democrats sweep the top statewide offices, but they won a 7-6 majority in the congressional delegation, maintained a majority on the Michigan Supreme Court and took both houses of the Legislature for the first time in almost 40 years. michiganadvance.com/2022/11/11/mic…
“This is absolutely historic, an epic landslide for pro-democracy Michiganders.”
That was the assessment of Jeff Timmer, a former Michigan GOP executive director now with the anti-Trump Lincoln Party, after seeing the midterm election results. michiganadvance.com/2022/11/11/in-…
The victories came even after most pundits predicted a national “red wave” that could even crash in Michigan, even though top Democrats had consistently led Republicans in polling here. “This is a really big deal,” said Democratic strategist Adrian Hemond. michiganadvance.com/2022/11/11/in-…
I am really proud that the @MichiganAdvance never lost sight of the impact of anti-LGBTQ+ proposals that dominated the last leg of Michigan's 2022 campaign on LGBTQ+ people, and especially children. michiganadvance.com/2022/09/23/as-…
Parents say gender-affirming health care is ‘life-affirming care’ for their trans children