LANSING — As this pivotal election year continues, Republicans made fools of themselves this week when they tried to erase Trump’s extreme anti-abortion stance, new evidence of Auditor General Ringler meddling in the 2020 election broke, and Mike Roger’s Florida residence was exposed. Don’t take our word for it, roll the tapes!
Trump started the week off by releasing a bogus statement on abortion claiming he would leave the matter of abortion rights for states to decide – a bald-faced lie given everything he’s said and done. Then the Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party Lavora Barnes condemned Michigan Auditor General Ringler for his blatantly partisan involvement in the 2020 election, and finally, Mike Rogers was called out for barely even living in Michigan – despite currently running for Senate here.
Amid this chaos from the right, Black Maternal Health Week kicked off on Thursday to highlight the significant health disparities that impact pregnancy and birth for Black women. Chair Barnes highlighted how the Biden Administration and Michigan Democrats have been fighting for better, more accessible, and more affordable health care to ensure every parent gets the quality care they deserve.
This was a busy week, but with Tuesday’s special elections just around the corner, there is certainly more to come!
Check out the highlights reel from this week below:
First, Michigan Dems held Trump accountable for the radical, anti-abortion agenda that he has pushed and will continue to push if re-elected — no matter what he claims. He proudly gutted Roe, and there is no telling the further damage he would do to reproductive freedom if given another chance:
Michigan Advance: Whitmer “confident” Trump will sign a federal abortion ban if given the opportunity
- Whitmer said Trump is still taking pride in letting politicians interfere in private medical decisions for women and assertions from Trump that abortion should be left up to states and voters as a people’s issue are disingenuous.
- “We know exactly how bad Trump has been for women and reproductive freedom, and we are confident he would sign into law the national abortion ban he and his party have wanted for so long. He said he thinks women should be punished for choosing abortion, and we should take him at his word,” Whitmer said…
- There’s a lot at stake in November, Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party Lavora Barnes said in a statement Monday…“Let’s be clear, Trump is not only extremely proud of overturning Roe v. Wade, he supports the nightmarish abortion bans happening in states across the country — full stop. With today’s statement, Trump stands in lock step with the MIGOP, who would tear down our reproductive freedom here in Michigan if given the chance,” Barnes said.
Then, MLive highlighted how Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party Lavora Barnes called out Michigan Auditor General Ringler for his blatant attempts to undermine the 2020 election results by colluding with Republicans to abuse the powers of his office. Although the Auditor General’s office is supposed to be nonpartisan, Ringler happily used his position of power to further a radical conspiracy that the election had been stolen in Michigan:
MLive: Michigan’s top watchdog slammed as ‘partisan hack’ by Democratic party chair
- The Advance obtained emails that showed Ringler had, after the 2020 election, assisted legislative Republicans in crafting a request, sent to his own office, to examine the state’s election procedures…
- Now the accommodation of Ringler’s office to the GOP inquest, to his critics, smacks of a partisan agenda.
- “We urge lawmakers to call for a full investigation of Ringler’s conduct in light of these disturbing media reports so we can bring to light what other ways Ringler has aided and abetted Republicans intent on bringing down our democracy to serve Donald Trump and MAGA extremists,” Barnes said.
By Wednesday, poor, poor Mike Rogers was taking heat for leaving Michigan nearly a decade ago and only recently moving back from Florida just in time to conveniently run for Senate here. Quitting on Michiganders almost 10 years ago and then returning and trying to claim you care about Michiganders makes total sense, why would anyone possibly question that:
Newsweek: Michigan Republican Candidate Caught Living in Florida
- A Republican hoping to represent Michigan in the U.S. Senate suffered a setback to his campaign this week after facing allegations that he lives in Florida.
- In January, Michigan Advance said Rogers’ campaign told reporters that he was staying at a home owned by his sister-in-law in Brighton, Michigan, pending renovations on a new property he had bought in White Lake Township. The outlet said Rogers owned a large, $1.7 million home in Cape Coral, Florida, which was reportedly his official residence until his decision to run for the U.S. Senate.
- The allegations have left some voters disgruntled. Several people accused Rogers of being a “carpetbagger,” a term for a candidate seeking election in an area where they have no local connections.
- Another told him: “Nothing says ‘proud Michigander’ like someone who packed up, left, moved to Florida, and only came back to run for Senate!”
Finally, as Black Maternal Health Week kicked off on Thursday, Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party Lavora Barnes uplifted the accomplishments of Michigan Dems and the Biden-Harris administration in fighting poor maternal health for marginalized communities. The Chair also highlighted the threats Trump and his MAGA followers pose to Black mothers and their health:
“In Michigan, Black women have long faced devastating barriers to accessible maternal care that can have destructive impacts on our communities. From protecting fertility care to expanding reproductive freedom, and not to mention increasing funding to reduce maternal mortality by hundreds of millions of dollars, Democrats from Washington to Lansing are tackling the maternal health crisis head-on. Meanwhile, it is clearer than ever that Trump and his MAGA cadre here in Michigan are a direct threat to the progress we have made and would unleash unprecedented harm.
“Between working to repeal the Affordable Care Act and pushing extreme abortion bans across the country, MAGA Republicans’ agenda will disproportionately harm Black women in Michigan and across the country. There’s no question, Trump and his allies have made their priorities clear, and this November, Michiganders will hold them accountable for their extremism by reelecting President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Democrats up and down the ballot.”
It was another week of fighting far-right extremism at every level, but Michigan Democrats never tire of holding them accountable. Til next week.
Signing off,
Michigan Dems
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