Progress Michigan blog posts.
Instead of voting to pass health insurance for nearly half a million low-income families in our state, lawmakers in Lansing made a fast break for vacation. In an effort to force a vote in the Senate on a bill that’s already passed the state House, the Senate Government and Operations Committee met today (video?) while…
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…
Last Thursday, Republicans in the Michigan Senate wouldn’t even agree to let Medicaid expansion come up for a simple up or down vote, which would’ve ensured that nearly half a million uninsured Michiganders will now be able to obtain health insurance. It was an absurd process, forcing Lt. Gov. Brian Calley to return early from…
Gov. Snyder sold himself to us as the no-nonsense businessman who would move us beyond partisan gridlock and make Michigan the “comeback state.” But instead, he’s proved that he’s just another politician. We’re more divided than ever, unemployment is higher than it was at the same point in Jennifer Granholm’s first term, and more children…
Republicans cut $1 billion from local schools to pay for a $1.8 billion corporate handout that was supposed to create “more and better jobs.” That hasn’t happened. In fact, unemployment is higher than it was at the same point in Jennifer Granholm’s first term, more children are living in poverty, and recently small business owners…
The Mackinac Center is a partisan think-tank funded by well-heeled special interests and lobbies to bring free-market principles to Michigan’s government. If you read “free-market principles” and understood it to mean a “corporate-first mentality that benefits their wealthy backers,” then you’re probably already familiar with them. Up until recently, the Mackinac Center benefited from being…
Last night around 10:00, there was plenty of bipartisan happiness in the House chambers. After Medicaid expansion passed 76-31, some House Democrats even applauded the Republicans for finally dropping their obstructionism and compromising on a program that will deliver affordable healthcare to some 400,000 uninsured Michiganders while saving the state billions. In most states, that’s…
One year ago today, State Rep. Lisa Brown said “vagina.” She was banned from speaking on the House floor for using the anatomically correct word while standing up against another far-right attack on women’s health. That word started a landslide of support for a woman’s right to choose, and thousands came out to support women’s…