September 2005
Priority Michigan
Right is Wrong
Words of wisdom from the right wing
"We demonstrated that [we could elect a woman] ... so that issue is now accomplished, that record is established." -- Dick DeVos, GOP challenger to Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, on Granholm's election as the first woman governor of Michigan (Petosky News-Review, 8/3/05)
"Women's social rights are not critical to the evolution of democracy." --Reuel Marc Gerecht, fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (Meet the Press, 8/21/05)
"Frankly, I'm also fed up -- not fed up. I retract that. I'm weary, ladies and gentlemen, of even having to express sympathy. ‘Oh, she lost her son!' Yes, yes, yes, but we all lose things." -- Rush Limbaugh, radio talk-show host, on Cindy Sheehan, a peace activist whose son was killed in Iraq (Chicago Sun-Times, 8/18/05)
"I think it's important for me to be thoughtful and sensitive to those who have got something to say, but I think it's also important for me to go on with my life...." -- President George W. Bush, on his decision not to meet with Cindy Sheehan, (Cox News Service, 8/13/05)
"If this [nuclear terrorism] happens in the United States, and we determine that it is the result of extremist, fundamentalist Muslims, you know, you could take out their holy sites."
"I didn't say nuke anything. I just said ‘take out their holy sites.'" -- Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) (AP, 7/19/05; "Hannity & Colmes," FNC, 7/26)
"The radical feminists succeeded in undermining the traditional family and convincing women that professional accomplishments are the key to happiness." -- Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Penn.), It Takes a Family: Conservatism and the Common Good (excerpted in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 7/6/05)
"This is the moment that social conservatives have been awaiting for more than a decade -- a real chance to change the philosophical balance of the Supreme Court." -- Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council (Washington Post, 7/4/05)
Where Red Meets Blue
Of all the battleground states -- where party affiliation is evenly divided and swing voters determine who wins elections -- none is more important to EMILY's List in the 2006 midterm election than Michigan.
Pro-choice Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm and pro-choice Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow both face tough challenges from wealthy, right-wing Republicans. Democrats are just four seats away from a majority in each chamber of the state legislature. Control of the state is essentially up for grabs in 2006 -- and whoever wins will dominate far more than just the state's legislative agenda. The party that wins these contests will have the upper hand in the 2008 presidential contest and in redistricting, the redrawing of congressional boundaries that will take place after the 2010 census.
"The short- and long-term stakes are high," says Ellen R. Malcolm, president of EMILY's List. "Re-electing Jennifer Granholm to the governorship and Debbie Stabenow to the Senate, increasing the Democratic margins in the state legislature, and turning Michigan a deeper shade of blue are EMILY's List's top priorities in 2006. We will use every tool in our political arsenal -- and we'll need every resource we can muster -- to defend these women and strengthen Democrats in this important state."
Defeating Granholm a GOP priority
EMILY's List is not alone in viewing Michigan as critical in 2006. National Republicans have targeted Granholm and Stabenow for defeat, recruiting challengers with an intoxicating blend of wealth, right-wing bona fides, and grassroots organizing potential to put up against these pro-choice Democratic women.
Jennifer Granholm is perhaps the GOP's biggest gubernatorial target in 2006. An effective and popular chief executive, she inherited a $4 billion deficit from her GOP predecessor and a manufacturing-dependent economy desperately in need of revitalization. Granholm set about the task with determination, chipping away at Michigan's deficit while preserving funding for public schools, which are so important to the state's economic health. Granholm has drawn hundreds of millions of foreign investment dollars into Michigan and is working to enact a five-point plan to generate job growth and make Michigan a more attractive place to do business. But key parts of her plan are languishing in the GOP-controlled legislature, which wants to deny her the victory that could secure her a second term -- and boost Democrats in the 2008 presidential election.
