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    Who are the NERD fund donors Mr Snyder?

    Raise the curtain.

    2012 Michigan Republican Senate Dance Card . . . Thus Far


    By Kevin Rex Heine, Section News
    Posted on Sun Jul 24, 2011 at 08:00:53 PM EST
    Tags: MIGOP 2012 U. S. Senate Nominee, Chad Dewey, Clark Durant, Randy Hekman, Pete Hoekstra, Peter Konetchy, John McCulloch, Rick Wilson, "Dangerously Incompetent" Debbie Stabenow (all tags)

    It's often been said (including frequently on this site) that the real choice in any election is in the primaries.  Once the primaries are over, you're essentially stuck with whoever survives.  And in next year's contest for the Class 1 seats in the U. S. Senate, the Michigan Republican primary election is going to be critical . . . as I've said before, there will be no excuse for sitting on the sidelines and then carping because you don't like who wound up on the top of the ticket.

    Of course, making an informed choice is always useful, and for that we should go below the fold.


    According to the Wikipedia article (which is well and properly sourced), as of this morning the official candidate field for the 2012 Michigan republican senate nomination is as follows (formally declared unless indicated otherwise):

    • Chad Dewey (Midland), businessman and apparently a C4L activist
    • Clark Durant (Detroit), co-founder of the Cornerstone Schools - exploratory committee only as of this writing
    • Randy Hekman (Grand Rapids), former Kent County Probate Court judge
    • Pete Hoekstra (Holland), former U.S. representative (MI-2)
    • Peter Konetchy (Roscommon), businessman
    • John McCulloch (Royal Oak), Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner
    • Rick Wilson (Grand Blanc), retired autoworker and unsuccessful candidate for the 5th district in 2010 - exploratory committee only as of this writing

    Five officially in it and two officially exploring running.  That's not a bad lineup, and with the official filing deadline not until Tuesday, May 8th, 2012, that dance card may yet change.  Seven other names have received some reliable speculation, and could conceivably enter the primary contest at any time between now and then:

    • Jase Bolger, Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives
    • Scotty Boman, Libertarian Party activist and perpetual LP candidate
    • Gary Glenn, tea party activist
    • Tim Leuliette, former Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (Detroit Branch) chairman
    • Stephen Markman, Michigan Supreme Court Justice
    • Al Pease, businessman
    • Rob Steele, cardiothoracic surgeon and unsuccessful challenger to Congressman John Dingell in 2010

    Some of these names make sense in the context of a U. S. Senate primary race; others are either has-beens or never-weres; and still others are head-scratchers, to say the least.  Nevertheless, that's the list as it is now.

    Now, so far as I know, four of the five candidates that are currently running (Chad Dewey being the exception) have already reached out to the Independence Caucus of Michigan with the intention of going through the vetting process.  Given that the Michigan I-Caucus is the PAC that does the vetting and endorsing on behalf of the various members of the Michigan Tea Party Alliance, and given the success rate of the Michigan I-Caucus in the 2010 elections (18 of the 36 endorsed candidates survived their primary races, and 10 of those 18 won their general elections, which amounted to 27% of the I-Caucus success nationwide), that the candidates would already be initiating the vetting process is no small matter.  I'll keep you posted as to how that flushes out.

    As with my article on the republican presidential primary dance card, I included the links to the websites of those candidates who have them for the reason that I consider it a good starting point in any serious research attempt on these candidates.  Find out what they have to say about themselves and what they think the issues are, and then go outward from there.

    And then, share what you know.

    The nice thing about a community blog effort is that we regular contributors have ways to dig up information consistent with our own unique combination of talents.  Thus, RightMichigan is often so much more than the sum of its parts.

    What I'm asking here, of all of us, is that we use this article as an open discussion thread between now and whenever to discuss openly the options laid out before us with regard to the republican primary field for the 2012 U. S. Senate nomination for Michigan.  Yes, I'm specifically asking that those of you who have already posted video or some other commentary to re-post it in the commentary of this article.

    Also, please cast a vote in the poll on the right.  (I've confined it to the names on the list of the official candidate field above, though I'm sure that there's a way to edit the poll options if the official field changes.)  And if you're feeling particularly ambitious, then by all means invite everyone you know to vote in the poll (because you don't have to have an account to actually cast a vote.)

    If it should happen that you support a candidate who isn't currently listed in the poll (such as one of the seven who are currently speculated to run), then by all means feel free to comment and defend accordingly.  On the flip side of that same coin, should anyone have any credible discrediting information regarding a candidate not-yet-in, then present it if you wish.

    And I am specifically inviting everyone who has an account on RightMichigan to feel free to comment on this thread.  Put forward your reasoned and logical opinion of why you think a particular candidate ought to be the nominee.  Yes, you should also offer reasoned rebuke and/or rejection of candidates if you have it, but if all you have to offer is rejection of the whole field, then your opinion isn't going to carry much weight here.  Oh, and as all regulars here ought to know, be prepared to defend your position - whether for or against a particular candidate - because that's just how we roll here.

    As always, anyone posting or commenting to this thread, or any other on this site, is expected to keep it clean and civil.  (It should go without saying that there are consequences for doing otherwise.)

