Redstate

By saul anuzis Posted in State Politics — Comments (2) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

168 Days until Election Day

May 20, 2008

MORNING UPDATE:

RED WINGS…take Dallas Stars 4 to 1... Head to Stanley Cup Finals…AWESOME!!!

DC MICHIGAN ALUMNI EVENT…was a huge success. Over 135 Michigan friends and alumni rsvp’d and many others joined us throughout the evening. Special thanks to Mark & Claudia Valente III for their efforts year after year in making this a great success. MRP Co-Chair Jane Abraham helped lead the effort in bringing all our alumni and friends together.

The Michigan Republican Congressional Delegation came out in mass, as 100% of our delegation participated in this event. Michigan Republicans can be proud of the great team we have in Washington that always helps the home team when they can…Congressmen Dave Camp, Vern Ehlers, Pete Hoekstra, Joe Knollenberg, Thaddeus McCotter, Candice Miller, Mike Rogers, Fred Upton and Tim Walberg ALL attended the event last night.

Thanks again to our Michigan Republican Delegation for being such great team players as we prepare for the fall election. A special thanks to the Vice Chairman of the RNC Frank Donatelli, who has been a regular at our events and gave an update on the McCain campaign.

TOM CASPERSON…was one of our honored guest who met with most of the Michigan alumni as we laid out the case for his campaign for Congress.

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THE REST OF THE STORY:

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TODAY’S TOP STORIES

The following stories and more are available at my Articles of Interest online.

Red Wings In Stanley Cup Finals: Bring Sid the Kid

BobWojnowski / The Detroit News

The Red Wings mercilessly (and mercifully) did what they had to do Monday night, stomping into a hostile arena and rolling out with exactly what they craved -- a ticket to the Stanley Cup Finals. The Wings are headed back to hockey's most-hallowed ice after a six-year absence, punching their ticket with brutal authority in a 4-1 victory over the Stars.

Lear plant closure costs 300 jobs

Eric Morath / The Detroit News

A Lear Corp. plant in Romulus will close in the next two months -- costing 300 workers their jobs. Employees at the plant were given notice April 30 that the plant would close, state records show.

27 drop bids for House seats

BY KATHLEEN GRAY

FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Twenty-seven people who filed to run for state representative have dropped their candidacies. Their departures cleared the way for other candidates, like state Rep. Richard LeBlanc, D-Westland, to run unopposed in both the primary and general elections for his seat. Others dropped out to avoid primary battles with a fellow Republican or Democrat. Two Republicans, for instance, dropped out of the race to fill state Rep. Jack Brandenburg's seat in southeastern Macomb County. That leaves Brandenburg's son, Bryan of St. Clair Shores, as the only Republican left in the race.

Editorial: Fixing roads, bridges will mean gas tax hike

The Detroit News

Here's a proposal not likely to win a popularity contest: With gasoline touching the $4-per-gallon mark, why not tack on another 30 to 50 cents or so to finally answer our responsibility to the national and state infrastructures?

House Conservatives to Offer Ideas for G.O.P. Message

By Carl Hulse/The New York Times

Conservative Republicans in the House plan to urge their colleagues to rally behind a new manifesto that mixes antispending initiatives and tighter restrictions on government benefits as the party seeks a fresh message after a string of election defeats. Leaders of the Republican Study Committee intend to use a closed-door party meeting on Tuesday to present a seven-point proposal calling for a constitutional limit on federal spending, a new simplified income tax alternative and a proposal to require recipients of food stamps or housing aid to meet work requirements.

40,000 told to prepare for action

By Sara A. Carter/Washington Times

Pentagon officials notified about 40,000 active-duty and National Guard soldiers yesterday that they will be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in the upcoming months and years. About 25,000 active-duty troops and 14,000 National Guard members will be called to replace those returning from the region. The majority will be going to Iraq.

Obama to tout delegate majority

By Christina Bellantoni/Washington Times

Sen. Barack Obama is expected to declare tonight that he has crossed a pivotal threshold toward becoming the Democratic presidential nominee, though his rival may trounce him by double digits in Kentucky and disputes his math. Despite the expected Kentucky loss, Mr. Obama will have earned the majority of pledged delegates that can be won through contests, a milestone that many superdelegates have said they will use to determine their support for the senator from Illinois or Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.

Clinton support puts union arm in debt

By Jim McElhatton/The Washington Times

The independent political arm of the nation's largest government workers union has taken out a $1 million loan to replenish its coffers after spending millions of dollars backing Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and criticizing her rival, Sen. Barack Obama, according to campaign records. Filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) show that the union's political group, AFSCME People, took out a $1 million loan on Feb. 25 from Amalgamated Bank in New York while spending more than $2 million to sway the Democratic contest. The expenditures included more than $200,000 in negative mailers against Mr. Obama in New Hampshire, Iowa and Ohio.

Dissention In the Ranks: Ferraro May Not Vote For Obama

Geraldine Ferraro, in an New York Times article says she may not vote for Obama: " 'I think Obama was terribly sexist,' she said." The threat comes in a wrap-up story about bitterness among Hillary's female supporters as she faces the possiblity of defeat. Some say Obama has been "dismissive." Some say he has been "condescending." Some seem to blame him for benefiting from what they see as sexist treatment of Hillary by males in the media (i.e. Matthews, Russert).

Judge refuses to bar bench in mayor case

Doug Guthrie and Mike Wilkinson / The Detroit News

Attorneys for Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick are vowing an assault on the evidence in his felony case, amid mounting legal wrangling over whether city judges can decide whether the mayor and his former chief of staff, Christine Beatty, will face trial. Wayne County Chief Circuit Judge William J. Giovan delivered a blow to prosecutors Monday, denying their bid to disqualify all 30 judges of the city's 36th District Court from overseeing preliminary stages of the perjury, obstruction of justice and misconduct in office case against Kilpatrick and Beatty.