GOP ESTABLISHMENT DONORS TARGET TEA PARTY'S JUSTIN AMASH IN MICHIGAN

Congressman Justin Amash (R-MI) was endorsed by the conservative Club for Growth, which gives him a 100% lifetime voting scorecard rating, on October 8. However, seven Republican establishment donors who live in his western Michigan district recently endorsed his primary opponent, Brian Ellis, who claims Amash is not a"traditional conservative."

First elected in 2010, Amash has ranked #1 on the fiscally conservative, pro-economic growth Club for Growth scorecards out of 435 members of the House of Representatives in both the 112th and current 113th Congress.

The seven donors (J.C. Huizenga, Mark Bissel, Mike Jandernoa, Mark Murray, John Canepa, Marge Potter, and David Frey) are so angry with Amash's voting record and his support for Ted Cruz's efforts to defund Obamacare they recently sent out a public letterof support for Ellis.

The undated letter, distributed in early November to Republican donors on "Brian Ellis for Congress" stationery, was signed by all seven big donors and criticized Amash on several fronts:

Our current Congressman voted against the final version of the Paul Ryan Budget that would cut $5 trillion in spending - and he was the only Republican from Michigan to do so. He refused to vote in favor of the Keystone Pipeline. He votedagainst a 20% tax cut that would allow small businesses to create and retain jobs here in Michigan. Just this month, he and a small group of like-minded legislators rejected Speaker Boehner's plea to pass legislation requiring Congress and the President to be subject to Obamacare, and put on hold the special new tax on medical equipment. This irresponsible action hurt over 50 great West Michigan businesses and was part of the chaos that led the nation to the edge of default.

Via: Breitbart

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Senate Dems move the goalposts to distract from Obamacare

In a largely partisan vote, the United States Senate approved changes to its rules concerning future approvals of judicial and executive nominations from the White House. Until today, the Senate rules required approval of such candidates for high office of at least two thirds of the legislative body. The change would now allow nominations to proceed with just a simple majority vote, even while the rules change would still allow the minority in the Senate to use filibusters to block Supreme Court nominees.

Suprisingly, three Democrats:  Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, and Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas cast their ballots against the change.

Following the vote, the Democrats quickly confirmed Patricia Millett to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals.   The vote  was 55-43, with two senators voting present.

Several hearings were either cancelled or went into recess before the vote on the rules change. Over the last month, three nominees to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals have been blocked by Republicans, despite President Barack Obama’s appeal. On November 19, the Republicans blocked a vote on the nomination of Robert L. Wilkins to the bench. In his case, Wilkins, who served as a Washington D.C. District Court judge, was confirmed by the Senate on a voice vote in 2010.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said of the vote that it was “not a proud day in the history of the Senate.”  The Republican stalwart, flanked by Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN),  said that “In order to distract attention from Obamacare, the Senate has just broken the rules to change the rules. We’ve had this threat for some time now...” He added that Senate Democrats had not kept to their promises to refrain from such rule changes during this legislative term.

Via: Speroforum

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[MUST RED FOR PARENTS] Lesson has kindergarteners fill in bubbles to prepare for standardized tests

MUSKEGON, Mich. –  One teacher has found a clever way to profit off the Common Core-related tests that are about to be inflicted upon the nation’s youngest students.

A new worksheet, found on Teachers PayTeachers.com, trains kindergarteners how to carefully color in bubbles to prepare for the standardized tests related to Common Core national standards.

The lesson also trains young children not to color in the pictures on a standardized test or to write their names anywhere on the official booklet, according to the product’s creator, Maggie’s Kindergarten.

The lesson’s product description explains the need for such training: “Though many K-2 teachers will argue the reasoning behind giving a standardized test to a young child, we accept that educational mandates require us to do so. We also must acknowledge that such tests not only test Common Core Skills, but also skills that may not be required by Common Core at the Kindergarten level.”

Is this really what education has come down to – preparing for standardized tests? We’re all for assessing how students are learning and the effectiveness of educators, but this seems to be getting a little ridiculous.

And for those that attack corporations for “getting rich off of schoolchildren,” it seems teachers are getting in on the game, too.

As one commentator put it, “Don’t blame Pearson for this one.”

