LANSING — This week, Republicans at every level were exposed for their MAGA extremism: where should we start? The Republican nominee for the 25th House district special election was outed for supporting a full abortion ban with no exceptions, Michigan Auditor General Doug Ringler colluded with MAGA extremists to undermine the election, Rep. Walberg implied the US should drop nuclear bombs on Gaza, and Trump visited Grand Rapids to push a blatantly false narrative about the border and immigration. They must be exhausted from inciting so much chaos and violence!
For Michigan Dems, this week was about holding Republicans accountable and continuing to build our ground game to elect Democrats up and down the ballot in November. With the eighth and ninth One Campaign offices opened in Brighton and Ypsi, Michigan Democrats and the Biden campaign are gearing up to have 30 field offices open by April 15.
It was a busy week with Republicans lobbing MAGA extremism every which way, but thankfully Democrats were there to hit back at their far-right agenda.
Take a look at how pervasive MAGA extremism is at every level of the MIGOP:
In the 25th Michigan House district, which will have a special election in just over a week on April 16th, the Michigan Advance exposed Republican candidate Josh Powell for opposing abortion without exceptions and reported that he would happily undo Proposition 3 if given the chance. Why does this matter? This special election could determine control of the state House of Representatives. Let’s be clear, like every other MAGA MIGOP member, Powell cares more about pushing a dangerous, anti-abortion agenda than serving his potential constituents:
Michigan Advance: GOP nominee for special Michigan House election says he opposes abortion ‘without exception’
- Josh Powell, a candidate for a special Michigan House election this month, said during a GOP event that he opposes all abortion “without exception” — and, if elected, is open to repealing the state’s landmark abortion law…
- “I mean, right now all I can really do is stand in the way of expanding it, but I mean, if there’s opportunities that come up, you know, if people want to revisit. … I know there’s already things underway to … revisit Prop 3, put it back on the ballot, you know, that sort of thing. So yeah. I mean, if we can get something with enough signatures, then I can, you know, we can pass it through the House without having to go through the voting process.”
Then, at the statewide level, in yet another outrageous example of Republicans attempting to thwart the valid results of the 2020 presidential election, Michigan Auditor General Doug Ringler used his office and its status to play partisan politics and silence the voices of millions of Michigan voters. Again, the Michigan Advance broke news, reporting that after the 2020 election, Ringler colluded with Republicans to hold an audit of the 2020 election results under claims of election fraud, further undermining our democracy. In reaction to another exposed MIGOP attempt to attack our elections, Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party Lavora Barnes called out this partisan abuse of office:
“The auditor general is supposed to be non-partisan and independent, yet solid investigative reporting by the Michigan Advance has exposed Ringler as a partisan hack doing the bidding of MAGA extremists hell-bent on attacking the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election. It’s a disgrace that state taxpayer dollars have been squandered on an office using its status to play partisan politics and silence the voices of millions of Michigan voters. 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.”
Michigan Advance: Emails reveal Michigan auditor general helped write GOP draft requesting 2020 election audit
- When Michigan Auditor General Doug Ringler initiated an audit of the 2020 election, he did so at the request of a Republican House member. However, emails indicate that Ringler, whose office is supposed to be nonpartisan, actually helped draft the request through a series of previously undisclosed meetings with House Republican leadership staff…
- Instead, emails show it was the result of a month of collaboration between the office of then-House Speaker Jason Wentworth (R-Farwell) and Ringler. That included at least two face-to-face meetings and a string of emails, all to solicit the best way to word the request for an audit that Ringler then acted on…
At the federal level, US House Rep. Tim Walberg started the week’s carousel of extremism when he horrifically implied that the US should drop nuclear weapons on Gaza to “get it over quick.” Walberg’s callous remarks caught on video demonstrate the dangerous disregard for human life and casual endorsement of suffering that is pervasive in the MAGA GOP. They aren’t even pretending to care about humanitarian aid, instead openly greenlighting the slaughter of Gazans. Michigan Dems quickly condemned Rep. Walberg and highlighted how Michiganders deserve better from their elected representatives:
And at the highest level of the ballot, Donald Trump visited Grand Rapids to spread chaos and sow misinformation about immigrants and the border. At the event, he lied about his record on the border, failing to mention that he pressured his MAGA cronies to kill the border bill that President Biden negotiated. He even had the gall to claim that he spoke with Ruby Garcia’s family after her tragic death, a bald-faced lie that the Garcia family called him out for.
At every turn, Trump has done nothing but lie and push an extremist agenda that is wildly out of touch with Michiganders. Before Trump could even touch ground in Michigan, Democrats were on the ground to reject his dangerous rhetoric and remind Michiganders exactly who Trump is and how little he has to offer:
CNN – The Source: Straight to the Source
WZZM: Trump speaks on immigration, U.S. border in Grand Rapids; Democrats, activists push back
USA Today: Her murder attracted little attention until Trump made it part of immigration debate
- Trump highlighted Garcia’s death during a speech in Michigan Tuesday, prompting critics to say he is politicizing her murder. Garcia’s sister also rebuked Trump for claiming he spoke with the slain woman’s family, which she said is not true…
- “He’s come to our community to try to sow fear and hatred and division,” Scholten said. “And when we are facing such a monumental crisis at our southern border what we need now more than ever is unity, bipartisanship and people who are willing to put the political theatre aside so we can get things done.”
MIRS: Trump, Republican Politicization of Immigration Is Shameful, Dems Say
- U.S. Sen. Debbie STABENOW (D-Lansing) said in a Biden-Harris press conference ahead of former President Donald TRUMP’s Grand Rapids event today that Senate Republicans had the opportunity to pass border security into law last month, but when Trump told Republicans not to vote for it, it failed…
- Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora BARNES said his visit was to politicize a tragic loss and lie about his record. “No matter what he says today, Donald Trump has no interest in being part of the solution because he doesn’t care about border security,” Barnes said in a statement.
While Republicans promoted chaos, Michigan Democrats were continuing to grow their outreach to voters with the Biden for President campaign in Brighton and Ypsilanti. With Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist, Representative Debbie Dingell, and Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party Lavora Barnes, the One Campaign offices celebrate the expansion of the campaign and all the voter contacts that will happen in these new offices:
The Livingston Post: Gov. Whitmer opens county One Campaign office in Brighton
- Gov. Gretchen Whitmer officially opened the Livingston County Democrats’ local One Campaign office on Friday. Whitmer spoke to the standing-room-only crowd and welcomed some of the local Democrats running for office…
- The One Campaign office will run the on-the-ground operations for statewide races in Michigan, including the Biden-Harris and U.S. Senate races.
It was a hectic week, but campaign season is just getting started, so we’re guaranteed to see more chaos from Republicans while Democrats will be busy actually working to help people. Til next week.
Signing off,
Michigan Dems
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