A Republic, If You Can Keep It

Michigan Citizens for a Better Tomorrow
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Analysis and commentary on Michigan politics from former Democratic Party chair Mark Brewer and former Republican Party executive director Jeff Timmer.

  1. 1d ago

    I Love the Inflation (Guest: MIRS Editor Kyle Melinn)

    Subscribe to our YouTube channel On our political radar this week… A summer snowflake sighting in Wisconsin: Donald Trump stalked out of an NBC interview when his lies about election fraud were challenged by NBC’s Kristen Welker. While Trump was attacking mainstream media as “crooked”, his allies at CBS were proving they fit that description by firing 60 Minutes anchor Scott Pelley for calling out management efforts to spin stories on behalf of Trump. Just days after proclaiming “ I don’t think about Americans’ financial situations,” Trump gave Democrats another campaign commercial saying that “he loves the inflation” … which has hit a 3-year high. Adding to the out-of-touch aura from the White House, he’s reaching out to the average American as only an 80-year-old billionaire can do it: first by attending a basketball game where the cheapest tickets cost thousands, and then by offering a UFC 250 gold coin for $11,999.99. The Michigan sales tax on that trinket: $720. But it includes free shipping! © Clay Jones – https://claytoonz.substack.com Entertainment for Trump’s 80th birthday party – the UFC concussion contests on what used to be the White House south lawn – has cost taxpayers upwards of $60-million plus thousands of hours of staff time according to the National Park Service. Add to that the $2-million or so it costs taxpayers almost every week for Trump’s  weekly golf trip to Florida and you’ve got enough money to gift 6,000 or so Americans with Trump 250 commemorative coins. As Michigan State University looks once again for a new President, retiring U.S. Senator Gary Peters’ name moves to the top of the speculation. This comes as retired Senator Debbie Stabenow and Governor Gretchen Whitmer say they’re not interested in the job. All 3 are MSU alumni. CMS Energy is adding to the politics of affordability, asking for still another massive rate increase. The utility wants to raise electric rates by $486-million. This rate hike request comes less than three months after the utility received approval for a $217 million increase. Attorney General Nessel and multiple legislators are pushing back – Nessel fighting the increase through the Public Service Commission, lawmakers proposing measures to limit the frequency of rate increase requests. The battle for control of the closely divided Michigan Legislature is well underway. Democrats need to flip 4 seats to regain control of the state House; Republicans need to turn around 2 seats to win control of the state Senate. We’ll get into the details with Kyle Melinn, editor of the insider newsletter MIRS News. Governor Whitmer headlined the ribbon cutting for an important bridge this week … just not THE bridge. While the Miller-Rotunda Bridge in Dearborn (important to the Ford Rouge Plant complex) is now open, the Trump administration continues to delay the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge. The Trump roadblock for Michigan’s economy is supported by state House Speaker Matt Hall, who says Michigan needs to renegotiate toll sharing for the bridge – even though Canada paid the full cost of construction. The New York Times is reporting that Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer is promoting Haley Stevens’ campaign for the U.S. Senate. This comes as Abdul El-Sayed surges in internal polls … all of this two weeks before the first primary election ballots go into the mail. Ballots begin going out to Michigan voters on June 25. Every elective state and federal job will be filled in the November election. While the spotlight will be on the races for Governor and U.S. Senate, there’s a lot more at stake, including control of the state Legislature. That’s where we started our conversation with visiting pundit and chronicler of Michigan politics, Kyle Melinn. Kyle is editor of the MIRS Report, the go-to source for Michigan political insiders, providing in-depth coverage of all of state government and politics. He’s been with MIRS for 25 years, dating back to the Engler administration. In addition to his daily reporting, he is also a political columnist for Lansing City Pulse. © Clay Jones – https://claytoonz.substack.com ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Introducing our new podcast! Greed, Grift$ and Grab$: The Trump Crime Family Chronicles ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A Republic, If You Can Keep It is sponsored in part by

    43 min

  2. Jun 5

    War Is Boring. Swimming Pools Are Fun!