Via: EAG

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Michigan senate to probe unions' right-to-work obstruction

Michigan State Senate Majority Floor Leader Arlan Meekhof announced Nov. 7 creation of a new legislative committee to investigate allegations of union obstructionism against the state's new right-to-work law.

The law prohibits requiring employees to join unions or pay dues to one as a condition of employment. Michigan unions are still finding ways to make it extremely difficult for workers to take advantage of the law.

At least eight teachers are suing the Michigan Education Association over its drop-out process, which only allows workers to opt-out one month out of the year, among other conditions.

Meekhof said the new Michigan Senate Compliance and Accountability Committee was created to "examine the implementation and application" of state laws. MEA's actions are first on its list.

He said: "Allowing tactics like those being employed by the MEA to stand sends the wrong message to Michigan workers.

"It sends the wrong message to Michigan job providers. It sends the wrong message to workers or businesses looking to locate in Michigan."

Via: Washington Examiner

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Digging into Detroit's bankruptcy filing

Detroit has once again been in the headlines as the city and its creditors battle in court over whether the city is eligible to receive bankruptcy protection.

Municipal bankruptcy, like just about everything else that contains the word "municipal" or has anything to do with lawyers, is complicated. We checked in with Detroit lawyer Nathan Resnick, a municipal bankruptcy expert, and with his help we'll try to explain what an ongoing court hearing means, and where Detroit stands in its efforts to turn around its finances.

Didn't Detroit already file for bankruptcy? What's the purpose of the hearing?

Detroit did file for bankruptcy protection on July 18, a process that automatically protects the city against any impending action from creditors. But that doesn't mean it definitely gets to remain in bankruptcy.

Judge Steven Rhodes is hearing arguments about whether the city was, in fact, insolvent when it filed for bankruptcy, and whether it negotiated in good faith with its creditors.

Detroit seems pretty broke — $18 billion in debt. Why would anyone argue it shouldn't be able to file for bankruptcy?

Creditors, which include public employee unions and pension funds, say that the city did not try to negotiate with them before filing for bankruptcy.

They say that Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder appointed an emergency manager, Kevyn Orr, to take over city governance with the idea that Orr would force the city into bankruptcy rather than figure out a way to pay creditors. They've been asking the judge to look into who else [the Republican governor] considered for the emergency manager position before settling on Orr, who represented Chrysler in its 2009 bankruptcy, to prove that Snyder just wanted someone who knew a lot about bankruptcy.

Via: LA Times

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WATCH: Intel Chairman Says ObamaCare Website Not Safe For Public To Use

Excerpted from The Hill: Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) says he’s more concerned about HealthCare.gov’s problems today than he was last week.

“It was very clear to me in the hearing that they don’t have an overarching solid cybersecurity plan to prevent the loss of private information,” he said Sunday morning on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Rogers, who’s chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, is also a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and sat in on the Thursday hearing in which the ObamaCare website contractors testified.

“I’m even more concerned today than I was last week,” he said.

Via: Pat Dollard

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Weekly Republican Address: Chairman Fred Upton on ObamaCare Oversight & Fairness For All - Saturday October 26, 2013

WASHINGTON, DC – Delivering the Weekly Republican Address, House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) highlights efforts to provide fairness for all Americans under the president’s health care law, and get to the bottom of what went wrong with its rollout.  With his committee set to hear from Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Wednesday, Upton notes that "the bipartisan chorus has been growing ... to delay the penalty that Americans would face for being unable to purchase insurance through this broken system.”

At the end of the address – recorded in the committee’s hearing room – Upton asks Americans facing hardships from the president’s health care law to visit gop.gov/YourStory to share their experiences.

Via: Speaker.gov

Michigan district reportedly lost $60,000 on lunch program due to menu changes

ARMADA, Mich. – Another school district – this time from Armada, Michigan – is reporting that it lost a significant amount of money on its lunch program last year after the federal government forced schools to serve lower calorie food that students don’t like.

The district with roughly 1,900 students lost about $60,000 on the program last year, according to the Voice News. The district had to dip into its general fund, which pays for teacher salaries and supplies, to compensate for the losses sustained by the “healthy” lunch changes promoted by First Lady Michelle Obama.

“Local revenues are going way down because the regulations are requiring us to put out food that the students don’t want to eat. You still have to buy the food; the students just aren’t eating it,” said district accountant Michael Frawley.