Granholm's likely Republican challenger is Dick DeVos, a right-wing GOP insider with enough money to fund a grassroots campaign that could put both pro-choice Democratic women in serious jeopardy. His family, which founded Amway, is worth $3 billion. Dick DeVos has deep Republican ties in Michigan and nationally: he has lavished millions on the national GOP, and his wife, Betsy, served six years as chair of the state party and as a national Republican committeewoman in the 1990s. Among the benefactors of the family's largess are Michigan Right-to-Life, Focus on the Family, and the Family Research Council. The DeVoses gave $2 million to an independent fundraising group to support Bush's re-election in 2004, and in 2000, the couple spent $4.7 million on a losing school voucher initiative in Michigan.
DeVos is far out of step with Michigan on social issues, and his economic leadership is suspect in light of the fact that his company (renamed Alticor) has been laying off Michiganders and creating thousands of jobs in China. But he has a fortune to spend to overcome those negatives.
"My biggest challenge," says Granholm, "is running against a billionaire with unlimited resources to define himself." Top-tier Republican consultants Alex Castellanos (who created attack ads for Jesse Helms) and Matthew Dowd (George W. Bush's former pollster) have already signed up with DeVos. (Dowd, a Michigan native, is working for the billionaire for free.) The state GOP is already running negative radio ads against Granholm, more than one year before the election.
"National Republicans desperately want to install a GOP governor in Michigan before the 2008 presidential election cycle," says Malcolm. "A Democratic leader like Granholm is a huge roadblock on their path to the White House."
Protecting Debbie Stabenow
Debbie Stabenow defeated a GOP incumbent in 2000 despite being outspent nearly two-to-one. But it was a vicious campaign and narrow victory, and in 2006 she faces a GOP eager to turn her into a one-term wonder.
Stabenow is a tough target. As one of 100 U.S. senators and a member of the minority, she does not bear as heavy a burden in voters' minds regarding Michigan's economy. Like Granholm, she possesses tremendous political skills, which she has used to secure critical investments in the state and the third-highest spot in the Democratic leadership. Just as she promised in 2000, Stabenow has fought relentlessly to protect Michigan families.
Republicans have rallied behind Keith Butler, pastor of one of the nation's biggest mega-churches and promoter of the most virulent right-wing causes. In 1989, Butler became the first Republican since World War II to win a seat on the Detroit City Council. In one term, he caught the attention of national Republicans, who are determined to showcase conservative African American leaders to demonstrate diversity. Butler delivered the closing invocation at the 2004 Republican National Convention (he was co-chair of Bush's Michigan campaign) and introduced Newt Gingrich at the 1992 convention. Former GOP congressmen Jack Kemp and J.C. Watts are co-chairing Butler's national finance committee.
Like DeVos, Butler follows the right-wing orthodoxy on choice, civil rights protections for gay Americans, and other social issues. But while Butler's conservative credentials make him an attractive GOP nominee, he faces a political dilemma on affirmative action. The so-called "Michigan Civil Rights Initiative," which would outlaw affirmative action in the state, is likely to be on the 2006 ballot, which would force Butler into the uncomfortable position of either alienating the GOP base or alienating black voters, who are a critical part of the GOP calculus to defeat Democrats in 2006. Butler, who has expressed support for affirmative action in the past, has refused to take a position on the measure, saying he will do so if it gets on the ballot.
Stabenow is focusing on her duties as a senator and tending to her constituents' needs. She never relents in her fight to reduce the cost of prescription drugs, and recently secured $1.23 billion in transportation funds for the state (creating 61,500 new jobs). She's a superb fundraiser, with $3.8 million in the bank as of June 30. But Stabenow's efforts to strengthen ordinary working families have earned her the enmity of corporate special interests -- particularly the pharmaceutical industry -- who will once again spend heavily to defeat her. Like Granholm, Stabenow must raise millions of dollars to compete with a wealthy opponent and a certain onslaught of GOP spending in 2006.
In addition to the challenges inherent in turning out voters in a non-presidential election (when enthusiasm usually flags), Democrats in Michigan face the added burden of competing with Dick DeVos's ‘Amway army" -- a door-to-door sales force that has benefited other Amway-connected Republican politicians in the past.