    Subscribe to our YouTube channel On our political radar this week… Donald Trump says he’s getting bored with his war, doesn’t care about the mid-terms … but is laser focused on what matters: his reflecting pond renovation, diverting money from national parks for his D.C. cleanup, the Arc ‘d Trump, taking over DC golf courses, the UFC version of the ancient gladiator battles to the death, and reminding us daily that he’s passed a dementia screening test four times. His latest middle finger to the nation: suggesting that the Las Vegas-style Fight Club arena on what used to be the White House lawn become a permanent part of the landscape. Vegas has the Dome and Elvis Wedding chapel; the home of Presidents, if Trump has his way, will have its own dome and a massive wedding reception hall. And it’s being reported that Trump is looting money from National Parks maintenance to pay for his July 4 fireworks show, the Reflecting Pool, a White House helipad and DC cleanup projects. He’ll burn up 1.6-million dollars blowing up stuff on the 4th … even as he burns up billions every week blowing up stuff in Iran. In an administration populated by the absolutely worst cabinet in American history, Trump manages to lower the bar even further with the appointment of Michigander housing developer and certified Trump suck-up Bill Pulte as acting Director of National Intelligence, a job for which he has absolutely no qualifications. Actors Matt Damon and John Krasinski … a.k.a. Jason Bourne and Jack Ryan … would be more qualified. Adding the the Bad Cabinet Blues: the new director of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullins, says as far as he’s concerned following court orders is optional. Michigan Democrats are optimistic after making the case to the national party that Michigan should be in the first tier of 2028 presidential primaries. The state party has also rejected appeals related to vote counting in the April endorsement convention. Will the dispute extend to the official nominating convention in August? The state House has turned down a Republican-drafted constitutional amendment which would make all university boards and the State Board of Education gubernatorial appointed bodies instead of elected. Speaker Matt Hall didn’t bother to talk with Democrats before putting the measure up for a vote. With a two-thirds vote needed to pass, it didn’t come close to adoption, but could be revived for the November election. We are just 50 days away from the start of early voting in Michigan. The four races to watch: the 3-way Republican contest for the opportunity to battle Jocelyn Benson for Governor; the 3-way Democratic contest to battle Mike Rogers for the U.S. Senate; and multi-candidate Democratic primaries for Congressional seats based in Lansing and Macomb County. Speculation has begun over who may be in the running for President of Michigan State University in the wake of last week’s departure of Kevin Guskiewicz. Will it be a relatively unknown academic, or a high-powered retired politician? There’s precedent for both routes…although the highest profile possibility, Gretchen Whitmer, has already announced she is not interested in the gig. Republicans in Congress are starting to push back on Trump outrages – the House passing a measure to stop Trump’s Middle East war, Senators stripping the one-billion-dollar subsidy for his ballroom from the DHS budget, and both chambers primed to outlaw efforts to revive the $1.8-billion slush fund for rewarding January 6 rioters and other Trump fans. It’s interesting that congressional Republicans only started to show signs of life after candidate filing deadlines. Michigan Congressman Tom Barrett, who no longer faces the possibility of a primary challenge, was one of four Republicans voting this week to end the Iran War.  The political threat to non-compliant Republicans for pushing back against Great Leader comes as doubts about Trump’s mental and physical health grow. His third physical examination since taking office coupled with an incomplete post-exam report on what the doctors learned, his reduced work schedule, the cankles and bruising – have increased the speculation. It sure looks like both his political and mental powers are in decline. This week’s best political giggle: an AI doctored photo of Senate candidate Mike Rogers, turning his relatively fit 63-year-old body into a modern-day Charles Atlas. What the heck – it’s easier than hours in the gym, or even going on Ozempic. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Introducing our new podcast! Greed, Grift$ and Grab$: The Trump Crime Family Chronicles ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A Republic, If You Can Keep It is sponsored in part by