“With the new USDA guidelines, we got hit really hard,” food services director Stacy Moyer said. “They limited the protein, they limited the bread, so our nice, big sub sandwiches are now little, so we’re working very hard to do everything we can to get those kids back and try to be real creative on what we can do.”

“So what we try to do so we don’t get caught where we’re not getting a lot of reimbursable meals is we’re telling the kids, ‘you can have your hamburger and your milk, but you also have to take a fruit or vegetable.’ That way we do get the reimbursement money because we can claim it as a meal,” Moyer said in the Voice News story.

School board member Tami Seago suggested the district collect “unwanted lunch foods that could possibly be donated.”

That reminds us of a Seinfeld episode where Elaine suggests donating unwanted muffin stumps to the homeless.

Something tells us that’s not a viable solution for the problems created by the new lunch regulations. How about instead allowing school districts to serve meals students are interested in eating?

Via: EAG News

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Michigan Dem John Conyers, Jr., Slams Government Shutdown Over “Small & Modest” Obamacare Law

One of the Architects of the Meltdown of Detroit as we know it!!

Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) calls Obamacare a “very small and modest bill,” even though he previously said he failed to see the point in reading it "if it's a thousand pages" and required lawyers to decipher it.

During an Oct. 17 appearance on “Democracy Now!” Conyers criticized lawmakers who had partially shut down the government in the fight against Obamacare, expressing concern about what might happen when a single-payer system is proposed.

“It's just unimaginable the actions they would turn to, to get their way on a very small and modest bill – Obamacare. We’re talking about universal health care for everybody – single payer, that’s what the new direction is,” Conyers said.

Via: CNS News

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Design Firm Removes All Reference To Its Work On Obamacare From Its Website

Teal Media was founded by a former member of Obama’s campaign design team.The firm says it took down all reference to its work on HealthCare.gov “in consultation” with the administration.

WASHINGTON — Visit the website of Michigan-based design firm Teal Media today and you’d never know designers there helped create HealthCare.gov, the troubled online portal for Obamacare.

Just a few days ago, the site looked very different. Teal Media’s homepage featured its work on Obamacare prominently, placing a link to the firm’s work on one of the most well-known websites in America front and center. Now that link, as well as the page devoted to Teal’s work on HealthCare.gov, have been removed.

Here’s a cached version of what the homepage used to look like. And here’s a cached version of Teal’s page devoted just to its work on HealthCare.gov. That page has been deleted.

Teal Media doesn’t seem interested in talking about its work on HealthCare.gov. A woman who answered the phone at the company’s headquarters immediately referred BuzzFeed to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) at the Department of Health And Human Services (HHS) before a single question was asked. CMS is listed as Teal’s client on the firm’s now-erased HealthCare.gov page.

When asked about the changed content on the Teal Media site, the woman said that was done ‘in consultation with HHS,” and again referred a reporter to CMS.

A CMS spokesperson declined to comment on the record.

Via: Buzzfeed

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Pregnant couple had to SELL CAR, disconnect cable because of Obamacare…

A pregnant couple in Michigan has had to sell their car and disconnect their cable because Obamacare is forcing them to pay another deductible in 2014. Normally their $5,000 deductible would expire next April, after they’ve had their first child. And they’ve already spent the $5,000 needed to fulfill that deductible. But thanks to Obamacare resetting everything in 2014, they will now be forced to come up with another deductible of $5,000 at the beginning of the new year and their pregnancy still won’t be covered 100% like it would have been under her current insurance.

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Via: The Right Scoop

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How Mich. Rebuts Redistricting/Polarization Claims

Dave Weigel wrote a brief post on gerrymandering last Friday in response to my piece on the same topic. He used Michigan as an example of how Republicans were able to use redistricting to enhance their standing in the House, particularly by shoring up vulnerable members, thereby contributing to extremism.

Before responding, I think it’s important to note up front, as Weigel does, that this isn’t really a black-and-white issue, a fact that is easily glossed over. People run along a continuum of opinion regarding how much redistricting contributed to the GOP’s House majority and to polarization. We might place Tom Friedman at one pole, as he seemingly laid our increasingly divided nation at the feet of redistricting, Citizens United, and Fox News. At the other end are those political scientists who find little to no effect from redistricting. In the middle are people like Weigel, Charlie Cook, and myself, who think redistricting played a role, but who disagree -- sometimes strongly -- on the extent to which it mattered and how much other factors contributed.