"Both DeVos and Butler are likely to draw highly motivated evangelical voters to the polls," notes Malcolm, "particularly in Michigan's suburban and exurban areas. To help Stabenow, Granholm, and all Democrats on the ticket in 2006, EMILY's List will conduct a major voter mobilization effort in Michigan through our WOMEN VOTE! project."
Putting Democrats in charge
In 2001, when Republican John Engler was governor of Michigan and Republicans held majorities in the state legislature for the first time in more than 70 years, they completely reversed the party composition of Michigan's congressional delegation by gerrymandering the boundaries of the state's districts. According to the Almanac of American Politics, "There was no pretense of partisanship" in the 2001 redistricting process. As a result, in the 2002 election the state's congressional delegation went from nine Democrats and seven Republicans to nine Republicans and six Democrats (Michigan lost a House seat due to population shifts).
In 2004, with support from EMILY's List's Political Opportunity Program (POP), Democrats gained five seats in the Michigan House. Ensuring Democratic control before the next census will strengthen the party's hand when the new congressional lines are drawn -- and, consequently, strengthen Democrats at the national level.
"The party that controls redistricting after the next census will have a major influence on local and national politics for years to come," says Karen M. White, EMILY's List's national political director. "We have to build on our 2004 gains in Michigan, and we will. We've already identified competitive seats for Democrats to target, and are recruiting pro-choice Democratic women to run and training them to win."
Michigan's term limits law creates a special challenge for POP. "We must work twice as hard to keep the pipeline full," says White, "so that Democratic vacancies created by term limits are filled by qualified pro-choice Democratic women candidates."
Because Michigan is such a high priority for EMILY's List in 2006, POP staff make frequent visits to the state to assess campaigns and help candidates make the most of limited resources. POP staff are also working with Democratic incumbents to ensure that they are raising money and developing realistic strategies to win re-election. POP will conduct three training seminars for legislative candidates during the 2006 election cycle, joining forces with EMILY's List's Campaign Corps for one of those trainings.
"Campaign Corps recruits and trains talented young college graduates to work on progressive campaigns," says White. "The goals of these two EMILY's List programs are synergistic. Working together, POP and Campaign Corps are creating the next generation of pro-choice Democratic leaders."
"We will be fully engaged in Michigan," White says. "We're developing a comprehensive, targeted plan that will encompass every aspect of EMILY's List operations: training, communications, field organizing, fundraising, paid advertising, and direct voter contact. And we're expanding the EMILY's List network to make sure we have enough troops to turn out Democrats on election day. Working together, members of EMILY's List can make sure these women and Democrats up and down the ticket have the resources they need to fight back."
What's Cooking?
Political news from Washington and around the country
For Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-Penn), rubbing elbows with Washington powerbrokers just might rub his moderate constituents the wrong way ... White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove recently headlined a fundraiser for the endangered congressman ... Rove is mired in a legal probe over whether he leaked the name of a covert CIA operative ... in a July ABC poll, 71 percent of Republicans said they think Rove should be fired if he leaked classified information ... Gerlach narrowly won re-election in 2004 against pro-choice Democratic attorney Lois Murphy ... Murphy's gearing up for another run in 2006 ... riding Rove's coattails might not take Gerlach anywhere ... except maybe back to Pennsylvania.
The moderate has left the building ... GOP state Rep. Mark Beaubien dropped out of the race to take on Illinois Rep. Melissa Bean, leaving only extreme anti-choice, right-wing candidates vying for the GOP nomination ... Beaubien refused to endorse any of his erstwhile opponents ... "They really are all philosophically the same," said Beaubien, "And I kind of get beat up by the far right all the time, so I don't see any need to support anyone" ... Beaubien had good things to say about Bean, though ... "She is a very, very, very hard worker," he told the Chicago Sun-Times.
