Joseph Larkin Win Democratic Primary

Livonia lawyer Joseph Larkin is the Democratic nominee for Congress in the Eleventh Congressional District.

Receiving 73% of the primary vote last night, Larkin defeated Ed Kriewall in a landslide.  The work has just begun, with less than 3 months left until the general election.

This race will, unfortunately, not be competitive.  Larkin has only $2,799 cash on hand, good enough for a mere .49% of Thaddeus McCotter's $565,081.  You can't run a competitive campaign with less than $3000.  It's a shame, in a R+1 congressional district, that the Eleventh District would be ceded.

So what's the best case scenario?  First off, Larkin needs to start fundraising.  He'll never reach parity with McCotter, but if he can raise somewhere near $100,000, he can at least run a campaign.  Larkin needs to get out there and campaign - hard.  If he wants to have any chance in this race, he'll need to be campaigning everyday.  He should challenge McCotter to a series of debates.  This race, if nothing changes, with end in a ten point McCotter win.  We need a game changer to make this race even remotely close.  McCotter is too good of a pol to lose this race.  Mr. Larkin, you need to win it.

May Roundup

It's been quite a while since I've posted an update. I've been extremely busy as school winds down - I promise to have more timely updates during the summer.

Unfortunately, while I may have taken the month off, Thad hasn't. So here is a quick roundup of May's happenings:

• Thad's trying to scare up the election year wedge issue of gay marriage. Rep. McCotter is one of 29 Republicans co-sponsoring Rep. Paul Brown's constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in the United States. This follows the California Supreme court's decision to legalize gay marriage in that state. It guess it is no surprise that Thad would take such an intolerant position. In supporting the bill, Thad aligns himself with such agents of intolerance as Virgil Goode and Steve King.
• Thaddeus called the sitting Speaker of the House a dictator. “It’s not a dictatorial strength, which is what people were used to from [former Republican Majority Leader] Tom DeLay and Nancy Pelosi now.”
• Also, Thad has a new mailing going out around the district. In it, Mr. 15% from the League of Conservation Voters calls for conserving our Earth. He also has the gall to say that he supports expanding S-CHIP after he voted against it. He also failed to mention Iraq.

So Thad's been busy. Again, I promise less sporadic updates come summer.

A Path To Victory

Victory in the Eleventh this year is unlikely. With plenty other more enticing races around the country, the national party organization will likely ignore this race. Even the Michigan Democratic Party will be busy, with MI-7 and MI-9 being much better pick-up opportunities.

McCotter has a big name and a bigger checkbook. Our nominee will be unknown and underfunded. It will take, as I've stated earlier, a truly people powered campaign to take down Thad. We'll need a movement, not a candidate to win this race.

We need to educate the voters on Thad's record. We need to hammer Thad on the War, on S-CHIP, on the environment. Thad does not represent our interests in Washington, and we must make that clear to his constituents. Again, it will take more than Joe Larkin or Ed Kriewall to do this.

So in the spirit of a people-powered movement starting in Plymouth, I'd like to announce the formation of a Mad At Thad ActBlue page. ActBlue is a vital tool for progressives across the nation to build winning campaigns. We here in the Eleventh will be utilizing it as well.

Now, I'm a minor. I'm legally not allowed to contribute. So I'm counting on you. My goal is to have eleven donors over the next month. Just enough to show that the foundation for a grassroots campaign exists here in the Eleventh. Please consider making a contribution, and help us move one step closer to ousting Thad.

Spencer Withdraws; Endorses Larkin

I have good news and bad news.

First, the bad news. Tom Spencer withdrew from the race, this time for good. He never had enough funding to be a serious candidate.

The good news is that this primary is not over. The reason that Spencer withdrew was the entry of Livonia attorney Joseph Larkin. Spencer released the following statement explaining his decision:

Dear Friends and Supporters,

The upcoming election is one of the most important elections to come along in a long time. It will determine the future of this country as a republic based on the rule of law and not on the rule of men. For several years now this District has not had a representative that represented the people and as I visited with people in the District, I found that to be one of the most important issues people were disgruntled with.

