PIG, MEET MUD

The whiff of desperation is rising off of 40th District (Birmingham, Bloomfield, Bloomfield Hills) state House Republican candidate David Wolkinson, who has been slinging mud at his opponent, Democrat Mari Manoogian – stooping so low as to assert in a TV ad and in Facebook postings that Manoogian is an anti-Semite who supports Hamas and opposes Israel – all factually false – because she is part of a nationwide group of progressive Democratic candidates, some of whom, such as Rashida Tlaib, who won the primary for Congress in MI-13 to replace former Congressman John Conyers (and is running unopposed November 6), is a Palestinian-American. Manoogian responded, “As a former program officer at the U.S. Department of State, I support the state of Israel as a homeland for the Jewish people and as an ally of the United States.” Former Sen. Carl Levin, Congressman Sander Levin and his son Andy Levin (D), running for Sandy’s 9th district seat, all condemned Wolkinson for “falsely accusing his opponent” and for his “McCarthy-like tactics.” Wolkinson’s unhinged behavior (dare we say vulgar?) also included an odd email to Downtown news editor Lisa Brody. He also attacked Brody and Downtown on Facebook but later removed his postings.