Mid-term Election Mood And Mitigation

So Michigan went very blue this midterm. The Democrats had turnout, and to spare, and scooped the Governor, AG's office, and Secretary of State. Somewhat predictable as such shifts tend to occur after a couple terms of the previous party in power.

Part of what drove this turnout was the stoner vote on Proposal 1 to legalize marijuana, which passed. The other part was a heavy anti-Trump outrage drummed up by the Dems and media (but I repeat myself). Combine that with the passing of Proposal 2 which has the Secretary of State create an "independent" committee to redraw voting districts and its gerrymander-for-the-Democrats-and-how time here in Michigan.

Add the passing of Proposal 3 which made checks on election fraud significantly weaker, and creates opportunities for election fraud to be significantly stronger, and the numbers needed to beat the margin of fraud just increased most significantly.

Expect higher taxes in Michigan, which is now a given under Whitmer. Expect no forward momentum on firearms rights and some anti-firearms pressure coming from the governor's office.

Michigan also went very blue at the national level. John James missed defeating Stabenow by a relatively narrow margin, which is a shame as he'd have been a fine Senator versus Stabenow the reliable stalwart Democrat ideologue. Michigan Republican contenders for the House were also trounced. Michigan did get hit with a blue wave after all at the excutive, but the House and Senate at the state level remain in Republican hands, but nationally, not so much.

On the national level Rob over at SlowFacts has a pretty insightful piece as to why the house was lost - the House fialed to act in any way to fire up the base. nO push for the Wall, no repeal of Obamacare, no advancing firearms rights at the Federal level. Nada, zip, zilch. Kinda let the enthusiasm wane amidst the hesitations of the never-Trumpers. While losing seats is almost a given historically for the President's part in mid-term elections, it could have been avoided with the right approach which wasn't done, nor even tried.

Maybe Ryan can clean up his act and pass National reciprocity and the hearing protection act in the lame duck session before the turnover to Pelosi, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it.

On the upside, the Republican majority in the Senate increased, which is certainly good for judicial confirmations and holding the line on spending and tax increases.

Here's to looking forward to Pelosi clowning it up in the House for the next two years, and the almost certain gridlock in both the State of Michigan and Nationally until 2020.

Civic Duty Done

Went and voted this morning.

Quite a strong turnout, with about a 25 minute wait but overall it went quite smoothly. Since this is a very Democrat-dominated area, make of that what you will.

Be informed, know who and what you're voting for, or who and what you're voting against, and have at it.

No Surprise There - All Michigan Democrat Gubernatorial Candidates Are Anti-Gun

While Gretchen Whitmer failed to attend a Democrat candidate debate in Bloomfield Hills this weekend, the others did and all were unanimously for gun bans and used the standard emotive conflating tropes so beloved of the Democrats on this topic.

The Detroit Free Press: Bloomfield Hills students host forum for Democratic candidates for governor

Yep, students who up until recently were having to be warned by Democrats not to eat Tide Pods are now being looked at by the Democrats as an emotive source of feels and knowledge for gun control policy.

All three candidates at the forum – former Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer was unable to attend to forum – said they believed that stricter gun controls are needed and teachers should not be armed in schools.

“I would not allow guns in education institutions and religious places. I will not allow teachers to carry guns,” said Thanedar, a retired businessman from Ann Arbor.. “I would ban all automatic and semi-automatic weapons. Those are guns that no one needs.”

El-Sayed, the former director of the Detroit Health Department, said his thoughts on gun reform have crystallized since his first daughter was born earlier this year.

“I never want to be in the circumstance where I get a text that someone has come into her school with a gun,” he said. “’Guns of war should never be on peaceful streets.”

[Let's note here for a minute that Mr. El-Sayeds head of the Detroit Health Department is from the peaceful streets...of Detroit.]

And Cobbs, a former Detroit Police officer and retired businessman from Farmington Hills, said he wouldn’t support or sign legislation in Lansing that would allow people to buy or carry weapons without a permit.

Standard Democrat tropes and showing pretty clearly that they emote well but don't even understand what they're talking about technically (an AR-15 is not a "Guns of war" and is not an issue weapon in any military). But yes, Democrat candidates have now stated they're all for more gun control, not allowing teachers to be armed to protect their student, and for banning semi-automatic firearms in Michigan.

This year's gubernatorial election is going to have consequences for firearms rights in Michigan.

You Don't See That Everyday - A Democrat Politician With His Hands In His Own Pockets

Michigan's upcoming gubernatorial race is getting all sorts of interesting on the Democrat side.

Plenty of politicians and others on the D side are playing "Will she?, Nil she?", as they decide if they should compete against the "Its my turn" politician Gretchen Whitmer and Democrat party heir apparent to the governorship race, who is hardly inspiring nor anything more than a D-line politician and likely will not contribute much to Democrat enthusiasm in the upcoming election. The "I am woman hear me roar" approach kind of fizzled with Hillary! and it'll like fizzle even more so with the even less inspiring and rather insipid Whitmer.

Potential candidates have put their toes into the race and dropped out, including Mark Bernstein of the Sam Bernstein local legal dynasty and Mike Duggan, the Mayor of Detroit who I daresay smartly kept out of it as he's pretty secure and ding a decent job in Detroit as Mayor now. Others have yet to formally jump in or decline such as Mark Hackel. Hackel is Macomb County's Executive and former Macomb County Sheriff, who is likely too darn honest, too level-headed, too uncorrupt, and not driven sufficiently by ideology to get past the Democrat base to make it as a candidate for governor. If he did though, he'd have one heckuva good chance to take it as a mainstream prgamtic and well-spoken candidate with proven abilities.

But now, along comes the rarest of Democrats - one putting his own money in the race to become governor.

The Detroit News: Democrat Shri Thanedar pumps $3.3M into governor’s run

Certainly not something you see everyday, and good for him for putting his own money on the table.

Its going to be an interesting Governor's race here in Michigan, that's for sure. If Fieger enters the Democrat race for Governor again, and it looks like he's maneuvering to do so, prepare the clown car folks, and have the popcorn ready.