    33 min

  3. May 28

    Stupid on Stilts

    Subscribe to our YouTube channel On our political radar this week… Former Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan adds to decades of proof that an independent candidate for statewide office is doomed, pulling the plug on what had become a fading Quixotic quest. He was supposed to be the star of the annual Greater Detroit Chamber of Commerce policy conference on Mackinac Island which was wrapping up as we recorded. There are no major surprises coming from the two days of fun, fudge and high-level schmoozing and boozing … and also no gubernatorial debate even though the major contenders are all at the Grand Hotel. It became a wake for the reality of Duggan’s “impossible dream” which proved, in fact, to be impossible. Does it clear the way for Jocelyn Benson to ride a Blue Wave into the Governor’s office? National Democrats have launched a circular firing squad over the 2024 Autopsy report with DNC chair Ken Martin facing calls for his ouster. But does anyone outside of the party’s org chart and the political media give a damn? Meanwhile, Michigan Democrats are making a pitch to the DNC to put Michigan into the first tier of presidential primaries.  President Donald Trump’s push to reshape congressional districts ahead of the November elections suffered a double setback Tuesday, as South Carolina senators declined to do so and a federal court blocked a Republican-backed map in Alabama. As early in-person voting began Tuesday in South Carolina’s primaries, the state Senate rejected a Republican plan to cancel those congressional votes and instead schedule a new primary under revised districts designed to help the GOP oust Jim Clyburn, the state’s only black member of Congress. A Republican win in Texas could well mean a Democratic win in November. Utterly corrupt Attorney General Ken Paxton outlasted Senator John Cornyn despite multiple national Republicans correctly pointing out that Paxton was a grotesquely flawed candidate. He’s under federal indictment, he narrowly avoided CONVICTION AFTER impeachment – BY A GOP LEGISLATURE, and he’s being sued for divorce by his state senator wife thanks to his affair with a former aide and state securities regulator. Democrats in Washington have made it clear that a Blue Wave flip of congressional control will mean investigations into the Trump administration’s corruption. As lawmakers grow increasingly frustrated with President Donald Trump’s planned $1.8 billion lawsuit settlement fund and his thousands of stock trades totaling hundreds of millions dollars, a trio of House Democrats is launching a new caucus aimed at fighting malfeasance in government. The new End Corruption Caucus is launching at the direction of Representatives Jason Crow, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Mike Levin, D-Calif., spanning the party’s centrist to progressive wings. When Donald Trump is feeling down, he brings in his Cabinet which spends a couple of hours telling him how great he is. On Wednesday the latest gathering focused on extolling what great things Trump has done for the economy and bringing Iran to its knees … nevermind that neither is consistent with reality. In fact, the latest reports from the Trump government is that inflation moved higher again last month … to the highest level in 3 years. Yes, inflation was lower during the final 2 years of the Biden administration. All of this to help him cope with his cognitive decline and his pending mortality after continual images of his rotting hands, his incessant bragging about being able to pass rudimentary dementia tests (that seem to be a regular occurrence), and news that he’s had not one, not two, but THREE physicals at Walter Reed Hospital in less than a year, along with the realization that he was facing humiliation in the mid-term elections … which, all of a sudden, he claims are meaningless for him.  And it gave Trump a chance to introduce the latest merch available for his flock to buy on his QVC-style website, even laying out his newest tacky 55-dollar baseball cap in front of each of his cabinet members. Thankfully, none of them wore them during the meeting…and there’s no report if the men in the room were wearing their Trump-mandated Florsheim shoes. The Trump administration said Tuesday that it will admit an additional 10,000 white South Africans into the U.S. as refugees this year, increasing its historically low annual cap but still blocking people from other countries from entering through the program. Trump suspended the refugee program on his first day in office and, since then, has turned it into a vehicle to allow Afrikaners — a group of white South Africans descended mainly from Dutch settlers — into the U.S. And there’s more than a little turmoil at Michigan State University. The Board of Trustees offered president Kevin Guskiewicz a $1-million pay raise and a contract extention. He said ‘no thanks’ and, after just two years in East Lansing, moves to President of Clemson University. This, after the board enacts controversial rules muzzling individual members … and penalizing two trustees for refusing to agree to the changes. All this adds to proposals to have the Governor appoint all university boards instead of relying on state political party nominations and partisan elections. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ In loving memory of our friend, Dr. John ‘Joe’ Schwarz – 1937-2026 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Introducing our new podcast! Greed, Grift$ and Grab$: The Trump Crime Family Chronicles ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A Republic, If You Can Keep It is sponsored in part by