California Rep. Lynn Woolsey's primary challenger, termed-out state Assemblyman Joe Nation, says Woolsey's too liberal for Marin and Sonoma counties ... but it seems like Nation's the one who's out of step with this Bay Area community ... his campaigns have been bankrolled by the insurance and pharmaceutical industries ... and Nation has voted against bills to impose cost controls on health care and promote drug company accountability ... GOPers are watching this race ... if Nation unseats Woolsey or comes close, they could target this seat for takeover in November 2006.
Florida state Senate Minority Leader Les Miller might have problems with women voters in his bid for the 11th congressional district, an open seat ... Democratic women state senators have complained about his lack of leadership on reproductive freedom ... "When it comes to something that women in this caucus care about," state Sen. Gwen Margolis once told Miller, "it's sloughed over as not really important" ... Hillsborough County Commissioner Kathy Castor provides a solidly pro-choice alternative to Miller in this crowded field.
Televangelist and Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson got himself into hot water when he called for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's assassination in August ... but such distinctly un-Christian pronouncements are a Robertson specialty ... let's review some of his greatest hits ... remember The Feminist Agenda? ... "a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism, and become lesbians" ... that old standard, Marriage: "If you get married, you have accepted the headship of a man, your husband" ... a more modern twist, Gay Days: "I don't think I'd be waving those flags in God's face if I were you. ... It'll bring about terrorist bombs, it'll bring earthquakes, tornadoes and possibly a meteor" ... and finally, Robertson's #1 duet with Jerry Falwell, the moving ballad September 11: "the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians ... I point the finger in their face and say ‘you helped this happen.'"
Proxy rematch in play ... in 2000, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) defeated GOP Sen. Slade Gorton by 2,229 votes ... now Gorton's former chief of staff is seeking payback ... Mike McGavick, former CEO of insurance conglomerate Safeco, is a millionaire several times over ... he's well-connected to Republican leaders in Washington state and Washington, D.C. ... Republicans are itching to defeat Cantwell since the 133-vote recount victory of Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire ... Washington is the first state in the nation to have two women senators and a woman governor ... Gregoire, Cantwell, and Sen. Patty Murray were all elected with support from EMILY's List.
Kansas House Speaker Doug Mays, a likely Republican challenger to pro-choice Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, displayed a flair for drama when he compared the Kansas Supreme Court to Saddam Hussein's regime ... Mays was angry at the court for forcing the GOP legislature to adequately fund schools ... Mays represents the far-right flank of Kansas Republicans, who are deeply divided between traditional moderates and right-wingers ... the divide seems to be growing ever wider ... Mark Gietzen, director of the Kansas Coalition for Life, recently criticized state GOP chair Tim Shallenburger for, in Gietzen's words, "singing the praises of the pro-abort Republicans" ... interestingly, Shallenburger, Sebelius's 2002 opponent, has been described as the leader of Kansas's radical anti-choice movement ... advice to GOP: mind that gap.
EMILY's List members exceed Challenge Fund goal
Early money boosts vital political programs
Thanks to generous support from EMILY's List members nationwide, our 2005 Challenge Fund -- which raises early money for vital political programs like Campaign Corps and the EMILY's List Political Opportunity Program (POP) -- exceeded its goal of $1 million, qualifying EMILY's List for an additional $100,000 from an anonymous member! As of the July 30 deadline, members contributed $1,677,429.
As EMILY's List prepares for the 2006 election and helps our POP candidates prepare for off-year elections in November, the Challenge Fund allows us to ramp up our critical political programs even earlier -- putting more pro-choice Democratic women in the pipeline at the state level and training the next generation of political leaders. Thank you for your participation and support!
Candidate Spotlight: Gov. Jennifer Granholm
Gov. Jennifer Granholm of Michigan is being targeted for defeat in 2006 as part of a GOP strategy to turn this marginally blue state red before the 2008 presidential election.
