Can we get an "Amen!" for Michigan?

In Michigan, Democrats came, saw, and conquered

Though I don't watch her show anymore, Rachel Maddow has spent considerable time over the past eight years explaining (and rightfully so) how Michigan has been a laboratory for implementing the republican game plan--everything on the GOP wish list, from passing a right to work (for less) law to privatizing government responsibilities, from taxing seniors and giving tax breaks to corporations to cutting working folks' pensions, the GOP has done here in Michigan.

No more.  Last week Michiganders delivered a gut punch to the republican agenda from top to bottom.  For the first time since I moved here nearly twenty years ago, Democrats will control the top three spots in our state--Governor (Gretchen Whitmer). Attorney General (Dana Nessel), and Secretary of State (Jocelyn Benson).  For the first time since 2010, Democrats will be on par with republicans for the U.S. House, with seven representatives each.  Also for the first time since I moved here, my U.S. House representative will be a Democrat (Elissa Slotkin).  While we didn't end republican control in our state legislature, we did end the republicans' super majority which means their agenda is done through at least 2022.  We added a Supreme Court seat, elected the first Muslim woman to the U.S. House (Rashida Tlaib), and passed propositions ending gerrymandering, implementing automatic voter registration, and legalizing marijuana.

I know I'm biased as Michigan is my adopted home, but the Democratic rout in Michigan has to be the most under reported story of the 2018 midterm elections.  In a state that is a must win for Donald Trump in 2020, we provided a blueprint for turning a recovering purple state blue again.  And it's a very progessive blueprint.

Michigan is a bellwether for 2020 because Michigan voters resoundingly found the republican experiment to be a massive failure.

Just like Donald Trump.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Goddamn right, it's a beautiful day

We won, we won, we won...

Forget the spin--Trump can claim victory because of the Senate and the media can claim it was a split decision, but all the evidence points to Tuesday being a humongous night for Democrats.  The House alone means that cuts to Social Security and Medicare, as well as a repeal of Obamacare, are dead.  We turned it around in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and my home here in Michigan, and if we hold the states Hillary Clinton won in 2016, plus add those three, Donald Trump can move to Moscow or take a flying fuck at a rolling doughnut (either way I don't care).  The Democratic margin of victory of  +.9.2 is the largest in recent times (even beating Dems in 2006 and 2008 and republicans in 2010).  Even though we lost the Senate, our candidates garnered more votes than theirs.  And all of this despite electoral maps that were absolutely brutal for us this year.

Yes, we lost some races we would have liked to have won, and we may need to rethink strategies in Ohio and Florida (write them off and pour money into more likely winners?), but this election was a complete and total repudiation  (seriously, read the link, it'll make your day) of Donald Trump.

So celebrate (for about five minutes and get started on 2020):

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Just fucking vote

Fuckin' A, 110 percent...

There's a lot to be nervous about going into tomorrow's midterm elections...like basically the future of this experiment that we've been conducting surprisingly well for the last 242 years.

Like...will there be a blue wave?

Can we win the Senate?

What if the blue wave doesn't materialize?

What happens to the Mueller investigation?

What will the election's outcome mean for 2020?

In the end, try to remember that even if we don't win as many as we'd like, if we win just one more seat in the House than they do we can effectively end much of the Trump agenda (cuts to Medicare and Social Security will be dead, dead, dead).  Or that every governorship we win means that there's one more state where republicans will not be able to gerrymander its districts to their own advantage.  And that even if we just break even in the Senate, it still means republicans are going to have to tailor their agenda to make sure they can get 51 votes.

It's a cliche, but this is a marathon, not a sprint.

So don't get caught up in the future--fight the battle that we can fight tomorrow.

And just fucking vote.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

And the horse you rode in on

Thanks, but no thanks, Gov. Snyder

It's kind of surprising, in light of our primary elections here in Michigan this past Tuesday, that no pundits are noting that on the republican side, GOP voters soundly rejected our current Governor, Rick Snyder.  Despite all his supporters claims of a Michigan comeback led by Snyder (dubious, at best), his hand picked successor, Brian Calley, barely topped 25% and fell woefully short of republican nominee and Trump sycophant Bill Schuette's 50%.

But when you poison thousands of children in a major city, hire companies that feed maggots to our prisoners, and raise taxes on the elderly to give tax cuts to corporations to create non-existent jobs, and your state's roads remain among the poorest in the nation, it probably isn't so surprising that your heir apparent fares so poorly amongst the electorate.

Here's hoping that in November's general election plenty more Michiganders see through the republican bullshit and send Schuette packing as well--Governor Gretchen (Whitmer) has a nice ring to it.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Governor Albatross

Thanks but no thanks--eight years of republican boobs is enough

Michigan's next election for governor is just a little more than seven months away and current Lt. Governor Brian Calley has just released his first ad featuring our current Governor, Rick Snyder...who, despite claims of a Michigan "comeback," will most be remembered for poisoning Flint's children, feeding maggot infested food to our inmates, and allowing Detroit Public Schools to deteriorate so badly that fungus in the school's bathrooms flourishes better than Detroit's students.

Right wing nutjob and our current Attorney General, Bill Schuette, was quick to denounce the ads, but one seriously has to wonder why--Snyder's approval rating is underwater and in the age of Donald Trump, one can't imagine the republican base being interested in pantywaists like Calley and Snyder.

Still, good times for Democrats--the Snyder administration's incompetence isn't quite up to the Trump administration's standards, but it should be enough to at least give us a chance in an off year election this November.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee