Party on the Peninsulas Michigan Democratic Party

From Chairperson Lavora Barnes

“Supremes”. No – not the legendary Motown trio. It’s the United States Supreme Court, and the importance of this year’s elections on the next 2 decades of the Court.

There likely will be two or more vacancies on the Court during the term of the next President. Right wing extremists and ethically challenged Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas are 74 and 75 years old; Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Sonia Sotomayor are both 69.

The election of Trump, coupled with a Republican Senate, could result in a Court that has five or more Trump-appointed Justices. It would be a MAGA-dominated court for two or more decades.

Even if we re-elect Joe Biden, a Republican Senate could well stymie restoring balance to the Court. Mitch McConnell showed what raw power and a lack of conscience can do to the Court. McConnell’s outrageous partisanship stole two seats on the Court which should have gone to appointees of Presidents Obama and Biden. Instead McConnell used his slim majority in the Senate to gift Trump with 2 appointments: 59-year-old Brett Kavanagh and 54-year-old Amy Coney Barrett. Those two appointments cemented a radical right-wing-dominated activist court that resulted in overturning Roe, strengthening gerrymandering and shredding voting rights.

The next two decades of the U.S. Supreme Court are definitely on the ballot in November. We need to remember that every day, and redouble our efforts not only to reelect Joe Biden but make sure the next United States Senator from Michigan is a Democrat.



Voting rights advocates from across the nation regularly point to Michigan as a model for the nation. Voter approval of both the anti-gerrymandering constitutional amendment in 2018, and the two Voter Rights proposals in 2018 and 2022 make our state stand out. Ari Berman, national voting rights correspondent at Mother Jones, says Michigan’s reforms are – quote – “Restoring legitimacy to the democratic process.”

In 2017, 27-year-old political novice Katie Fahey assembled a nine-member team that was the core of what became Voters Not Politicians. Working with an all-volunteer volunteer army, VNP collected more than 450,000 petition signatures in just 100 days and then narrowly won a state Supreme Court challenge to put that amendment on the ballot. The proposal won 61 percent of the vote, taking the power of redistricting away from the Legislature by creating the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission.

Our Walt Sorg, who was not affiliated with the Michigan Democratic Party back then, was one of the nine people on VNP’s original board of directors which led the entire effort. Walt recently talked with VNP’s legal counsel Jim Lancaster, the primary drafter of the words that are now a part of the Michigan Constitution, about how that grassroots campaign changed politics in Michigan. Walt recently talked with Lancaster about the proposal and how it has worked.



In the News This Week

Michigan Politics



* 9 Michigan candidates for Congress found to have faulty petitions – Detroit News

* MDP Letter to Board of Canvassers re: candidate petitions

* RELEASE: Mike Rogers Caves to Pressure,

From chairperson Lavora Barnes

Our courts are under attack led, of course, by four-time indicted, twice-impeached bankruptcy king Donald Trump. He’s still furious that more than 60 different courts dismissed his claims of election fraud in 2020 and, as we record this, on the verge of a verdict in the first of his four felony trials. He’s called the well-respected New York Supreme Court judge crooked, biased, unqualified and corrupt simply because it fits into his campaign strategy of painting himself as a victim.

Adding to his attack on the system: summoning his D.C. red tie brigade to repeat the scurrilous attacks on witnesses, the jury and even the judge’s daughter: things he can’t say because of a well-deserved gag order.

On top of that Trump has made it clear that if he gets reelected, he will order the Justice Department to indict special prosecutor Jack Smith, Georgia D.A. Fanny Willis and New York district attorney Alvin Bragg for the crime of indicting Trump.

In Michigan, we have a much different story. We have an Attorney General who takes corrupt public officials from both parties without fear or favor, and works hand-in-glove with our Secretary of State to guarantee free and fair elections.

Our state’s Supreme Court is widely praised for even-handed justice. Under the leadership of a Democratic Party nominated majority the court earned a well-deserved reputation for fairness and dedication to the rule of law.

