http://blog.mlive.com/capitolchronicles/Political news and notes from Lansing, MichiganenFri, 06 Nov 2009 08:09:25 PSTMovable Type Enterprise 4.29-advance http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/michigan,lansing,politics,mbt,electionsNews & PoliticsBusiness/Business NewsSusan Demas - Capitol Chronicles - MLive.comnomichigan,lansing,politics,mbt,electionsSusan Demas discusses Michigan political issues, state policy and state leaders.Susan Demas discusses Michigan political issues, state policy and state leaders.CapitolChronicleshttp://feedburner.google.comhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CapitolChronicles/~3/w_TiNPXa7NM/how_sarah_palin_and_tea_partie.html476517796311423569938134021131617613138367066061706131396061713740613140141853645236215861314218330318474414964116036061751947923670411586131441941668493812839013761314635107761314746815331520141855Susan Demas - Capitol Chronicles - MLive.comFri, 06 Nov 2009 08:09:25 PSTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/capitolchronicles//3851.3895671 ]]>Wingnuts of the world unite. You have nothing to lose but election ... after election ... after election. That's the lesson from the far right's stinging defeat in yet another Republican congressional district this week. Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman harangued GOP Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava into dropping out - hailed as a huge victory for Real Republicans - and then the clueless teabagger-cum-carpetbagger went on to lose the upstate New York seat to a little-known Democrat.http://blog.mlive.com/capitolchronicles/2009/11/how_sarah_palin_and_tea_partie.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CapitolChronicles/~3/u1jpmdxDe2E/breaking_mike_nofs_defeats_mar.htmlBreaking NewsMichigan PoliticsPolitics459181199491833034573960905556003215831133096176309177692608655609175Susan Demas - Capitol Chronicles - MLive.comTue, 03 Nov 2009 19:05:48 PSTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/capitolchronicles//3851.3874759 ]]>Former Rep. Mike Nofs (R-Battle Creek) has beaten Rep. Marty Griffin (D-Jackson) in the 19th Senate District special election, according to an analysis of returns by Michigan Information & Research Service (MIRS).http://blog.mlive.com/capitolchronicles/2009/11/breaking_mike_nofs_defeats_mar.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CapitolChronicles/~3/te-Fxus57Mk/is_the_mike_nofs-marty_griffin.htmlColumnMichigan PoliticsPolitics60865357468560865718330345739608658158311608655608659Susan Demas - Capitol Chronicles - MLive.comTue, 03 Nov 2009 14:28:27 PSTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/capitolchronicles//3851.3872602 ]]>The Atlantic asks that question in a story today on the 19th District special election between former Rep. Mike Nofs (R-Battle Creek) and Rep. Marty Griffin (D-Jackson). Republicans, who expect to pick up the seat vacated by now-U.S. Rep. Mark Schauer (D-Battle Creek) certainly think so. Reporter Gautham Nagesh, a Jackson native, interviewed me for it and had some nice words about me.http://blog.mlive.com/capitolchronicles/2009/11/is_the_mike_nofs-marty_griffin.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CapitolChronicles/~3/cjNRG9jmwbs/everything_you_ever_wanted_to.htmlMichigan PoliticsPolitics1276236171753855699383670660617060617111787141853247064523606172621581833060617348452741160360617511410843444115835107731520606176141855Susan Demas - Capitol Chronicles - MLive.comMon, 02 Nov 2009 09:53:54 PSTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/capitolchronicles//3851.3860922 ]]>Some people might be shocked about the carnage in the NY-23, where moderate Republican Dede Scozzafava was just forced out of the way to make room for uber-conservative Doug Hoffman, puppet of the anti-tax group Club for Growth. I'm not one of them, because I covered the dress rehearsal back in 2006 in the MI-7. This was the start of the Republican civil war, which few people recognized at the time. http://blog.mlive.com/capitolchronicles/2009/11/everything_you_ever_wanted_to.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CapitolChronicles/~3/tVTQUpNKnqY/can_populism_save_the_democrat_1.html3987386033602068313949762965335582260336136354420687269984102376033622503362091620931099906014541255947115974Susan Demas - Capitol Chronicles - MLive.comFri, 30 Oct 2009 07:06:26 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/capitolchronicles//3851.3845927 ]]>Michigan Republicans claim they're on your side about taxes. But in reality, they've sided with rich doctors, rich businesses and rich schools over the Michigan people time and time again -- even as our state struggles with the worst economy since the Great Depression.http://blog.mlive.com/capitolchronicles/2009/10/can_populism_save_the_democrat_1.