    47 min

  4. May 21

    Trump’s Corruption Hat Trick

    Subscribe to our YouTube channel On our political radar this week… Donald Trump, who has had a lifetime personal wealth-building obsession, set a new standard for corruption this week with three outrageously grubby grifts: The $1.8 billion slush fund, under his total control, that he can use to pay off his political crime family, even the January 6th rioters  An agreement signed by his onetime criminal defense attorney giving him, his family, and his businesses immunity from any and all tax fraud and underpayment dating back to the beginning of time, and The revelation that he has engaged in what clearly appears to be thousands of stock trades based on inside information that you tend to get when you are President of the United States VIDEO: Rachel Maddow on Trump’s Insider Trading State Senate Democrats have announced a comprehensive plan to fight back against likely Trump efforts to rig Michigan’s election; state House Republicans want to prohibit Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson from any role in state elections if she is also on the ballot. With Michigan’s split control of the Legislature, both efforts are probably doomed. Michigan’s power brokers are gathering this week on Mackinac Island for the annual Greater Detroit Chamber of Commerce conference. It brings together southeast Michigan business leaders, top level state and local government officials, and a lot of reporters with good expense accounts. Meanwhile, on Sunday, the three Democrats running for the U.S. Senate nomination will debate on one of the nation’s most popular podcasts, Pod Save America. Donald Trump takes a (political) dump on two more Republican critics in primary elections: Congressman Thomas Massie in Kentucky for the sin of demanding that Trump release the Epstein files, and Senator Bill Cassidy in Louisiana for the sin of voting to convict Trump in Impeachment II and being mean to Bobby Kennedy Jr. But with the razor-thin GOP majorities in both the House and Senate, will the revenge victories liberate enough votes to sink Trump’s pet projects? Cassidy has already demonstrated his liberation, voting to support Democrats’ efforts to rein in Trump’s unauthorized and illegal war in Iran. (Which one of them is the first to become a commentator on MS Now or launch a podcast?) Trump’s endorsement of criminally indicted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for the U.S. Senate could both lose Trump the support of Senator John Cornyn for the next 7 months … and lose the Senate majority in November. A lawsuit has been filed in state courts aimed at expanding voting rights in Michigan by making third parties relevant, without making them spoilers. We have an exclusive interview with the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, and his attorney. That would be plaintiff Jeff Timmer on behalf of the Michigan Common Sense Party, and the party’s attorney: Mark Brewer. © Clay Jones – https://claytoonz.substack.com ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Introducing our new podcast! Greed, Grift$ and Grab$: The Trump Crime Family Chronicles ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A Republic, If You Can Keep It is sponsored in part by

    29 min

  5. May 15

    Lion Bear Giraffe Shark

    On our political radar this week… In between Oval Office naps, his costly, tacky fixations on the Reflecting Pool on the National mall and his $1-billion NOW TAXPAYER FUNDED ballroom, misogyny toward female reporters, rage posting on Truth Social, his bizarre, constant bragging about his regularly scheduled dementia tests, and stuffing his pockets full of payola from domestic and foreign tycoons and potentates, Donald Trump did Democrats a huge favor – voicing a soon-to-be Democratic campaign commercials in every competitive state and district across the fruited plain proclaiming “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation, I don’t think about anybody…” © Clay Jones – https://claytoonz.substack.com New polling, paid for by the Greater Detroit Chamber of Commerce, shows the Chamber’s endorsed candidate for Governor with Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson taking the lead. The same poll says it’s a virtual three-way tie for the Democrats’ U.S. Senate nomination. A second poll, paid for by MIRS News, shows Benson’s lead growing to 12 points. The two leading Republican candidates for Governor are engaged in a reprise of the sad GOP song of 4 years ago … problems with nominating petition signatures. But John James and Perry “Quality Guru” Johnson aren’t the only Republicans with unplanned campaign hiccups. First district Congressman Jack Bergman faces a possible ethics violation over extracurricular moneymaking efforts by his congressional staff. And US Senate candidate Mike Rogers has some unseemly ties to child sex predators. In the Macomb County based 10th district, GOP candidate Robert Luljguraj is accused of lying about where he lives on his state paperwork. It all adds up to some interesting times at the State Elections Bureau.  In this week’s chapter of Trump’s Perpetual Grifting, it’s looking like the highly promoted but non-existent Trump phone ain’t gonna happen. The 600,000 true believers who put down deposits of $100 seem unlikely to get their money back … but in the meantime, the Huckster Trumps have fleeced  $60-million from the rubes. Also new on the Trump Perpetual Grifting beat: – The BBC reports that Trump is selling sponsorships of his oh-so-tacky UFC match at the White House for up to $1.5 million. No word on who gets the money, but it isn’t hard to guess. –The Wall Street Journal revealed that Trump is considering issuing 250 pardons in conjunction with the USA 250 celebration. So far, no pardon prices have been announced. –He’s being sued in Florida for plans to have a for-profit hotel inside his Presidential museum … on land given him by the state that’s worth around $67-million. –Construction of the above-ground portion of his ballroom is underway in direct violation of a court order, and –Preliminary work has begun on his Arch De’ TACO, er Trump … without legally required authorization. Inflation has soared to its highest level in 3 years and shows every sign of climbing higher and higher. Trump’s response, as usual, is to promise that things will get lots better … later. In “about two weeks.” The “good news, bad news”: 81-year-old Rudy Giuliani has recovered from the pneumonia that sent him to the ICU last week, and we’re happy that he’s apparently survived the medical crisis. The bad news: he’s resumed his podcast. A Republic, If You Can Keep It is sponsored in part by