From my point of view, redistricting helped Republicans gain between five and 10 seats that they wouldn’t have otherwise won, by shifting the median district rightward. But even this is more a function of polarization than a cause of it.

Weigel’s Michigan example is actually instructive in showing the limits of what redistricting contributes to polarization. At first blush, it looks like a classic case of a horrendously gerrymandered state. Barack Obama defeated John McCain by 16.4 percentage points there, more than twice his national average. Mitt Romney ran a much stronger race four years later, but the president still managed to win by a healthy 9.4 points. Yet under the Republican-drawn maps, the president ran better than his statewide 2008 showing in only five districts (of 14), and ran ahead of his national showing in just six. Romney carried nine of these districts outright.

As Weigel writes:

It’s not like gerrymandering created Justin Amash. It shored up Tim Walberg. Who's Tim Walberg? He was a Club for Growth-backed candidate who primaried a moderate Republican in 2006, lost in the 2008 Democratic wave, came back in 2010, and benefited when the new GOP legislature drew a map that packed Democrats in Detroit and Flint-centric districts, shoring him up to make no news but provide reliable "no" votes on anything that did not delay or defund Obamacare.

Via: Real Clear Politics

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Former U.S. Attorney Joe DiGenova: SCOTUS Aware DOJ Advising Universities To Disregard Their Ruling On Race Based Admissions, Preparing To “Slap Them Down”

Relevant portion starts at 3:15.

Update to this story.

Joe DiGenova is a Former U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. He spoke on WMAL this morning, noting that the DOJ actually advised universities in writing to ignore the SCOTUS ruling on race based admissions. The ruling determined that you could not use race as the primary factor in determining admission. Yet, the DOJ letter advises the universities that they could carry on as they had been doing.

DiGenova said the SCOTUS was prepared to smack down the DOJ in “a big way”, that they were aware of the DOJ letter sent out to disregard their ruling and might even cite to it in their decision in an upcoming Michigan case.

Via: Weasel Zippers

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Five most interesting Supreme Court cases coming up next

Despite the government shutdown, the U.S. Supreme Court began hearing cases on Monday. In case you were wondering what cases the Supreme Court was hearing this year.

1. Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action (Docket No. 12-682):

Michigan has banned preferential treatment. Obviously, this has angered a lot of affirmative action supporters, who say the passage of the measure has violated rights outlined in the 14th Amendment equal-protection clause: rights of racial minorities in the state.

This case concerns Article 1, Sec. 26 of Michigan’s state constitution, which states, “any… public college or university, community college, or school district shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.”

The Supreme Court hears the oral arguments on this case beginning Oct. 15.

Via: Daily Caller

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Senate Retirement Means Michigan's Dominoes Are Starting to Fall

For a state that consistently votes for Democrats for president, Michigan has offered relatively little opportunity for advancement for the party’s congressional hopefuls. But that might change soon — starting this cycle.

“I think we’re in terrific position to take advantage of the demonstrated Democratic leanings of the Michigan voters,” Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Lon Johnson said. “We’ve got our act together.”

The Great Lakes State has a Democratic DNA but veered right in 2010. As a result, a GOP-controlled redraw of the congressional boundaries last cycle gave Republicans a 9-to-5 advantage over Democrats in the House delegation.

But Democratic Sen. Carl Levin’s retirement reverberated throughout his party’s ranks. Democratic Rep. Gary Peters easily cleared his party’s field to replace Levin in 2014, but the race cracked open the pipelines for statewide contenders in future cycles.

Specifically, state and national Democrats mentioned that University of Michigan trustee Mark Bernstein, Oakland County Clerk Lisa Brown, 5th District Rep. Dan Kildee and Wayne County prosecutor Kym Worthy could run statewide one day.

In the 2014 Senate race, the GOP’s most prominent contender is former Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land. Rep. Justin Amash of the 3rd District is the only other high-profile Republican who has yet to rule out a run. But Peters is favored to win over both of them.

Via: Roll Call

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‘Democratic’ and ‘Anti-Business’ Are Becoming Synonymous

Forbes’s recently released list of “The Best States for Businesses and Careers” provides further evidence of the Democratic party’s striking erosion as a party of economic growth and prosperity.  Based on their votes in the most recent presidential election, all but three of Forbes’s top-10 states are Republican-leaning, while all but two of its bottom-10 states are Democratic-leaning. 