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CapitolChronicles/~3/yFgGvVk5BSc/a_hail_mary_pass_for_jennifer.html3080446014562687720687458393562384601454Susan Demas - Capitol Chronicles - MLive.comWed, 28 Oct 2009 20:34:59 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/capitolchronicles//3851.3837733 ]]>Well, it looks like the idea of raising revenue to stave off deep budget cuts died today in the Senate along with the doctors' tax. That would have raised $300 million to prevent some nursing homes from closing. Oh, well.http://blog.mlive.com/capitolchronicles/2009/10/a_hail_mary_pass_for_jennifer.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CapitolChronicles/~3/9I-1AcOB6GM/bishop-granholm_mutual_assured.html3080445421435090735939564591845839356238212845059395767697542141Susan Demas - Capitol Chronicles - MLive.comFri, 23 Oct 2009 13:08:53 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/capitolchronicles//3851.3810544 ]]>There’s a point in several episodes of “The Simpsons” when the local busybody will melodramatically wail, “Will somebody please think of the children?!” Well, that seems to be the new theme of the ongoing embarrassment known as the state budget.http://blog.mlive.com/capitolchronicles/2009/10/bishop-granholm_mutual_assured.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CapitolChronicles/~3/-w2My2OkRwU/thanks_michigan_liberal.html541521221693648059269259269420836128988471351077548293Susan Demas - Capitol Chronicles - MLive.comFri, 23 Oct 2009 05:33:16 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/capitolchronicles//3851.3808270 ]]>Evidently, Brady -- the one blogger who does not think I'm the anti-christ at Michigan Liberal -- sponsored the site in my honor today. So that's why my face is appearing there, which I suppose is a form of torture for most of ML's readers. http://blog.mlive.com/capitolchronicles/2009/10/thanks_michigan_liberal.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CapitolChronicles/~3/Fkql1yV239Q/newsflash_union-financed_study.html30804454214358842729870019933588429Susan Demas - Capitol Chronicles - MLive.comWed, 21 Oct 2009 13:06:41 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/capitolchronicles//3851.3794655 ]]>A new study paid for by the Citizens for Accountability in Reform, which includes several unions, finds that Speaker Andy Dillon's health care plan is bad.http://blog.mlive.com/capitolchronicles/2009/10/newsflash_union-financed_study.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CapitolChronicles/~3/wpdITvlnM3U/sunday_roundup_balloon_boy_the.html541521580899114231701179409558457110329794096458393Susan Demas - Capitol Chronicles - MLive.comSun, 18 Oct 2009 13:54:29 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/capitolchronicles//3851.3786579 ]]>Here's a roundup of some of the best or head-scratching state and national stories.http://blog.mlive.com/capitolchronicles/2009/10/sunday_roundup_balloon_boy_the.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CapitolChronicles/~3/Rjhw9J17Cs0/unions_do_their_best_to_kill_t.html43566542143125587852258402517247584027183375623821038153498558402919933584031Susan Demas - Capitol Chronicles - MLive.comSat, 17 Oct 2009 16:46:56 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/capitolchronicles//3851.3781180 ]]>So what are the odds of the Republicans taking back the Michigan House next year? Sounds pretty far-fetched, as the Democrats hold a 24-seat advantage. But if the UAW, the Michigan Education Association and other unions have their way, that could be a possiblity. http://blog.mlive.com/capitolchronicles/2009/10/unions_do_their_best_to_kill_t.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CapitolChronicles/~3/BKMZiPe8wWM/progress_michigan_mike_bishop.html308044206872923325837666769712878718336163630583768Susan Demas - Capitol Chronicles - MLive.comSat, 17 Oct 2009 15:36:09 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/capitolchronicles//3851.3779896 ]]>From the department of hyperbole and bad photoshopping ... Progress Michigan, the group best known for savaging the Legislature's most environmentally-friendly Republican, Sen. Patty Birkholz, as "Smokestack Patty" (complete with obnoxious paper mache doll fluttering about a blow-up coal plant), is at it again.http://blog.mlive.com/capitolchronicles/2009/10/progress_michigan_mike_bishop.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CapitolChronicles/~3/Ey91EeY78-A/answering_the_big_michigan_bud.html58195616781534724583936769711585819605819585819621411581963Susan Demas - Capitol Chronicles - MLive.comFri, 16 Oct 2009 05:39:22 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/capitolchronicles//3851.3774211 ]]>So here we are in mid-October with a half-baked budget at best, staring at another government shutdown on Halloween. Why? There’s plenty of political gamesmanship at work and yes, some rank stupidity. But there are bigger questions that have gone unanswered for too long.http://blog.mlive.com/capitolchronicles/2009/10/answering_the_big_michigan_bud.