As the state's chief executive, Granholm is working to diversify Michigan's economy, which has historically relied on manufacturing and the automotive industry. Granholm inherited a budget deficit and a troubled state economy from her predecessor. Outsourcing has exacerbated the state's unemployment rate, while the Bush economic agenda has offered little real help to the state's largest employers. The GOP legislature, eager to deny Granholm a victory that could carry her to re-election, is delaying passage of key parts of the economic plan Granholm has proposed to get the state moving.
Granholm's likely GOP challenger is Amway heir Dick DeVos, an extreme conservative whose family is worth $3 billion. Major funders of right-wing causes, the DeVos family has given millions to the Republican Party, Michigan Right-to-Life, Focus on the Family, and the Family Research Council. Dick DeVos has enough money to fund a grassroots campaign that could put both Granholm and Sen. Debbie Stabenow, also on the ballot in 2006, in serious jeopardy.
EMILY's List recently spoke with Granholm about her plan to put Michigan back on the path to prosperity and the re-election challenge she's facing in this perennial presidential battleground state.
What do you see as the biggest challenge facing Michigan today?
We need to restructure the economy to make Michigan more competitive so we can create more jobs. We've put too many eggs in the manufacturing and automotive baskets, and while we want to keep these jobs, we also have to diversify. I've proposed an aggressive, five-point economic plan to get our economy moving.
Number one, I want to completely restructure our business taxes to encourage job providers to locate here.
Second, we can create thousands of jobs by accelerating infrastructure bonds that are already in the works. Putting these plans into action in three years instead of ten will put 40,000 Michiganders to work repairing and upgrading schools, bridges, and nursing homes, and cleaning up hazardous waste sites.
Third, we are teaming up with community colleges to train workers for fields that need workers. There are 90,000 vacancies in the skilled trades and health care fields. We expect to train and place 30,000 workers in these fields within 12 months. We started the project in May, and already we've placed 7,200 workers.
Fourth, we need to educate our workforce and we must make college accessible for everyone. Michigan is in the bottom third of states with respect to adults with college degrees. In the last century, people could come to Michigan and get a good job without a college degree. But today we have to make a paradigm shift; the new economy demands it. I've asked the legislature to guarantee a $4,000 scholarship to every Michigan child who graduates from high school and completes two years at technical or community college or a four-year university. If this plan goes through, Michigan will be first state in nation to guarantee some form of K through 14 funding for all students.
Finally, I've asked legislature to help me invest $2 billion in bonds to develop jobs in manufacturing research and development, life sciences, alternative energy, and clean technology. Michigan put the world on wheels; we should be the state that puts the world in fusion-free fuel cells.
What is your strategy for working with the GOP legislature, particularly in enacting your economic agenda?
Voters elected a Democratic governor and Republican legislature not because they want to see us shoot at each other, but because they want balance and results. I meet regularly with the majority and minority leaders of the House and Senate. Three of the four are term limited in 2006, and I've asked them to think about what they want their legacies to be at this moment of crisis. We have an opportunity to do something more than just party-building; we have an opportunity to leave behind a legacy that will change the state's economic future. We all agree on certain core principles: getting more kids to go to college, restructuring business taxes, and diversifying the economy. As we speak, we are working together well. But there remains a lot of work to be done.
You talk a lot about strengthening Michigan families. What does that mean to you personally?
I grew up in a working-class family. We shopped at garage sales and strung together an awful lot of resources to make ends meet. So I very much know the struggles families are facing. It's a very personal quest for me to help our families be strong by making sure that people have jobs.
How would you describe Michigan politically? Is it a red state or a blue state -- or, as Debbie Stabenow once said, purple?
I think Debbie's description is accurate. We have an unusual blend in our state -- about one-third Republican and one-third Democrats – the remainder consider themselves independent. I like to think that the majority of our citizens are more interested in results than in parties. It's important to me to speak to voters in a real, pragmatic way about where we are as a state, about why conditions are as they are.
