THE GURU SPEAKS

Joe Scarborough

Good Morning Joe, an early a.m. MSNBC show for political news junkies, is co-hosted by former newspaper editor/publisher and former congressman (1994-2001) Joe Scarborough, considered by many (among them, Vanity Fair a few years ago) to be one of the country's most influential Republicans. So that made the homage he paid to Michigan Congresswoman (8th district encompassing Rochester and north Oakland) Elissa Slotkin – a Democrat – on Friday, March 8, on his show even more remarkable as he gave her a shout out as an “impressive” freshman member of Congress. The occasion? The House was nearing a vote on HR1, a massive 700-page bill overhauling elections and government ethics at the federal level. Slotkin had offered an amendment that prevents foreign entities from purchasing television, radio and digital ads to influence U.S. elections. Scarborough backed the effort, saying members of both parties should get on board with Slotkin. The amendment was adopted by the House as HR1 passed that day.