    38 min

  6. May 8

    $1,000,000,000 Ballroom

    © Clay Jones – https://claytoonz.substack.com On our political radar this week… The $200-million, privately funded Trump desecration of the White House has morphed into a $1-billion project … with taxpayers picking up the tab. While the White House focused on the ballroom, taking over DC Golf Courses, repainting the reflecting pool, details of the White House UFC fight on July 4,  and signage at the newly renamed Donald J. Trump International Airport in West Palm Beach, Michigan Democrats maintained their slim majority in the state Senate with a landslide special election victory in the Saginaw Valley. Chedrick Greene did what Democrats have been doing for a year: outperformed 2024’s numbers by a stunning 20-point margin.   In Indiana, Trump’s vengeance … amplified by around $14-million … has purged 5 Republicans from that state’s Senate as penance for daring to defy Trump’s imperial decree: a reminder that Trump’s Republican Party is a cult of servility – or else. The Trump bank account continues to grow, with nepo-grifters Don Jr. and Eric landing a multi-million-dollar contract from Daddy’s Department of Defense. They’ve very quickly become successful entrepreneurs in the military drone business as a supplement to their hawking of worthless meme coins and cashing in on Daddy’s power/name/greed. The Michigan Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the battle over Michigan MAGA House Speaker Matt Hall’s refusal to follow the state constitution when it comes to sending bills passed by the Legislature to the Governor to enact into law has a Supreme Court hearing. The state Senate is the plaintiff and their lead attorney: the honorable Mr. Mark Brewer Esquire. In the race for the Democrats’ U.S. Senate nomination, Haley Stevens picked up two significant endorsements: retired 4-term U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, and the wife of the man she wants to succeed, Senator Gary Peters (who has said he will not endorse in the primary). All three Democratic Senate candidates are set to participate in a forum on the Pod Save America podcast, scheduled to air May 24. The podcast reaches around 1.5 million listeners … slightly more than this podcast! Republicans are claiming that Jocelyn Benson can’t be trusted to run the November election because her name is on the ballot. One problem with their rhetoric: the elections are run by local clerks and the Board of State Canvassers, not the Secretary of State. Benson doesn’t participate in validating signatures on nominating petitions or certifying the results and has taken the additional step of formally establishing a firewall between her and administration of the election. Not to be outdone in the “ignorance on display sweepstakes”, Trump has called for the impeachment and/or indictment of House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Impeaching House members isn’t a thing. It’s one more word salad from the mouth of someone a majority of Americans think is lacking the mental sharpness to do the job. Trump held his first post-Correspondants’ Dinner campaign-style rally … at the friendly turf of The Villages retirement community in central Florida. Speaking to a crowd of supportive retirees, he and his fellow TV celebrity Dr. Phil repeated one of his many lies regarding the horrendous Big Ugly Budget Bill, claiming he had ended taxes on Social Security while standing in front of a backdrop making the same bogus claim. Spoiler alert: it’s not true. What passed was a three-year, $ 6,000 tax deduction for seniors. It expires at the end of Trump’s term!