It is time for us to take back the seat that Mr. McCotter has held and abused and give it back to the people. This election isn’t about me or other single person; it is about the future of our District, State, and Federal Government. In other words, it is about our people and their future. I feel it is important that we get behind someone that truly has the ability to beat Mr. McCotter in the upcoming election and that is why I am throwing my whole-hearted support behind Joe Larkin. He is a progressive Democrat with connections to the party for many years. But even more important, he wants to represent the people of the District and do what is best for our country.

I am asking for those who have supported me in the past and who signed my petitions to give their support to Joe. It will be a hard fight to overcome the entrenched candidate, but I feel Joe is the one to do it. I plan to continue to work to remove Mr. McCotter from office in anyway that I can.

Please visit Joe's website at www.larkinleadership.com. Thanks again for all your support and kind words of encouragement over the past several months.

Sincerely,

Tom Spencer

Larkin looks like he could be a good candidate. His website, Larkin Leadership, contains a detailed platform. He's against our continued occupation of Iraq, he has some great ideas on how to fix the nation's economy, and places an emphasis on the environment that I think will need to be a major issue this fall if we are to defeat Mr. 15%.

The one issue that seems like it might be trouble in the primary for Larkin is the fact that he is pro-life. But I like how he phrased his position to the Observer:

"It seems the only area he's concerned about pro-life is when you're in the womb and not when you come out of the womb," he said. "For example, he voted against extension of health care benefits for poor children. That is an area where I absolutely would have voted yes."

To recap, we still have an interesting primary and there is still a lot of work to do. I think that a heated primary campaign between Ed Kriewall and Joe Larkin would be good for the party, as neither of them have the name recognition needed right now. My message to the candidates: keep it clean, stick to the issues, and together we can win this November.

DCCC's List of Targets: No Thad

The DCCC has a list of targets for 2008, and Thad is not on the list. It appears that national Democrats are writing this race off. They seem content to wait for 2012, when there will be a new, more favorable Eleveth District. Well, I guess we'll have to do this on our own. But I still see a path to victory for the Democrats in November.

We were never going to outspend McCotter, even if the DCCC was supporting us. We aren't going to win as the default candidate. It will take a truly people powered campaign. The fate of this campaign lies in the hands of the people. Let's take it away from the lobbyists this fall.

It's Been A Busy Couple Of Weeks...

A little while back, Mad At Thad was mentioned in an article in the Observer and Eccentric. The article was about the lack of enthusiasm that the Eleventh District Democrats have seen about ousting McCotter. The author of the article, Hugh Gallagher, found a couple notable exeptions:

In the blogosphere, where apparently many people spend their time, two sites are devoted full time to "exposing" McCotter, madatthad.blogspot.comand mccottermonitor.blogspot.com.

I emailed Mr. Gallagher, thanking him for mentioning the blog. Mr. Gallagher found it interesting enough that a fourteen year-old was writing a political blog that he decided he'd like to write an article about me and the blog. So he interviewed me Monday, and yesterday the story came out.

High school freshman's blog makes a case against McCotter

I'm elated that this blog and this cause are getting some exposure. To any new readers, I encourage you to look around the site. I think you'll find something that will make you Mad At Thad, whether it be his continued support for the war or his record on the environment, Thaddeus McCotter is not representing our interests in Washington. I think it's time we call him on it, and send some new blood to the Hill this November.

I would like to thank Mr. Gallagher for writing the story, and my station manager up at 88.1 The Escape, Bill Keith for pointing out the original story.

Thaddeus Still Supports The War

Five years into the War, Thaddeus is still in denial.

With almost four thousand American dead, including one hundred and seventy four with Michigan ties, Thad still supports George W. Bush's War in Iraq.

