THE 10-MONTH HANGOVER
The Oakland County Republican Party Executive Committee voted on August 20 to censure the three state senators – Sens. Ed McBroom (R-Vulcan), Lana Theis (R-Brighton) and John Bizon (R-Battle Creek) – who issued a report months ago that cast serious doubt on whether there were significant problems with the November 2020 presidential election, while at the same time calling on the Michigan Attorney General to investigate those who made false claims to the contrary, often for th

SLEAZY WHISPER CAMPAIGN
The upcoming November 2 election in the city of Birmingham for three open city commission spots has drawn out one of the more underhanded election tactics that surfaces periodically in the political realm – the whisper campaign. For the uninitiated, a whisper campaign is a tactic in which damaging falsehoods and innuendo are spread about a target in a campaign by sources who hope to remain anonymous. As the name would imply, rumors circulate orally, knowing full well that the
MISSING IN ACTION
In March of this year, Brittni Kellom, a Detroit Democrat member of the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, was elected as chair of the panel created by voters in 2018 to redraw state House, state Senate and congressional districts following the recent census. The commission comprises four Democrats, four Republicans and five Independents. The non-profit news organization Bridge Michigan told us weeks ago that since being chosen to lead the commission, Ke

SEE, DON’T TOUCH
After a summer of teasing Republicans, former Detroit Police Chief James Craig made his run for governor in 2022 official by literally… running from protesters from Detroit Will Breathe, who surrounded and outnumbered supporters at his announcement at Belle Isle. At a relocated announcement, he sort of answered a few questions from reporters before being whisked away, such as his stance on the pandemic and mask requirements – he was a staunch supporter when he was chief and

ANOTHER TOUGH GUY
While waiting for Craig to finally announce his political plans, another law enforcement officer decided he didn’t want to continue to be a bridesmaid on the sidelines, and announced he too was seeking the Republican nomination for governor in ‘22. Captain Mike Brown of Michigan State Police, who is commander of MSP’s southwest Michigan’s district, said he sees a crisis of leadership in Whitmer’s handling of the pandemic, public safety, jobs and school closures, and he feels
EVEN STEVEN
A little more than a year out from the 2022 election, Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat who is anticipated to run for a second term in office, is in a statistical dead with Republican challenger James Craig, according to a Detroit Free Press/EPIC-MRA poll done in late August. The poll found that 45 percent of likely Michigan voters surveyed would vote for Whitmer, and 44 percent said they would vote for Craig. The one-point gap is well within the polls’ plus-or-minus four

SOCIAL MEDIA SIDELINES
If it seems like the only Republican running against Gretchen Whitmer in ‘22 is former police chief James Craig, it could be because some of them use the equivalent of a dry erase stick on themselves. For example, take Garrett Soldano, of Kalamazoo, who describes himself in an email as “a chiropractor, small business owner, author, former football player, family man and proud Catholic.” He is also co-chair of Unlock Michigan, which led a successful campaign, along with Senate

JUDGE & JURY
Federal District Court Judge Linda V. Parker clearly doesn’t play games in court – or around election laws. In a scathing 110-page decision, she wrote that the Trump lawyers who filed a lawsuit in Michigan to overturn the 2020 presidential election should be sanctioned, pay the city of Detroit and the state for defending the suit, take continuing education courses – and perhaps even be disbarred. “This case was never about fraud,” she wrote. “It was about undermining the Peop