On Friday’s edition of “Off the Record,” Tim Skubick discussed the struggle for power between Republican Party stalwarts and Tea Party activists, and what it means for Medicaid expansion in Michigan. Chad Livengood, a reporter at the conservative-leaning Detroit News, cited the Michigan Freedom Fund as evidence of a Republican Party realignment, saying “They’ve gone…
Last week, we issued a statement calling on Rep. Lyons to end her outright hypocrisy and support Michigan’s public education system. One day later, Lyons was on The Tony Conley Show talking about the proposed color-coded school ranking system, but spent most of her time responding to our release by marginalizing Progress Michigan and our…
It’s almost hard to imagine, but yesterday Rep. Tim Walberg went on Fox News and called the network – and all media – liars, saying: “Fox News doesn’t tell the truth, certainly none of the others do. So we’ve got to do our own media.” Why would Walberg bite the hand that feeds him? Two…
You have to admit, after a well-documented history of lying it’s refreshing to hear Speaker Jase Bolger finally tell the truth. When the BolgerGate revelations first came to light, Bolger slyly noted that technically electoral fraud isn’t illegal and he’d remain in power. As William Forsyth, the Republican prosecutor, said at the time – “embarrassing.”…
First you get the money, then you get the power, then you get a Get Out of Jail Free card. Just last week, Wall Street was caught manipulating aluminum prices as JP Morgan negotiated a settlement for manipulating energy markets that could cost them up to $410 million. Sounds like a lot, right? Well it…
Politicians are like cats: They’re entirely dependent on us for their survival but act as if we’re lucky to have them. If movies have taught us anything, there are only two types of cats – the courageous and the cowardly. While our lawmakers have looked more the Cowardly Lion than the Courageous Cat lately, even…
Yesterday, Walmart threatened to abandon D.C. if residents approved a living wage set at $12.50 an hour. Voters approved the living wage, and this morning Walmart announced they were scrapping plans for three new stores in D.C. Why? Because low wages are the lynchpin of Walmart’s business strategy: low prices. Walmart prides itself on having…
A few months ago, Dave Agema made headlines by openly discriminating against Michigan’s LGBT community, saying they’re responsible for “half the murders in large cities.” Calls for his resignation came from every corner of the political spectrum, except the far-right. When pressed, Gov. Snyder said he wasn’t going to “get in the middle of all…
Last week, Lansing politicians left for vacation to attend a $400 per person fishing fundraiser instead of voting to provide lifesaving health care to nearly half a million struggling Michiganders. The worst part? The costs associated with unexpected health emergencies will eat into the budgets of working Michiganders, and – without Medicaid – further endangers…
Have you heard about the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)? ALEC is funded by big corporations who draft legislation, then hand it to lawmakers to introduce as their own. ALEC is the driving force behind Michigan’s recent taste for privatizing public education through voucher, charter, and cyber schools. They’ve even got a special department devoted…