Thaddeus is silent on the War, in public at least. He doesn't even mention it on the 'issues' page of his website. No, Thaddeus doesn't want you to know that he supports the War. But he has voted for every single bill funding the war.

He claims to be a fiscal conservative, and yet remains silent on the nine billion dollars we have lost in Iraq, let alone the over half trillion we have spent overall. Thaddeus continues to support the tremendous price in blood and treasure that we have squandered in the Fertile Crescent. He doesn't want you to know that.

End the war, end Thad's time in Washington.

Was 15% Too High?

As you may remember, Thad's rating from the League of Conservation Voters was an abysmal 15%. But Thad has shown no signs of cleaning up his act. In fact, just last week he voted against the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2008, a bill that passed despite Thad's dissent. The bill repeals tax breaks for oil companies in order to pay for further investments in alternative energy, as well as tax breaks for individuals who take the initiative and invest themselves.

This vote matches up perfectly with his horrendous voting record on environmental issues. But there is a deeper level to this vote. Thad is voting to keep tax cuts in the pockets of the rich oil companies while simultaneously voting against cuts for the rest of us.

One more reason to be mad at Thad.

Tom Spencer Re-enters Race

Tom Spencer has resumed his campaign:

As you all know, times are tough financially for a lot of us. Due to financial problems, a few weeks ago I suspended my campaign. Since then we have had some good things happen that have made our finances so that they are not a roadblock to my campaign as much as they appeared to be three weeks ago. So, I am back on the campaign trail again as I un-suspend my campaign for the U.S. Congress.

Well, I didn't see this coming. It would have been nice to see the Democrats unite behind one candidate, but a heated primary could help the eventual nominee raise his name recognition. Good luck Tom.

Thaddeus McCotter's Spotty History On A Balanced Budget

Thaddeus McCotter claims to be a huge supporter of a balancing the budget. As a matter of fact, back in 2006 Thad put his name on this letter, calling for then-Majority Leader John Boehner to bring the 'Balanced Budget Amendment' to a vote.

America's politicians will never get serious about controlling federal spending until they have no other choice. Until then, low-priority programs will continue to receive exorbitant funding and spending will remain unchecked. That is why the BBA is critical for restoring sanity to federal spending. We believe getting the BBA through committee and onto the floor deserves a very high priority. Passage of this amendment is necessary to ensure that our children inherit the American Dream, not the national debt.

Thaddeus makes some very valid points. The deficit is out of control, and a balanced budget amendment would make a lot of sense. That's why I was so glad when the Democrats decided to institute a 'Pay As You Go' policy the very first day that they were in control of the House. The bill passed 280-152 and was a tremendous step in the right direction for the country.

Thaddeus was apparently less impressed. He voted no. This is the same man who said that we should amend the Constitution to include a ban on deficit spending; yet when a provision that would stop the spending actually comes up to vote, Thad says no.

Please, Representative McCotter, explain that one to me.

Hypocrisy: just one more reason to be mad at Thad.

LCV 2007 Rankings Are Out

The League of Conservation Voters' Legislative Scorecard is out, and Thaddeus didn't pass.

15%

Fifteen percent. I should note that this is a slight improvement for Thad, whose lifetime rating is an abysmal 11%.

Thaddeus is not a champion for environmental causes. As a matter of fact, he has not released a single press release pertaining to the environment in his entire time in the House. So not only is Thaddeus voting against environmental interests, he doesn't even explain why he votes against legislation like the repeal of oil company subsidies and raising automobile efficiency standards.

Your environment: just one more reason to be mad at Thad.

Meet Edward Kriewall: Your 2008 Democratic Challenger

With the news that Tom Spencer has suspended his campaign, I was pleased to see that Edward Kriewall finally has a website up.