    Me personally, I think that MIGOP ought to plaster this picture on every single available billboard in the state, and keep it there until November 7th, 2012.  At the very least, it'll drive home the point of why Stabenow needs to be replaced.


    < Cap Now CUT Now | Well, that's quite a résumé you've got there. >


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    Display: Sort:
    Chad Dewey: (none / 0) (#1)
    by Kevin Rex Heine on Sun Jul 24, 2011 at 08:03:14 PM EST
    . . . has a Political Stance page and a Proposed Bills page on his campaign website that seem to address current issues from a libertarian philosophy campaign platform (not a bad thing in this case).  I don't think that it's a coincidence that he has an active page at Restore The Constitution, and that he receives considerable mention in Ron Paul related-or-inspired forums.

    Randy Hekman: (none / 0) (#2)
    by Kevin Rex Heine on Sun Jul 24, 2011 at 08:04:30 PM EST
    . . . has a considerable amount of information up on his campaign website, and a couple of campaign videos on his YouTube Channel.  The one below is a 34 second commercial spot:




    Pete Hoekstra: (none / 0) (#3)
    by Kevin Rex Heine on Sun Jul 24, 2011 at 08:06:53 PM EST
    . . . has a campaign website, though there isn't much information on it at present.  He does still have two YouTube channels (his Congressional Office channel and his Gubernatorial Campaign channel).  Pete did give an interview to Newsmax TV last week, and I think that interview is fairly informative:




    Peter Konetchy: (none / 0) (#4)
    by Kevin Rex Heine on Sun Jul 24, 2011 at 08:08:35 PM EST
    . . . provides a rather detailed shredding of Senator Stabenow on his campaign page.  Jason has posted a couple of videos documenting Peter's presentation in Kalkaska last weekend (which I may repost as response comments); below is a four minute piece provided by the Fenton Tea Party:




    John McCulloch: (none / 0) (#5)
    by Kevin Rex Heine on Sun Jul 24, 2011 at 08:13:13 PM EST
    . . . announced his candidacy on the Paul W. Smith Show on WJR.  (I find it just a tad annoying that this show is sponsored by MESSA.)  Not a bad segment on the whole.  If you're going to compete in a statewide race on the republican side of the ticket, then Oakland County isn't a bad place to call home (though I do find it an interesting leap to go from Water Resources Commissioner to U. S. Senator).  However, if I'm to believe the Chicago Tribune article from July 22nd, it seems that Commissioner McCulloch will be pulling out this week.

    Term Limits on Debbie?: (none / 0) (#6)
    by Kevin Rex Heine on Sun Jul 24, 2011 at 08:14:40 PM EST
    . . . at least that's what Article 2, Section 10 of the Michigan Constitution says:

    § 10 Limitations on terms of office of members of the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate from Michigan.

    No person shall be elected to office as representative in the United States House of Representatives more than three times during any twelve year period.  No person shall be elected to office as senator in the United States Senate more than two times during any twenty-four year period.  Any person appointed or elected to fill a vacancy in the United States House of Representatives or the United States Senate for a period greater than one half of a term of such office, shall be considered to have been elected to serve one time in that office for purposes of this section.  This limitation on the number of times a person shall be elected to office shall apply to terms of office beginning on or after January 1, 1993.

    The people of Michigan hereby state their support for the aforementioned term limits for members of the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate and instruct their public officials to use their best efforts to attain such a limit nationwide.

    So it would seem that Debbie the Dangerously Incompetent shouldn't be on the ballot in 2012.  Not sayin', just sayin'.


    I would gladly... (none / 0) (#10)
    by Chazwald on Mon Jul 25, 2011 at 10:58:39 AM EST
    ...plaster that picture of Stabenow!

    • Hmmm by JGillman, 07/25/2011 11:37:52 AM EST (none / 0)
      • Naahhhhhh. by KG One, 07/25/2011 11:40:46 AM EST (none / 0)
      • Hey... by KG One, 07/25/2011 12:23:44 PM EST (none / 0)
        • Thats it. by JGillman, 07/25/2011 12:33:21 PM EST (none / 0)
    Two names to add . . . (none / 0) (#33)
    by Kevin Rex Heine on Thu Aug 04, 2011 at 04:45:29 PM EST
    . . . to this race (and Jason, is there a way to update the poll on the right?):

    Scott Boman (Detroit), who is normally found under the Libertarian Party banner on the ballot, has apparently had an exploratory committee in place since January 28th, 2011.  Should he run, he apparently intends to do so as a Republican.

    Gary Glenn (Midland), who is most assuredly not a tea party activist, but is the Michigan President of the American Family Association (and thus I suppose counts as a conservative activist), officially declared his candidacy earlier today.

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    Poll

    Whom do you support for the Michigan Republican nomination for U. S. Senator in 2012?
    Chad Dewey (Midland)
    Clark Durant (Detroit)
    Randy Hekman (Grand Rapids)
    Pete Hoekstra (Holland)
    Peter Konetchy (Roscommon)
    John McCulloch (Royal Oak)
    Rick Wilson (Grand Blanc)
    none of the above / someone else
    Scott Boman
    Gary Glenn

    Votes: 23
    Results | Other Polls
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