The top-10 states on Forbes’s list — Utah, Virginia, North Dakota, North Carolina, Colorado, Nebraska, Texas, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Iowa — voted for Mitt Romney by an average margin of 14 percentage points.  Meanwhile, the bottom-10 states on Forbes’s list — California, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Vermont, West Virginia, Mississippi, Michigan, Hawaii, Rhode Island, and Maine — voted for President Obama by an average margin of 13 points.  That’s a 27-point swing from Romney to Obama as we move from the top-10 states to the bottom-10 states.

Forbes rated the states based on six factors: “business costs,” “labor supply,” “regulatory environment,” “economic climate,” “growth prospects,” and “quality of life.”  Forbes rated 62 percent of Obama’s states as being below average and 63 percent of Romney’s states as being above average.  Obama won only 33 percent of Forbes’s top-15 states but 73 percent of its bottom-15 states.

Via: Weekly Standard

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Election Day: Ten State Ballot Measures to Watch

While elections for political office will likely get most of the media attention on Tuesday, 38 states will be voting on a combined 188 ballot measures affecting a host of major issues. Scribe has broken down 10 of those measures that will be worth watching as returns start coming in Tuesday evening.

Michigan – Proposal 2: This measure proposes a constitutional amendment making union collective bargaining a right. It also gives collective bargaining agreements the force of law, and invalidates any other state laws that conflict with those agreements.

Michigan – Proposal 3: As Scribe has reported, Proposal 3 would direct the state, through a constitutional amendment, to get 25% of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2025. The measure is backed primarily by out-of-state environmentalist groups, while Michigan businesses have funded most of the opposition to it.

Florida – Amendment 3: This constitutional amendment would establish a cap on state revenue, indexed to inflation and population growth. Any revenue exceeding the cap would be placed in a “rainy day fund.” Once that fund exceeds 10% of the prior year’s total budget, the state would be required to implement tax cuts paid for with revenues from that fund.

Florida – Amendment 6: This measure would prohibit the use of taxpayer funds for abortion services via a constitutional amendment, and would stipulate that Florida’s state constitution cannot be interpreted to provide broader rights to abortion than the United States Constitution.

Minnesota – Amendment 2: This constitutional amendment would establish a voter ID requirement in the state, requiring that all voters present a valid photo identification at the polls. A voter ID law was previously passed by the state legislature, but vetoed by Gov. Mark Dayton (D).

Colorado – Amendment 64: The proposed marijuana legalization would amend the state constitution to permit the “personal use and regulation of marijuana” for adults aged 21 and over. The amendment would also allow the cultivation, manufacturing, and limited possession and consumption of marijuana.

Florida – Amendment 1: This referred state constitutional amendment would “prohibit laws or rules from compelling any person or employer to purchase, obtain, or otherwise provide for health care coverage.”

New Hampshire – Amendment 13: A legislatively-referred constitutional amendment that proposes a ban on any new taxes “levied, directly or indirectly, upon a person’s income, from whatever source it is derived.”

Maine – Question 1: The language of the indirect initiated state statute would allow Maine to “issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.” A bill legalizing same-sex marriage was repealed by voter referendum in 2009.

California – Proposition 37: The initiated state statute would provide for mandatory labeling of “genetically engineered food.” Among other concerns, the measure targets “misleading” labeling touting a product as “all natural” or using similar wording.

Via: The Foundry

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MICHIGAN BILLBOARD: ROMNEY HAS GENERATED MILLIONS, OBAMA HAS WASTED TRILLIONS

A billboard in southwestern Michigan compares Mitt Romney's successful record in the private sector with Barack Obama's socialist failures.

Ottawa County Patriots have put up the billboard that asks, "Do you want a businessman who has generated millions or a president who has wasted trillions?" 

The billboard lists the companies in which Romney successfully invested private capital versus the companies in which Obama invested taxpayer dollars. 

Romney's successful private sector investments in companies such as Dominos Pizza, Staples, AMC Entertainment, Burger King, Clear Channel Communications, and The Sports Authority are put next to failed companies -- like Solyndra and Beacon Power -- that received taxpayer dollars from Obama. 

Via: Breitbart

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