If it can be believed, Michiganders have already been voting in this “turbulent,” “chaotic” “circus” of a primary that still lacks a “clear and identifiable frontrunner” and has only exposed the MIGOP as a dis-organization that has done “virtually everything to blow the opportunity” to present Michiganders with a single credible gubernatorial candidate. We’ll know which clown is the victor in just 32 days. Here’s what they’ve been up to.
Screaming, Crying, Perfect Storms.
Some say there was a debate in there as well. Last night, tables turned on the Warren stage as all five remaining, previously courteous Republicans quickly devolved into a shouting match at several instances over the predictable. Who is the bigger anti-vaxxer. Who did more to stop the non-existent election fraud. Who is trying to strip the most rights from millions of Michigan women and families. Whose rants have been featured more on national conservative media. You know, all the issues of substance that actually matter to working families and will keep Michigan first.
With Roe Officially Overturned, Legislative Republicans are Scrambling to Make Michigan a Trigger Ban State
Apparently the currently dormant abortion ban from 1931 that criminalizes abortion, makes felons out of reproductive healthcare providers, and provides no exceptions for rape or incest wasn’t draconian enough. That’s the message the Republican-controlled legislature projected to millions of Michigan women and families in the form of an anti-choice bill that doles out even more jail time – up to 20 years – for physicians and providers that dare to uphold the Hippocratic Oath and provide the care their patients need.
At this point, Governor Whitmer has made it abundantly clear she will continue to do what it takes to be the last line of defense for reproductive freedom, but that doesn’t mean Michiganders can rest easy. Ryan Kelley, Garrett Soldano, Kevin Rinke, Tudor Dixon, and Ralph Rebandt have all enthusiastically anticipated today’s reversal of Roe v. Wade, the return of the 1931 ban, and forcing pregnancy on survivors of sexual assault. It doesn’t take logic gymnastics to know where they’d fall on this bill if it crossed their desk as governor.
Tudor Dixon is Hereby Banned from Using the Word “Major”
To much previewing and fanfare, Tudor Dixon kicked off yesterday with a big, can’t miss, “major” announcement taking place on the Lansing capitol steps just after noon. Given the venue and how many days are left in the primary, conventional wisdom suggested that perhaps something of consequence was on the horizon. What we got instead was a clown show’s clown show.
Fully broadcasting that she was indeed more interested in “fight[ing] that culture war” rather than, you know, governing as governor, Tudor Dixon rolled out her plan to *drumroll please, hold your applause* …ban drag shows from public schools. We’ll kick it to MLive, which managed to perfectly capture the scene better than your writer could.
“It was unclear what her purpose for being at the event was, as lawmakers said the Dixon campaign did not bring forward the idea for the bill. She was, however, thanked for using her status to bring light to the issue and be an advocate for children and families. […] None of the other lawmakers present could cite a specific example of what this bill seeks to ban occurring. That didn’t stop Rep. Beau LaFave, R-Iron Mountain, from quipping: ‘I don’t know that we’ve ever had strippers brought into the classroom, either.’”
First, if your bill’s success hinges on the “status” of someone virtually no primary voters are aware of, we have horrible news for you. Second, perhaps LaFave and his Republican colleagues in the legislature should act on actual threats to Michiganders like guns in school and Lee Chatfield.
Ted Nugent…ok
If you don’t want to take anyone’s word for it that this Republican gubernatorial primary has been chaotic yet pompless, fine. But consider the fact that with just 39 days to go and ballots already in play, the new top spender in the race gave the white glove treatment to an endorsement from…Ted Nugent. The Motor City Madman’s blessing newly bestowed onto Kevin Rinke, we must note, did absolutely nothing for Mike Brown’s campaign trajectory when he backed him months prior.
A newly-identified lifetime member of the Oath Keepers, one of the hate groups at the center of the insurrection, Nugent made a name for himself in politics back in 2014 when he called President Obama a “subhuman mongrel.” We’re certain that endorsement meeting involved some high fives over Rinke’s own well-documented use of calling his Black staffers the n-word and casual references to Asians as “yellow.”
It’s Profile Szn (Unless You’re Ralph Rebandt)
In a race where ‘undecided’ is running away with the polls, it only makes sense that questions still abound about who these Republican gubernatorial candidates actually are. To help close the information gap a bit, several publications organized long profiles about their backgrounds. We’ve compiled them for your reading pleasure, since voters should be aware of the extensive proof points that thoroughly disqualify them for governor.
- NBC News: Ryan Kelley Was Arrested for His Role in Jan. 6. Now He’s a Front-Runner in Michigan’s GOP Primary for Governor.
- Bridge Michigan: Drag Queens and MAGA: Tudor Dixon Fights Culture Wars in Michigan Governor Bid
- Detroit News: Kevin Rinke Weighed Leaving Michigan. Now He’s Running for Governor
- Detroit Free Press: Who is Garrett Soldano? Meet Far-Right Michigan Chiropractor Running for Governor
