LANSING –Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer was on Mackinac Island for the GOP Leadership Conference on Friday and Saturday, September 25th and 26th. He observed events and spoke with dozens of GOP elected officials, candidates, leaders, and activists. Here’s what you won’t hear from the GOP spinmeisters:
- With a dozen private jets parked at the Pellston Airport and more private planes at the Island airport, you could see the Michigan GOP cared little about the suffering of the people of Michigan while they partied for 3 days leaving the state budget unresolved.
- Michigan GOP Chair Ron Weiser claims “record attendance.” However, attendance was inflated by numerous Birthers and Tea Baggers, aka Tea Party activists, as well as by hundreds of people paid to attend so they would vote in the straw poll. If not for all those extremists and paid-for voters (doesn’t the GOP allegedly oppose vote-buying?), attendance would have been down significantly, reflecting a smaller and depressed GOP base in Michigan.
- Mike Cox had a very bad weekend. In the debut of campaign manger Dan Pero, L. Brooks Patterson declared the gubernatorial candidate debate a draw and Cox lost the straw poll to Rick Snyder despite spending tens of thousands of dollars on hotel rooms (three nights for scores of people), food, transportation, registration fees, jackets, customized signs, literature, lawn signs, and parties.
- Rick Snyder tried to make up for sending 20,000 American jobs to China by creating a few weekend jobs – paying people to vote for him in the straw poll, wracking up costs that probably exceeded those of Cox.
- For a political party that professes to believe in law and order, there was a lot of underage drinking on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Where were Attorney General Mike Cox, Sheriff Mike Bouchard, and other GOP law enforcement officers as this occurred, often at their events with alcohol they provided?
- Curious people want to know: did Mike Bishop visit the site of his infamous Mackinac Island bar fight? Did Mike Bouchard fly one of his French helicopters to the conference? Did Bill Schuette distribute tie-dyed San Francisco t-shirts to his supporters? Is it true that Pete Hoekstra brought a George Bush impersonator to the conference?
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Paid for by the Michigan Democratic State Central Committee,
606 Townsend St., Lansing, 48933.
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