This is a great educating moment. Voters in Michigan are smart. They understand that our economy has been 100 years in the making. They are proud that we are the auto capital of the world, but they understand that when the Big Three struggle and auto suppliers struggle, Michigan struggles. Those in the middle are great observers of the political system and that's where the parties must make their best case.
Does the GOP have a long-term strategy for your state, and how does your race fit in?
With past presidential elections turning so closely in a divided nation, one state can make all the difference. And if Republicans can make that state Michigan, they would like nothing more than to turn this state red for that presidential election in 2008.
They've targeted Michigan for good reasons, and they've carefully chosen political opponents for Sen. Stabenow and me. I wouldn't be surprised if their much longer term strategy is to see those candidates on the national stage.
What do you see as the biggest challenge in your re-election campaign? What strengths will you play to?
My biggest challenge is clearly going to be the economy. Michigan has a huge opportunity to change and diversify our economy to grow and add jobs – but real change takes time. Again, I think voters are smart and they understand that...but I also understand that my likely opponent is a billionaire who can spend an unlimited amount of money to distort our progress. There are huge contrasts between us, of course, and there will ample time to talk about them, and that's a good thing. In the end, I think that voters will see that I've always put Michigan's economy and Michigan jobs first.
What are the consequences of this election if you lose?
There would be grave consequences for Michigan, with dramatic changes for our citizens.
For example, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear at least one case that will affect a woman's right to choose. If the Court starts rolling back reproductive rights, governors will become hugely important to protecting reproductive rights. But really the question is: without a Democratic governor can we be sure that we'll have a state that looks out for all of our citizens? Can we be sure that we're taking care of our seniors and looking out for health care for our children and our parents? In the end, do we want a government that's looking out for the interests of citizens or the special interests?
Michigan has two women at the top of the ticket this year, you and Sen. Stabenow. What is your perspective on this unusual situation?
It is a 100 percent advantage to be running with someone as stellar as Debbie Stabenow. All of the work she's doing on the federal level is in synch with the work I am doing at the state level. And running at the same time is a great way to reinforce each others' messages. On top of that, she's a great friend. We are allies and I'm excited to run with her.
Does your family help you fulfill your duties?
Being a parent and a wife is critical to how I look at issues, and I think I'm a better governor for having that perspective. My teenagers are in public high school, so I'm extremely sensitive to the quality of our schools. I'm determined to keep kids safe and protect them from sexual predators, and being a mother surely sharpens that instinct.
When I ran for governor in 2002, I said that you run not in spite of your children but because of them -- because you are a mother and you want to make the world a better place for them and give them opportunity. I want my children to know that there are no holds barred.
My mother didn't give me the visual example -- she was a homemaker -- but she used to tell me to put on my wings and fly, that I could be whatever I wanted. My parents didn't go to college, so my getting an education was very important to them. They have always rooted for me and encouraged me to do whatever I wanted. They are a huge part of my success.
Do you feel a responsibility as a leader to help other women move up? What can EMILY's List members do to encourage more women to run for office?
I feel that elected women ought to be the sherpas on the mountain --lugging the equipment, showing the climbers where all the crannies are, and rejoicing with them when they make it to the top. I think we have a responsibility to show women how to run and support them when they do run.
What would you like to say to the EMILY's List members who have supported your campaign?
It's important for EMILY's List members to know that because they supported a Democratic woman for governor of Michigan, families are able to get prescription drugs 20 percent cheaper, because we've made it a priority. Because they supported a Democratic woman for governor of Michigan, we have been able to preserve priority funding for public education. Because their dollars supported electing a Democratic woman governor in Michigan, senior citizens and people with disabilities and pregnant women and children have health care. Because they supported a Democratic woman for governor of Michigan, we are working to make sure that every single child in the entire state, regardless of their circumstances, can pay for college and get a solid start in life.
Support from EMILY's List members is helping to turn these values into policy. This is how they are able to put feet to their prayers. And I am enormously grateful to them for everything.