Ahead of this Saturday’s MIGOP endorsement convention and following signature submission, MDP will be reminding Michiganders how the candidates vying for the top of the ticket have pushed dangerous agendas that would hurt working families.
Rather than offer plans to build on Governor Whitmer’s strong legacy of working with anyone to deliver the wins that keep Michigan first, chief “neophyte” James Craig has actively pushed a wrong-for-Michigan agenda at the cost of the auto industry, the safety of local communities, the reproductive rights of women and families, and voters’ ability to participate in a free democracy.
MDP Spokesperson Rodericka Applewhaite issued the following statement:
“Chief Neophyte James Craig has been on the trail for nearly a year, yet all he has to show for it is a dangerous agenda that damages Michigan’s economy and hurts working families, eliminates Michiganders’ reproductive rights, and makes our communities less safe. Our working families deserve better than Craig’s wrong-for-Michigan crusade to take our state backwards.”
Supporting information can be found below:
Craig Encouraged Illegal Blockade that Cost Auto Industry $300M
As “major international gateway” Ambassador Bridge was shut down due to an illegal blockade that impacted $356 million of goods daily, James Craig threw his support behind this major economic chokehold on Michigan and encouraged it to continue.
The auto industry suffered “$299.9 million in direct losses,” due to assembly plants at GM and Ford being forced to cancel shifts due to a lack of parts traveling across the bridge, which resulted in workers weathering up to $51 million in lost wages.
Craig is an Anti-Choice Extremist
James Craig has already said he would employ whatever means necessary to ensure Michigan immediately reverts to a severely restrictive, near-total abortion ban from 1931 that makes no exceptions for rape or incest, criminalizes abortion, and makes reproductive health care providers felons. Anti-choice advocates have touted the law as the most restrictive in the country, and would immediately go back into effect if Roe v. Wade gets overturned nationally.
Craig Wanted Disastrous Tax Plan That Already Would Gut Budgets for Law Enforcement and Public Education to “Go Even Further”
Craig threw his support behind a “unsustainable” and “short-sighted” tax plan that would have forced billions in cuts statewide and “disproportionately helps the state’s wealthiest residents.” The disastrous bill would have forced more than $1.8 billion in annual cuts to Michigan’s budget and gutted $624 million from the public school aid fund.
The GOP tax plan also threatened funding for over 5,000 state and local law enforcement officers and civilian employees. The potential impacts on Michigan State Police are even worse, as the cuts would have threatened general fund dollars that provide over 60% of MSP’s budget.
Despite the ways it would strip funding from crucial services, James Craig said it was a “great start” and wished it could “go even further.” Late last year, he also advocated for cutting funding for public schools in order to funnel taxpayer resources to private schools. Additionally, he said during a press conference that making key investments in our roads and bridges was not “one of my priorities” and admitted he had no plan to do so.
Craig Confirmed That He Would Have Refused to Certify the Results of the 2020 Election
In an interview, Craig said “I don’t know if I would say I would have certified” the results of the 2020 general election and said he “did not understand the facts” of the election that was decided by 154,000 votes and confirmed and audited more than 250 times across the state.
Previously, Craig penned an op-ed validating election conspiracy theorists with his call for “an extensive audit of the election results” on the same day a sizable number of right-wing fanatics descended on Michigan’s statehouse to demand a forensic audit.