In 2024, we are working to preserve and enhance that reputation with our party’s two executive-committee endorsed candidates for the Court: Justice Kyra Harris Bolden, and University of Michigan professor Kimberly Thomas.

This week we talk with Professor Thomas on how she plans to work side-by-side with current justices Bolden, Richard Bernstein, Elizabeth Welch and Megan Cavanagh as well as the two Republican-nominated justices.



In the News This Week…



* Democratic group starts attacking Trump with abortion rights testimonials – The Washington Post



Michigan Politics



* Mich. Dems want to review signatures submitted by GOP Senate candidates – Detroit Free Press

* Dems allege forgery, fraud on GOP petitions for Michigan U.S. Senate seat – Bridge Michigan

* Democrat Slotkin leads GOP Senate hopefuls, but one matchup is tight: poll – Detroit News

* After initial rejection, Delta County canvassers certify election – Detroit News

* a href="https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2024/05/16/adam-hollier-insufficient-signatures-primary-election-ballot/73615695007/?

From chairperson Lavora Barnes

In political debates, the rhetoric sometimes overshadows the impact of those policy decisions on actual people: what’s the impact on individual lives. That is one of the many reasons Joe Biden is such an amazing leader: every decision he makes is influenced by a lifetime of experiences of “Scranton Joe,” the guy who grew up in a working class family that faced the same challenges that confront millions of Americans.

Sadly, a lot of the debate over reproductive rights overlooks the real world. Opponents manufacture horror stories that are mostly fantasies unattached from the real world. They talk about late term abortions right up to the moment of birth, something that simply isn’t a thing. They trivialize what, in reality, is one of the most difficult decisions a woman can make.

In the case of exceeding rare late-term abortions, those decisions are the direct result of a major emergency that’s life-or-death, but opponents make it sound heartless. In the last week, Michiganders had the opportunity to learn more about the real-world impact of the anti-choice movement from two victims of those laws.

Texan Amanda Zurawski and Kaitlin Joshua of Louisiana both very much wanted a child, but both of them experienced the horror of a pregnancy gone bad. Thanks to the draconian laws passed by their legislatures, both of them nearly died as a result.

On this week’s podcast, we hear both of their stories: the real world impact of taking away the right of women to control their own healthcare.





In the News

Michigan Politics



* Kamala Harris touts EV transition loans in Detroit – Bridge Michigan

* In Detroit, VP Harris promotes White House aid for small business – Detroit News

* Michigan AG Dana Nessel plans to sue fossil fuel companies over climate change – Bridge Michigan

* Lawyer who advised Trump sends ‘message’ to Michigan attorney general

* A Democrat won a recall election in Republican dominated Ottawa County. Was it a harbinger? – mlive.com

* Michigan ...

Contempt

It’s more than the fines handed out to defendant Donald Trump in his election interference criminal case. It’s the contempt of many Republican leaders who show contempt for our justice system. 



They scream about a two-tiered justice system when, in reality, they demand a system where their chosen leader is above the law.

They say they support the police, but have no problem with a leader who says he’d considering pardoning the criminals who attacked the Capitol on January 6 resulting in the deaths of five police officers and injuries to dozens more. 

They complain about alleged censorship of conservatives on social media, but pass laws censoring books about racial justice and LGBTQ+ rights.

They yell about their love of the Constitution, but demand police arrest people exercising their First Amendment rights of free speech and peaceful protest while defending the violent mob of January 6.



The GOP response to campus protests across the nation are a frightening replay of how the Nixon administration reacted to anti-war demonstrators in the late 1960’s: using military power to silence the protesters which culminated in the deaths of four unarmed students at Kent State University, shot by the Ohio National Guard.

This week’s Trump outrage: his plans to transform the presidency into a virtual dictatorship, revealed in a two-part interview in Time magazine. 