Kriewall For Congress

I have to admit, I'm pretty excited about Ed. Some highlights from his issues page:

Withdraw from Iraq: American troops should not be dying for what is a civil war taking place in Iraq. Iraq is a huge mistake by the Bush administration.
Universal Health Care: We are already paying for the uninsured. Let us all get on the same boat and adopt a single payer program.
Lower Taxes: We can lower taxes if we leave Iraq and lower defense spending.
Great Lakes Water & Lake Levels: Our great lakes have dropped 4' in the past few years and the levels are not returning on their scheduled cyclical rise. We need answers and solutions. Our future tourism industry is in trouble if this continues. We need to have improved tourism as we continually fade as an industrial power.
Replace follow the leader politicians: Now is the time.

That's a progressive platform for you. Ed Kriewall will make a great Congressman - let's go out and win it for him.

Tom Spencer Suspends Camapaign

So it looks like it's up to Ed Kriewall to take down Thad:

I want to express to you how much I appreciate your support and dedication to my campaign. Thad McCotter needs to be defeated in the next election and I am convinced that I can to a much better job at representing the people of the 11th District of Michigan.

However, after a great deal of reflection and consideration on the course of my campaign and the personal toll it is taking, I have reluctantly decided to suspend my campaign at this time.

That's too bad. Tom would've made a fine Congressman.

Thad's Review of George Bush's State of the Union

Well, the reviews are in and apparently, George Bush nailed his State of the Union address last night. Thad said:

"I am heartened that the president is following the House Republicans' lead by targeting wasteful spending and pork barrel earmarks for extinction."

Thad is determined to end earmarks. Oh boy!

Wait a second. In February, when the House voted to end secrecy on earmarks and ban deficit spending, Thaddeus voted 'nay'.

Hypocrisy - just one more reason to be mad at Thad.

Thaddeus Votes Against Children's Health Care Again

Thaddeus McCotter voted against overriding George Bush's veto of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Thad has voted against the bill every opportunity that he has had. As you may remember, when the group Catholics United reminded Thad that voting against helping poor, sickly children was not pro-life or pro-family, Thad called them "the devil". That comment earned him the title of 'Worst Person in the World'.


Just one more reason to be mad at Thad...

Tom Spencer's Campaign

I just recieved an e-mail from Tom Spencer's campaign.

I would like to thank you for joining my effort to become your next Representative in Congress. There's no question we have a long road ahead of us, but I believe the incumbent is not invincible, as long as his challenger has the support needed to retire him.
I believe I am that challenger. I have a long history of service to my country and my community, which continues through my children. I am not a career politician, I am a man of the people. I am not beholden to big business, corporate lobbyists, or special interests...I am beholden to the people of my District, and will represent them to the best of my ability.
I have been meeting and getting to know as many folks as I can in the last few weeks and will continue to do so. Many have already offered to lend support to my campaign, and I am pleased and honored for the great support and advice I have received. You can help further...just let all your friends know that I am campaigning to unseat McCotter. Right now, please forward this email to as many people as you can, and get the word out! Encourage them to visit http://www.tomspencer4congress.com/ to see who I am, what I stand for, and what I will do in Congress. Encourage them to join the effort by subscribing to my mailing & volunteer lists. Let's work together to take back our District!
Some of the biggest hurdles we have to face are financial. Campaigns need contributions to operate; that's just a fact. And with a grass-roots campaign like mine, every dollar counts, and every dollar will be used wisely to win. That's why I am imposing upon your generosity to make a contribution to my campaign. You can donate online at http://www.tomspencer4congress.com/ by clicking on the "Make a Donation" button in the Main Menu. And please forward this along to your family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers so they can lend a hand too!
I firmly believe that together, we can take back the 11th District and work to bring good paying jobs, affordable health care, peace and prosperity to Michigan and the entire country. Thank you for your continued support, and may God bless you and your family.

Tom seems like he would be a very good Congressman. He is actually trying to use the netroots (he posted on this site!), whereas Novi City Manager Edward Kriewall has yet to set up a website. I'd love to see the debate - we need all the help we can get in deciding who would be better to oust Thad. Also, a debate could see some local media coverage, which is very needed in facing a well financed incumbent.