    35 min

  7. May 1

    Re-Indicted, and It Feels So Good! (guest: Tiffany Muller, End Citizens United)

    © Clay Jones – https://claytoonz.substack.com On our political radar this week… The Trump Retribution Parade continues as his Department of Payback indicts James Comey for posting a picture of sea shells on social media. If that doesn’t work, they could try claiming the 6-foot-8 Comey’s height poses an imminent threat to the safety of the President. New polling from the Detroit Chamber shows “Undecided” remains the leader in Michigan Democrats’ battle for the U.S. Senate nomination. There’s a new controversy in that race, with long-ago Tweets from Mallory McMorrow coming back to haunt her. Among Republicans, John James continues to lead Perry Johnson, Mike Cox, and the rest of the field. The one no-contest race: Jocelyn Benson has a 58-point lead in the race for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. The US Supreme Court has effectively repealed the last remnants of the Voting Rights Act, setting the stage for a possible new round of partisan gerrymanders. It comes as the last four black Republicans in Congress retire, leaving the GOP with the prospect of no black House members in 2027. The impact goes beyond the U.S. House of Representatives. In Michigan, it effectively eliminates majority-minority as a criterion for Michigan’s Citizens Independent Redistricting Commission when it draws future state legislative district maps – quite possibly before the 2028 elections. The Donald Trump narcissism parade continues to grow. The latest: His snarling mug will now appear on commemorative U.S. passports, although Trump-free passports will continue to be available. And King Charles presented him with the ship’s bell from the World War II submarine HMS Trump. One ominous sign: that ship was sold off and broken up for scrap in August 1971.  In response to the war of words over election integrity, Secretary of State Benson has announced that 2.1 million outdated voter registrations have been canceled since 2019 or are in the cancellation process. For the first time ever, this includes over 180,000 dormant registrations of people who haven’t voted in a single election in the last 20 years or longer. Control of the state Senate will be decided Tuesday when voters in Michigan’s 35th Senate District will decide whether Democrat Chedrick Greene or Republican Jason Tunney will represent them for the rest of the year in Lansing. The district includes Bay, Midland and Saginaw counties. The Democrats are heavily favored to win and maintain control of the Senate. The quote of the week comes from The Bulwark’s Tim Miller: We’re in the Fat Elvis era of the Trump presidency. A note on the passing of Senator Don Riegle. First elected to the U.S. House from Flint in 1966, he served 5 terms and then 3 terms in the Senate, where he succeeded the legendary Phil Hart. He was one of the few people ever elected to Congress from both parties, switching from Republican to Democrat in protest of the Vietnam War and the corruption of the Nixon administration. We also lost a friend of this podcast, former Detroit News reporter and later Department of Justice lawyer Jim Mitzelfeld. Jim and his reporting partner Eric Freedman won a Pulitzer Prize for their uncovering of a million-dollar corruption scandal in the state House Fiscal Agency. Jim died of melanoma a day short of his 65th birthday.   Joining the conversation this week is President of End Citizens United, Tiffany Muller. Mark and Walt Sorg talked with Tiffany Muller. She simultaneously leads the affiliated groups Let America Vote, and the End Citizens United/Let America Vote Action Fund – organizations dedicated to reversing what many consider one of the worst rulings of the Supreme Court in the last century which opened the floodgates for dark money funding of political campaigns. Since joining ECU, Tiffany has helped grow the group from a start-up to a nationwide organization with more than 4 million members and 1 million grassroots donors.

    48 min

  8. Apr 24

    An Extraordinarily Brilliant Person (Guest: Eli Savit)

