McCotter Cosponsors Unconstitutional, Unreasonable, Unnecessary Resolution

Thaddeus McCotter is a cosponsor of House Concurrent Resolution 121, a bill that "Encourag[es] the President to Designate 2010 as 'The National Year of the Bible'".  There are so, so, so, many problems with this.

First off, the unconstitutionality of such a declaration.  I consider myself a liberal Christian, but the First Amendment is pretty clear that this is a no-no.   A declaration like the one "encouraged" by H. Con. Res. 121 would fly in the face of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

Secondly, there's the question of why.  Is the Bible slipping?  As far as I can tell, The Bible is still the best-selling book in the world.  Why would the government need to intervene to promote it?  And why only 2010?  Are we not supposed to read the Bible in 2011?

Lastly, does Rep. McCotter realize that, even if points one and two were set aside, this bill would be pointless?  This is a bill encouraging President Obama to do something he, a Constitutional law professor, would under no circumstances do.  It's a meaningless gesture encouraging a meaningless gesture.

H/T:  Jill Richardson

Natalie Mosher Steps Up

Someone finally stepped up to challenge Thad.  Ladies and gentlemen, Natalie Mosher:

On Wednesday, the 65-year-old lifelong Democrat announced she is running for Congress and will challenge Republican Thaddeus McCotter of Livonia, who is currently in his fourth term representing Michigan's 11th District.

Mosher is at least a credible candidate:  her  website is legitimate, she has a Facebook, and is known for her fundraising prowess.  The DCCC is still looking recruit a better candidate, but it's nice to see someone announce.  Whether Ms. Mosher is the right candidate to beat Thad McCotter, I don't yet know.  But we will be challenging Thad, make no mistake.

The Case Against Thad: April 2009

Thad McCotter has became a darling of the extreme right in recent weeks.  Whether it be his participation in the Plymouth Township Tea Party or his consistent stops on Fox News, Thad McCotter is aligning himself with the most extreme elements of the Republican Party.  He has aligned himself with supply-side, trickle-down economics even as their disastrous effects come to light.  He joined a protest that saw venomous hate speech against the President, and, indeed, the whole government of the United States.

His latest slogan is "big government is chaos". That's right:  at this time of great economic crisis, Thad doesn't believe government is part of the solution, but of the problem.  I'm reminded of the old axiom:  "I don't want a conservative politician for the same reason I don't want a vegan butcher.  He doesn't want to do a good job."  He rejects the lessons of the Great Depression, and indeed of all American history, and instead supports a fundamentally laissez faire approach to the crisis.

The one place that Thad has rejected laissez faire and corporate Republicanism is his defense of the auto industry.  I must give credit where credit is due:  Thad has done a fine job fighting for the auto industry in Washington.  He had no choice to, politically, but he still deserves some credit for the way in which he has stood up.  What he fails to understand, though, is that the Republicans who opposed the auto-bailout are very consistent ideologically.  They oppose any sort of government help in jumpstarting the economy.  Thad was smart enough to oppose laissez faire when it came to Detroit, but he has no problem supporting it when it comes to other areas:  the stimulus package, the budget, et cetera.  That is the fundamental argument against Thad:  he is a Republican, who, other than his rhetoric regarding the auto industry, is willing to toe the party line and oppose economic recovery.  

Who Will Challenge Thad?

With neither State Senator Glenn Anderson and House Speaker Andy Dillon throwing their hat in the ring, the Democratic nomination for 2010 is wide open. In this district that Obama won, and that McCotter took with just 51% of the vote, it is clear that this race is low hanging fruit.  So who will step up?

While Anderson and Dillon were considered the most likely candidates, there are plenty of other good choices.  My State Representative, Marc Corriveau, is still a potential candidate, though I think he would be unlikely to run.  Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano lives in the district, as does Wayne County Commissioner Kevin McNamara.

If not one of them, who will step up?  In 2008, local attorney Joe Larkin was our nominee.  While I'm sure Mr. Larkin is a very nice man, he was a sub-par candidate.  In a district as competitive as this one, we can't afford to put up a candidate who raised less than $30,000.  Someone needs to step up.

MI-11: Blue District

The folks at Swing State Project have done an incredible job tabulating the Presidential vote by Congressional District.  And, as they continue to plug away at the nation's 435 districts, they've finally gotten to the Michigan Eleventh.

The result:  Barack Obama, 196,909; John McCain, 163,190.

In 2004, George Bush won the district by four points.  In 2008, Barack Obama won by more than nine.  That's a thirteen point swing towards the good guys.

Couple this with Thad's dismal reelection numbers, and it is clear that McCotter is a top target for 2010.  This race is eminently winnable, and we will get it done.

Draft Glenn Anderson For Congress Movement Mounting

Draft Glenn Anderson For Congress has a Facebook group.  With 101 members, it's a sizable movement.  Even more notable than its size is its most notable member:  State Rep. Richard LeBlanc.

If you recall, Rep. LeBlanc was a 5th on our Cattle Call when I previewed the odds of the race last time around.  This obviously means that LeBlanc will not be running, but says something something even more important about the race:  Senator Anderson has his first significant endorsement before even deciding to run.

I've had the privilege of speaking with Senator Anderson a couple of times over the past month or so through my work at WSDP - Plymouth.  He was a very engaging interview, and seemed to genuinely care about the issues he was talked about.

This is not an endorsement from me (even though the Facebook group does list this as its homepage.)  No, I'd like to see how the field shakes out before making a decision.  But I can say that Senator Anderson would be a great candidate, and would be more than capable of taking out Thaddeus.

McCotter Votes Against Economic Recovery

Today the House voted on the $825 billion economic recovery package.  Following the lead of the rest of the Republican Caucus, Thad took a stand for obstructionism over recovery; for partisanship over unity.

President Obama bent over backwards to accommodate the Republican ideas, donating a significant amount of the package to the Republican gold standard of "OMG TAX CUTZ!!!11!!"  Even after this, not a single Republican was willing to vote for the bill.

If there is one lesson from today, it is that House Republicans are irrelevant.  Even with a completely united Caucus, the House GOP was unable to stop a good bill.

And Thad McCotter had better watch out. If/when the Obama plan puts people back to work, restores confidence and gets the economy rolling again, people are not going to forget that he took a stand against it.  And I'm not going to let 'em.

Thad Loses His Soul

Thaddeus McCotter drew some heat last campaign over his vote against expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program.  Catholics United criticized him immensely for it, and he called the group "the devil" over it.  No, Thad didn't back down, and urged other Republicans to hold firm with him.  For, if the GOP was to be "daunted by the politics of SCHIP," it would most certainly "lose its soul."

Well, after 11 Republican Congressmen who voted against S-CHIP lost their seats in 2008, Thad was daunted by the politics of S-CHIP:  Thad voted in favor of the expansion.

Does that mean that Thaddeus has lost his soul?  Perhaps.  But it seems to me that he's simply exposed himself for the opportunist he is.  Thad knows that he is going to be challenged in 2010, and he is unwilling to give Democrats in the District this issue to run on.  Fair enough.

I still think there's a greater issue to be had.  Do we in the Eleventh want a Congressman who would even consider voting against children's health care?