This morning WJR's Paul W. Smith interviewed Governor Jennifer Granholm and gave her a chance to respond to the negative criticism of the Democratic Party ad insinuating that while head of Amway Dick DeVos moved 1400 Michigan jobs to China.
Given repeated attempts to take the high-road, Jennifer Granholm insisted the two facts are linked and that the net affect was Dick DeVos hurt Michigan families.
When asked if she felt similarly towards GM's Richard Wagner or Ford's Bill Ford Jr. about the layoffs they've made to remain competitive and their coincident investments in China and the rest of Asia, she said she didn't, and that the automakers and her blame President George Bush for those layoffs.
When asked if she thought layoffs were sometimes necessary to save the other jobs, she replied saying Dick DeVos hurt Michigan families, and if he thought it was the right thing to do then he should be willing to stand by it.
I guess that makes sense since she wouldn't blame GM or Ford for negotiating themselves into an uncompetitive situation. Nor would she accept any responsibility herself as governor.
As best I can tell she did it with a straight face.
If she were a waitress she'd have just lost some of her tip.
I may be conservative, but people who know me know I won't mindlessly tow the Republican Party line. Many conservatives are enraged at state and federal-level Republicans for shunning conservative positions on education, civil rights, and fiscal responsibility. They're called RINOs for Republicans In Name Only.
I'm disappointed with DeVos for having caved on the civil rights initiative, his attitude towards oil companies, and am unimpressed with his party credentials. Based on his positions on issues he's little different than Jennifer Granholm, which either makes Granholm an acceptable Republican governor or DeVos an acceptable Democratic candidate. If both are middle-of-the-road then one of them isn't necessary.
DeVos' backing from conservatives is not a sure thing. It takes more than phone calls to bring out the vote. It takes leadership to give people something to vote for. So far neither candidate has impressed me as someone willing to take the political heat for doing the right thing.
When will Patterson run for governor?
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I agree that candidates these days are not leading with conviction but are reacting to what the polls say.
ReplyDeleteMore and more, DeVos is becoming a full-fledged RINO. All the sudden he is criticizing his commander-in-chief and won’t be seen with the president while he’s in town this week? DeVos has potential but his flip-flopping on the issues won't help him any.
I think the point of the Granholm ad is to reveal Dick DeVos' ideological perspective. He supported NAFTA and other free trade agreements, issues that have been detrimental to Michigan’s economy.
"I think the point of the Granholm ad is to reveal Dick DeVos' ideological perspective. He supported NAFTA and other free trade agreements, issues that have been detrimental to Michigan’s economy."
ReplyDeleteHe did support it, but so did the Democrats' favorite son, President Bill Clinton. Did they forget that? Obviously, yes--and no. They will remember it when it's convenient. Of course, I'm pretty sure NAFTA was never popular in Michigan, even when promoted and passed by Bill Clinton.
Sure, she signed the legislature's version of the SBT repeal (didn't she?) but that doesn't distinguish her record. Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson is the one that got that moving forward by getting a petition with enough signatures and dollars to put on the ballot.
ReplyDeleteShe'll take credit for cutting the state's budget, but she (and any governor) are constitutionally obligated to do that. The questions is with how much finesse was exercised during the cuts. I think many citizens are disappointed with cuts to education, but that's a deeper problem than the state budget, I think, can correct. On that issue, education and education funding, the governor has not been a thought leader. We can look at the resignation of Tom Watkins to see how insightful or derelect the governor has been.