FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
News from Progress Michigan
September 28, 2016
Contact: Sam Inglot, 616-916-0574, sam@progressmichigan.org
VIDEO: Is Michigan a Red or Blue State?
New Progress Michigan video shows how 26 years of Republican control has hurt MI
MICHIGAN — Progress Michigan released a new video today showing how Republicans have had near total control of Michigan’s government over the past quarter century and the disastrous consequences that have come with it.
“Michigan tends be thought of as a ‘blue state’ because the state usually votes for the Democratic candidate for president,” said Lonnie Scott, executive director of Progress Michigan. “However, Republicans have been in the driver’s seat of state government for over 26 years. Our crumbling infrastructure, our decaying school buildings, and our underfunded communities are all thanks to their policies that put corporate interests above those of working families. Republicans can blame policies of the past all they want for the problems we face today, but they better realize that they’re only pointing the finger at themselves.”
The video tells the story of Total Republican Control by pointing out the fact that since Gov. John Engler’s election in 1990, Republicans over the last 26 years have controlled: the Governor’s office for 18 years, the Attorney General’s office for 14 years, the Secretary of State’s office for 22 years, the House of Representatives for 18 years, and the state Senate for all 26 years. What follows are the facts: higher levels of poverty, a major decline in manufacturing jobs, slow construction job growth, lower incomes, and underfunding of education.
“Total GOP control has been good for one group of people: wealthy corporate donors,” Scott continued. “Republicans like to claim that government is broken, and then they govern to prove it. That’s what we’ve seen in Michigan over the last 26 years.”
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