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CapitolChronicles/~3/8FqFgCoM8P0/the_ambassador_bridge_matty_mo.html54152164022717574490574491574493574495100940Susan Demas - Capitol Chronicles - MLive.comSat, 10 Oct 2009 19:37:12 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/capitolchronicles//3851.3754276 ]]>I've spent more hours than I'd like to count covering the controversy over a new bridge connecting Detroit to Windsor, Ontario, as it's played out in the Legislature. Every year, this project known as the Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) trips up the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) budget. This year was no exception.http://blog.mlive.com/capitolchronicles/2009/10/the_ambassador_bridge_matty_mo.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CapitolChronicles/~3/e1iYWbk1wFo/taxing_entertainment_the_ahole.html5739325739345739362079855925457393810999016022548293Susan Demas - Capitol Chronicles - MLive.comSun, 11 Oct 2009 06:42:40 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/capitolchronicles//3851.3749001 ]]>Last week, I got an e-mail from the same PR firm that fought against the embryonic stem cell Proposal 2 constiutional amendment last year declaring, "Michigan sports fans could have been $500,000 poorer this weekend."http://blog.mlive.com/capitolchronicles/2009/10/taxing_entertainment_the_ahole.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CapitolChronicles/~3/i5_axBmGTrU/dillon_vs_granholm_real_progre.html39873443566459181199495718694583931724557187016587Susan Demas - Capitol Chronicles - MLive.comSat, 10 Oct 2009 06:50:27 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/capitolchronicles//3851.3743528 ]]>“What we’re fighting for is Michigan not becoming Mississippi.” – Gov. Jennifer Granholm This week, the governor at long last articulated a vision for this state (even if she didn’t credit journalist Jack Lessenberry, who has long employed that metaphor with far more panache).http://blog.mlive.com/capitolchronicles/2009/10/dillon_vs_granholm_real_progre.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CapitolChronicles/~3/bicFBrphglI/granholm_owns_government_shutd.html39873830804426877153423206871724756238254205156238467697Susan Demas - Capitol Chronicles - MLive.comSun, 04 Oct 2009 21:27:43 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/capitolchronicles//3851.3712860 ]]>Jennifer Granholm will go down in history as the only Michigan governor to have presided over two state government shutdowns.http://blog.mlive.com/capitolchronicles/2009/10/granholm_owns_government_shutd.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CapitolChronicles/~3/ET3P04fdsyM/rays_of_hope_for_reasonable_re.html56183550900211788104318487570411603328239561837115852186141855Susan Demas - Capitol Chronicles - MLive.comFri, 02 Oct 2009 18:57:05 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/capitolchronicles//3851.3712636 ]]>There's a lot of noise out there between Tea Parties and town halls, but here are three stories that might interest those of us who are independents, moderate Republicans or the non-fringe of a still-shrinking party.http://blog.mlive.com/capitolchronicles/2009/10/rays_of_hope_for_reasonable_re.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CapitolChronicles/~3/85tlWjwvm5A/unbelievable_news_from_the_imp.html3080442068745839353158155216667697Susan Demas - Capitol Chronicles - MLive.comWed, 30 Sep 2009 20:32:10 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/capitolchronicles//3851.3706975 ]]>First of all, I can't believe we're basically in the same place as 2007. In 40 minutes, the government is shutting down because we don't have a budget. http://blog.mlive.com/capitolchronicles/2009/09/unbelievable_news_from_the_imp.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CapitolChronicles/~3/rMmNEuulR1E/granholm_mia_on_the_budget.html435664009454591811994912227526998434726520653158155216667697Susan Demas - Capitol Chronicles - MLive.comFri, 25 Sep 2009 17:42:27 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/capitolchronicles//3851.3682287 ]]>Will our leaders will humiliate themselves and shut down state government Thursday for the second time in two years? That remains to be seen, as lawmakers still grapple with some of the thorniest budgets funding local police, Medicaid and prisons. http://blog.mlive.com/capitolchronicles/2009/09/granholm_mia_on_the_budget.htmlhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CapitolChronicles/~3/vT2ZT3oBwGg/and_now_lets_take_a_moment_to.htmlSusan Demas - Capitol Chronicles - MLive.comTue, 22 Sep 2009 17:08:25 PDTtag:blog.mlive.com,2009:/capitolchronicles//3851.3671552 ]]>I remember thinking this experiment was cool when I learned about it in junior high and evidently, it still works brilliantly. For more, kiddies, enjoy this page from the Nobel Prize homepage.http://blog.mlive.com/capitolchronicles/2009/09/and_now_lets_take_a_moment_to.htmlSusan Demas - Capitol Chronicles - MLive.comnonadult