Some of the revelations:



He would not have a problem with states deciding to track pregnancies and even imprison women who have abortions

While taking no position on the abortion medication Mifepristone, Trump could make it illegal by ordering the FDA to withdraw approval of the treatment

He would use the military to seek out and arrest undocumented immigrants. It’s been illegal to use the Army for domestic law enforcement for more than a century.

He’s set up prison camps to hold millions of accused undocumented immigrants.

He would order the Justice Department to criminally charge his political opponents, and would fire any U.S. Attorney who defied his order. His purge would start with Joe Biden, even though a two-year House investigation into Biden has come up empty.

He would consider pardoning the hundreds of criminals who were convicted for their actions on January 6, even those responsible for attacking law enforcement officers.

He would fill his administration with people who supported his Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen

He says the most pressing racial issue in America is bias against white people

He refused to rule out violence if he loses the 2024 election and, just as in 2020, refuses to say if he’d accept the results

He will move to destroy any media outlets that are critical of him, especially those with government-issued broadcast licenses

He will gut the Civil Service system, filling tens-of-thousands federal position with Trump loyalists who will reflexively do what he orders regardless of the law



When John Kennedy was elected President, his senior advisers were branded “the best and the brightest.” Donald Trump has made it clear the only qualification for his appointees to his cabinet and White House senior staff: total loyalty to Donald Trump.

Plain and simple, Trump is a fraud. He has lied to Michiganders again and again — on jobs, on abortion, and on every other promise he’s made. These visits don’t mask the fact that he has failed Michiganders for years and doesn’t actually care about helping them in the future. 

President Biden, on the other hand, has been showing up for Michiganders since his first day in office – and hasn’t wavered. When workers went on strike for better pay and benefits, President Biden joined the picket line and fought for them and their families. When Americans needed more affordable health care, he fought for a $35 insulin cap and lower prescription drug co...

From chairperson Lavora Barnes – 

Arizona joined with Michigan, Georgia and Nevada this week by issuing indictments in the fake electors scheme. The defendants include several influential figures in Arizona politics, including former state GOP chair Kelli Ward and sitting state senators Anthony Kern and Jake Hoffman. Also charged was Christina Bobb, just days after she was named head of the Republican National Committee’s Election Integrity program. She is one of seven Trump confidantes also charged.

Trump, who isn’t charged, is repeatedly referred to as “Unindicted Coconspirator 1” in the 58-page indictment.

It turns out Trump is also an unindicted co-conspirator in Michigan’s fake elector case, and a defendant in the Georgia fake elector prosecution. Trump’s status as a co-conspirator in Michigan was revealed during a court hearing on some of the criminal charges against the faux electors.

It’s more clear than ever that Donald Trump and his MAGA allies are rotten to the core and have no place in the halls of power. We shouldn’t be surprised that an extremist MI-GOP that attempts to undermine the very foundations of our democracy time and time again is consistently in lockstep with the chaos and lawlessness of Trump. 

This Republican Party is clearly willing to do anything to attack our institutions. From the bottom to the top of the ballot, they have never been more out of step with our state’s values. Let’s be clear, Michiganders have continually rejected Donald Trump’s election denialism and they will do so again this November.

Meanwhile: the right-wing majority on the U.S. Supreme Court is hinting it will create a form of immunity for Trump to protect him from criminal prosecution for some or all of his actions while President. At a minimum, court watchers say the Court will build some new delays into Trump’s federal criminal cases so that he doesn’t face trial until after the election. Of course, if Trump manages to get elected in November he will order the Justice Department to drop all charges and let him get away with it.

We need to remember that five of the nine current justices were appointed by Presidents who lost the popular vote, and then confirmed by the votes of Senators representing fewer than half of the country. It’s called “minority rule.”

