Birthers, Baggers, Booze, and Buying Ballots

From the clever, yet brutally honest, folks at the Michigan Democratic Party, in regards to last weekend's Repoublican foray to Mackinac Island:

• With a dozen private jets parked at the Pellston Airport and more private planes at the Island airport, you could see the Michigan GOP cared little about the suffering of the people of Michigan while they partied for 3 days leaving the state budget unresolved.
• Michigan GOP Chair Ron Weiser claims “record attendance.” However, attendance was inflated by numerous Birthers and Tea Baggers, aka Tea Party activists, as well as by hundreds of people paid to attend so they would vote in the straw poll. If not for all those extremists and paid-for voters (doesn’t the GOP allegedly oppose vote-buying?), attendance would have been down significantly, reflecting a smaller and depressed GOP base in Michigan.
• Mike Cox had a very bad weekend. In the debut of campaign manger Dan Pero, L. Brooks Patterson declared the gubernatorial candidate debate a draw and Cox lost the straw poll to Rick Snyder despite spending tens of thousands of dollars on hotel rooms (three nights for scores of people), food, transportation, registration fees, jackets, customized signs, literature, lawn signs, and parties.

Those are just three of the bullet points. Hop to the above link and see the whole thing.

How do you know if your lawmaker is a Democrat?

I'll give you a hint: Whether or not someone calls themself a Democrat is not the greatest indicator of whether someone really is one. (You probably knew that, right?)

See, real Democrats are the ones who stand up for ordinary people. They show - by their actions, not just by their words - that they want excellent healthcare, a clean environment, and did I mention a quality education for all young people?

Take these highlights from the 2008 Michigan Democratic Party platform:

Provide unprecedented educational funding. Under Governor Granholm’s leadership, per-student public school funding has been increased to record level of over $7,300 per student.

Make higher education available for all. Higher education is vital to success in the new economy. Under the leadership of Lt. Governor John Cherry, the Lt. Governor’s Commission on Higher Education and Economic Growth devised a comprehensive plan to double the number of Michigan residents with a college degree or other valuable educational credential. Michigan Democrats vigorously support the plan and applaud the progress toward implementation.

Democrats want to make sure higher education and technical training in high-growth fields is accessible and affordable to all. Governor Granholm’s $4,000 Michigan Promise Scholarship, available to all high school graduates, helps ensure that they can go to college or receive post-secondary training.

Kinda makes you wonder about people like George Cushingberry, one of three people with a D by their name who were part of a panel that cut the Michigan Promise scholarship.

Or those Blue Dog 'Democrats' in Congress who choose profits instead of people's lives.

Happy Constitution Day!

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Bits of Tid: September 7, 2009

• From the one and only Walter Reuther:

  "This country is my country too, you know. I am not a second class citizen, and I don't intend to start acting like one...just because they pay a worker, does not mean they own him."

  Happy Labor Day!
• "U.S. Economy Gets Lift From Stimulus." So says that bastion of liberalism, The Wall Street Journal.
• A Seattle rally for healthcare reform, attended by 3,000 people, doesn't make the paper.
• Hard work? Staying in school? Obama's a socialist! (/snark) But most people aren't buying that.
• Ernie Harwell, 91, has inoperable cancer.
• Good news for the Tigers? Their magic number is 20. They lead the AL Central by 7. I don't want to curse them, but it looks like they're running away with it!