Primary Talk

While I had been sick a lot had been happening in regards to what was supposed to be a joint primary on January 15. As y'all know, I was rooting for the joint primary that was supposed to be a done deal. Well, what I did not post, but should have, is that a Ingham County Chief Judge William Collette has ruled it unconstitutional. Here is an article from November 8;

• Judge Collette: "It's essentially a corrupt transfer of this property to the two political parties."

• A local judge says the law that moves Michigan's presidential primary to January is unconstitutional. Ingham County Chief Judge William Collette handed down the decision. Collette agreed with a group claiming the new law that moved the primaries gave the republican and democratic parties complete control of election records. So what does it all mean? Ingham County Judge William Collette says he reviewed the law extensively before making his ruling, and in the end, he agreed with the plaintiffs, which includes political consultants and journalists, who argued election records should be the property of the public, not the two political parties...

• Just what happens next is unclear. The attorney general is talking with the secretary of state to decide whether or not to appeal the ruling. The legislature can still keep the early primary in place if they rewrite the legislation and take out the part that gives voter records to the republican and democratic parties.

Read the full story here.

Now, let's get a bit more up to date. Here is an article from the DetroitNews;

• Mich. seeks quick ruling on primary

• Gary Heinlein / Detroit News Lansing Bureaus

• LANSING -- Attorney General Mike Cox asked the Michigan Court of Appeals Tuesday to save the state's Jan. 15 presidential primary election by quickly overturning a lower court ruling.

• Cox filed documents asking the court to put last week's Ingham County Circuit Court ruling on hold, and hear an appeal no later than Friday.

• Ingham County Judge William Collette ruled the law setting up the primary -- which would put Michigan nearly at the head of the 2008 nominating calendar -- is unconstitutional.

• "We expect to argue the statute is constitutional," said Cox's spokesman, Rusty Hills.

• Time is of the essence because the state needs to start planning for the ballot and the election.

• State law required the Democratic and Republican parties to notify Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land by 4 p.m. today if they plan to choose their presidential candidates by some method other than a primary.

• Some lawmakers say the Legislature can put that off a bit longer, if necessary, but Land's spokeswoman, Kelly Chesney, said her boss is urging the two parties to comply with the deadline.

• Party Chairman Saulius "Saul" Anuzis told Land Tuesday that his party will participate in the Jan. 15 primary. Anuzis said the notification wasn't required, but he wanted to leave no doubt about the GOP's intentions. If the primary is called off, Republicans will hold a state convention to decide how Michigan delegates will vote at the 2008 Republican National Convention.

I do not want to have a convention. Considering how all the mucky mucks are endorsing Giuliani and Romney, a convention would give Mike Huckabee a low chance. I would love to say that the big wigs who would be at the convention would support Mike Huckabee, but I am a realist. Just look at the support for Mike Huckabee compared to those who do not endorse Mike Huckabee. It is the average American people who support Mike Huckabee. It is the average Michigander who would vote for Mike Huckabee in a primary. Ya know what? There is more average Michiganders than there is big wigs who would be attending a convention.

Since I always give credit where credit is due, I have to admit I am glad that our tax happy Democrat Governor is for a joint primary.

• But Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm is among those Democrats still advocating a primary.

• "I'm hopeful that the court will see the importance of having an early primary for Michigan," Granholm told reporters Tuesday. "We cannot have our presidential nominees selected by states that have no bearing at all on the state of Michigan, whose issues are completely dissimilar from ours. I'm hopeful the court will uphold the early primary."

• The holdup is affecting not just Michigan's primary but New Hampshire's, where Secretary of State Bill Gardner is waiting to see what happens in Michigan before setting the date for his primary, the first after the Iowa caucuses.

Boo-hoo, I am crying for New Hampshire. I have said here before, and I will say it again, this is freakin America, not New Hampowa. I guess I understand why they want to have the candidates ass kissing to them. I also understand why they want to have the first primaries and caucus'. After all they have the highest unemployment rates, bad economies, and are overtaxed. Oh, what's that? They don't. Really, ya sure? It's Michigan, ya say, that is in that position. Michigan is in the position that needs more attention.
Read the full article here.

Here is the op-ed that Michigan Republican State Party Chariman, Saul Anuzis, wrote in the Detroit News;

• Early primary gives Mich. more clout

• Saul Anuzis

• Michigan's economy continues to flounder. Home foreclosures are among the worst in the nation. Unemployment is the worse it has been in more than a decade. Congress wants to hobble Detroit with unattainable fuel economy standards.

• These are the important issues the candidates who want to be our next president should be discussing, and they should be discussing them here in Michigan.

• With a bipartisan agreement, Michigan moved up its primary to Jan. 15, immediately following Iowa and, probably, New Hampshire. Now, a small, but vocal faction within the Michigan Democrat Party is working behind the scenes to scuttle our chance to play a pivotal role in selecting the presidential nominees.

• The benefits of moving up Michigan's primary are real. It makes sure our voice is heard nationwide. Candidates continue to spend time here and develop relationships that will matter when they are elected. Millions of Michigan citizens get to participate in a primary versus the thousands that would under any party caucus system.

• Most important, Michigan helps determine who will be the next nominee from both parties, ensuring better representation of our people, issues and state.

• Just last month, nine GOP presidential hopefuls met in Dearborn for the first debate to focus on economic issues. In the shadow of the Big Three automakers, these candidates talked about issues that matter to Michigan -- manufacturing, foreign trade, legacy health care costs -- issues that would never come up if they only campaigned in Iowa and New Hampshire.

• It is time for Democrats in the Michigan House of Representatives to act and adopt legislation -- that passed the state Senate -- to once and for all set Michigan's primary for Jan. 15.

• Saul Anuzis is the Michigan Republican Party chairman. Please fax comments to (313) 222-6417 or e-mail them to letters@detnews.com. [source]

Check this out from Mlive.com;

• A roundup of recent editorial opinion from Michigan newspapers

• (AP) — Stand firm, you Wolverines, against attacks on our state's Jan. 15 primary election that will bust the stranglehold that Iowa and New Hampshire have on choosing who would be president.

• The latest gust against the Great Lakes State came late last month from the Republican National Committee's executive committee. That cozy little cadre voted to recommend that the national GOP punish Michigan, New Hampshire, Florida, South Carolina and Wyoming for scheduling primary elections before Feb. 5.

• The Republican Party would strip each state of half of its delegates to its national nominating convention in Minneapolis.

• To their great credit, Michigan's Democratic Party and Republican Party leaders have chosen to stand with their state and defy their national parties.

• For far too long, the nation and our presidential primary election candidates have pretty much ignored Michigan as they pandered to the homogenous tastes of mostly white, largely rural and 100 percent quaint Iowa and New Hampshire.

I absolutely support this statement.

• Go visit Michigan's ravaged inner cities and tell us how you would help us save our people from drugs, prison and violent, early death.

• Drive our bumpy, cracked roads and see the rural and city schools where teachers and students accomplish much, with way too little help.

• Go kick at the muck washing up on our Great Lakes shores.

• And, yeah, let's see some trips to Michigan's still-mighty auto works, where we can talk trade and transportation.

• Oh, there's a lot more we can discuss, and we will.

• We've got plenty of company among the states tired of the irrelevant garden parties called the New Hampshire primary and the Iowa caucuses.

That's the way to tell it.
Read the full article from "opinions" here.

I have been at this way longer than I expected I would, so I will finish this post. But this ain't the last of me talking about this.

God Bless from the Upper Peninsula in Michigan!