In news of another Supreme Court…

Our Democratic Party Executive Committee has endorsed Kyra Harris Bolden and Kimberly Ann Thomas for Michigan’s Supreme Court. These will be some of the most consequential elections this year in Michigan as our state Supreme Court is the only court in the country that the GOP could flip to their control.

The race for Supreme Court in Michigan this year will decide whether Democrats can continue to build on all of our progress, or whether MAGA Republicans can rely on their allies on the court. From reproductive freedom to the sanctity of our election process, a conservative state Supreme Court would spell disaster for all the issues that matter most to Michiganders. This cycle, we will ensure that Michiganders understand the stakes of this election so that our freedom and democracy can continue to grow and prosper.

Justice Bolden is defending her recent appointment by Gov. Whitmer to the bench this fall. As the first Black woman to serve in the Michigan Supreme Court, Bolden is a trailblazer who is committed to ensuring equal access to justice, applying the law without fear or favor, and treating all who come before our state’s highest court with dignity and respect.

Kimberly Ann Thomas is running for an open court seat on the Michigan Supreme Court and will bring her broad base of legal experience and a new voice of integrity and fairness to the court. Thomas is an experienced trial and appellate lawyer, and law professor at the University of Michigan Law School where she co-founded and directs the Juvenile Justice Clinic.

From chairperson Lavora Barnes –

It was a joy during the week for me to personally congratulate the two newest Democrats in the state House of Representatives: Mai Xiong in the Warren area’s 13th House District and Peter Herzberg in the Westland area’s 25th House District. Both were elected to fill vacancies created when their predecessors were elected mayor of their city.

Once the special elections are certified by the state Board of Canvassers, Democrats will once again have a 56-54 majority in the House to go with the 20-18 majority in the state Senate. It comes just in time for enactment of a state budget which continues investments into our state that will pay benefits for generations: support for education, infrastructure and economic development headlining the new budget.

The challenge now: maintaining that House majority in the November election. The newly adopted district maps, according to analysts, give either party a statistical chance of winning the majority. Using the current lines, 56 of the new districts were carried in 2020 by Donald Trump and 54 by President Biden. We can’t rest on our laurels. With these citizen-drawn maps, we can expand our majority or we can lose it. It is up to us.

Here are things you can do to help keep the House majority:



Reach out to your local candidate. You can help them with canvassing, fundraising, putting up a yard sign, hosting a home party, talking with your neighbors, writing a letter to the editor – they’ll let you know where you can help.

Stay active and stay positive on social media. It’s fun to get into viral arguments but usually non-productive. What can help are short, concise, fact-based comments on issues. 

And, if you are able, donate – to your state representative, to the House Democratic Campaign Committee, to your county Democratic Party and, of course. To the Michigan Democratic Party. As one astute consultant told me, campaigns are about two things: raising money, and everything else!



We have resources for you on all of this on our MDP website. Just click here! 



A new issue that is facing many communities: the mostly unregulated world of short-term rentals. The proliferation of companies like AirBNB and VRBO can be both a blessing and a curse. We are joined by state Representative Joey Andrews of St. Joseph who is sponsoring a package of bills to bring order to the Wild West of short-term rentals. With no regulatory framework in Michigan law, STRs have proliferated to a crisis point in many communities across the state. Representative Andrews is lead sponsor of a 10-bill package to bring order to where there is now chaos.

Representative Andrews is serving his first term representing the 38th House District, which covers parts of Allegan, Berrien and Van Buren counties. Born and raised in Southwestern Michigan, Representative Andrews knows and respects the unique issues facing lakeshore communities including the growing water issues of erosion, flooding, lead and aging infrastructure; and the short-term rental crisis gutting local communities.

Andrews was born and raised in St. Joseph. After graduating from high school he briefly left to attend college at Carson-Newman University in Tennessee. He earned his bachelor’s degree in history and music and went to law school at Wayne State University, graduating in 2013 with his law degree and passing the Michigan bar exam a year later.



This week’s Trump outrage is on full display in New York right now.