    © Clay Jones – https://claytoonz.substack.com On our political radar this week… Donald Trump, possessor of the self-proclaimed “Big Brain,” seems to have fully embraced a bunker mentality: his ever-shifting Iran strategy manages neither to sway Tehran nor steady the global economy, but it does keep everyone guessing. Meanwhile, he’s tied up in court trying to build an actual bunker—allegedly tucked beneath his $400 million gold-plated ballroom—because nothing says “strong leadership” like preparing to retreat in style. Michigan Democrats attracted a record-setting 7,200-plus delegates to their endorsement convention … along with potential presidential candidates Kamala Harris, Corey Booker and Andy Beshear (as well as home field potential candidates Elissa Slotkin and Gretchen Whitmer). Much to the consternation of party leaders, a sizable contingent of young progressives heckled and booed some of the on-stage candidates … a demonstration that brought quick condemnation from state party chair Curtis Hertel on the party’s weekly podcast. Trump’s polling numbers continue to plummet. The latest AP-NORC poll has his approval rating a massive 40 points under water: 30% approval, 70% disapproval.  The worst cabinet in generations is getting a huge shakeup with the firing of three of the most incompetent – all of them women. Who’s next? Oh, so many bozos from which to choose. Bar-room buddies Hegseth and/or Patel? Bessent? Brainworm Bobby?  Virginia voters narrowly approve a congressional gerrymander that could flip four seats to the benefit of Democrats while Florida struggles to enact what could be the final chapter of the Trump-led gerrymandering quagmire. When it’s all said and done, the GOP plan to reinforce its U.S. House majority may well backfire.  Michigan’s top officials agree: the latest Trump-branded election conspiracy tour deserves a hard pass. This comes as federal officials are demanding full access to Wayne County’s 2024 ballots, apparently treating election records like a clearance rack for future grievances.  The whole exercise doubles as a rehearsal dinner for the GOP’s next claim that 2024 was “rigged,” a storyline notably unsupported by facts but eagerly workshopped by two-time election loser John James, who is still auditioning his 2020 script blaming Secretary of State Benson—a plotline first piloted by Mike Rogers and apparently too good (or too baseless) to retire.  Perry Johnson has taken a page out of the Donald Trump playbook, filing an absolutely absurd lawsuit to get some attention. His target: John James, over a campaign flyer which he claims implies James is already Governor of Michigan. By the way, the latest poll from EPIC-MRA shows that our actual Governor, Gretchen Whitmer, has nearly 100% name identification.  The GOP gubernatorial field is down by one. Former state House Speaker Tom Leonard, who was polling in single digits, has dropped out of the race 2 days after filing his nominating petitions. The man who led Trump Airlines into bankruptcy is brokering a deal for the federal government to take partial ownership of the equally prestigious Spirit Airlines … at a cost of a half-billion dollars. Democrats are focusing on gas prices as they challenge Republicans running for reelection to Congress. One target in Michigan: Lansing area Congressman Tom Barrett, who used the price of gas to flip the mid-Michigan district in 2024. He promised back then to get gas prices under control. Meanwhile, a new report from the non-partisan Anderson Economic Group says the ongoing high price of gas is costing a typical family $100 a month. Former Michigan Democratic and Republican party officials are teaming up in an effort to eliminate candidate nominating conventions for top state offices, arguing the practice disenfranchises voters.. The effort is led by former Michigan Democratic Party chair Lon Johnson, and former Republican Executive Director of the Michigan Republican Party Jason Roe. Mark is a former Michigan Democratic Party chair, and Jeff is a former Michigan GOP Executive Director. They offer their perspective on the idea. The battle lines are drawn in Michigan for the November elections as candidates near and far file their petitions, and the state’s Democrats give preliminary approval to their candidates for most statewide offices in an often raucous convention. Joining the podcast this week: the Democrats’ choice for Attorney General, Washtenaw County prosecuting attorney Eli Savit. A native of Ann Arbor, Savit attended Kalamazoo College in western Michigan, where he played four years of college basketball. Following his college graduation, he worked as a public school teacher—teaching both special-education and general-education 8th-grade U.S. history. After graduating from the University of Michigan Law School, Eli worked for two federal judges. He was then selected to clerk on the United States Supreme Court for Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Prior to his election as Washtenaw County prosecutor in 2020, he served as senior legal counsel for the city of Detroit. As prosecutor, Eli has established dedicated special-victims and domestic violence units, led the successful investigation and prosecution of multiple “cold-case” rape cases, launched multiple successful programs that allow people dealing with behavioral health and substance-use issues to obtain rehabilitative services— while avoiding a criminal conviction, and established Washtenaw County’s first-ever conviction integrity and expungement unit, which remedies wrongful convictions and provides legally eligible residents free assistance in clearing old criminal records. Thank you for your attention to this matter. © Clay Jones – https://claytoonz.substack.com

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About

Analysis and commentary on Michigan politics from former Democratic Party chair Mark Brewer and former Republican Party executive director Jeff Timmer.

Information

  • Creator
    Michigan Citizens for a Better Tomorrow
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    268
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 Michigan Citizens for a Better Tomorrow, a non-profit social welfare corporation
  • Show Website
    A Republic, If You Can Keep It

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