Wednesday, June 06, 2007

"Michigan's Clintons"



Tom Walsh hits the nail on the head, and he doesn't even know it.



Walsh reports that the gossip making the rounds at the parties was that Mulhern was pulling the strings behind the scenes.



Last week on Mackinac Island at the Detroit Regional Chamber's annual schmoozefest, the pundits were making sport of the governor's failure to engineer a budget-tax deal.



WJR-AM (760) talk show host Paul W. Smith was referring to Granholm and Mulhern as "Michigan's Clintons" -- repeating, he said, buzz that was making the rounds on the island that Mulhern might run for governor when his term-limited wife leaves office.



The gossip vine also included a story line that Granholm reneged on a bipartisan budget deal last month, changing her mind at home under the influence of a Rasputin-like Mulhern pulling her puppet strings.



Mulhern said this week that such gossip is clearly "somewhat sexist" -- in other words, would people be jumping to the same conclusion about a male Michigan governor being manipulated by a spouse?



They might, Dan. If you recall, we have seen this movie before. You are Hillary in this scenario. Don't laugh; it's true.



The media is finally catching on to the game, slowly but surely.



His name was Bill, the Republicans threw everything but a book at him, using both personal attacks on him, his wife, and frivolous legal investigations, in an attempt to undermine his leadership.



In a way, it worked. When all was said and done, we got George Bush. There was a lot more that went into it, of course, but the constant drumbeat of negative on Clinton, and Hillary too, took it's toll.



We are seeing the same thing happen here. The Republicans mouthpieces, namely Mike Bishop, Saul Anuzis, and Nolan Finley of the Detroit News, are constantly attacking Granholm in a game called, "Take Out the Leader".



It's working. "Lack of leadership" is the new standard talking point. If Walsh is right about the chatterfest at Mackinac, that proves it.



After months of nasty, daily attacks on Granholm, the Detroit News finally crossed the line when they attributed a quote to Andy Dillon that was actually uttered by Mike Bishop. The News loves Dillon; he and Bishop are BFF, and they frequently cite Andy as proof positive that this is all "Granholm's fault".



Dillon finally says something. Maybe all the other times he basked in the bipartisan praise, figuring that might enhance his chances for future aspirations. You have to question why it took so long for him to stand up. (Of course, you always have to question why it takes the Democrats so long to stand up for anything, but that is book waiting to be written.)



Was that of his own volition, or did this have something to do with it?



A major error in a Sunday column - that incorrectly cited House Speaker Andy Dillon (D-Redford Twp.) leveling leadership criticisms of Governor Jennifer Granholm that were actually made by Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop (R-Rochester) - has sparked a call from the administration to the Detroit News to conduct an internal review of the column and standards used on the paper's editorial page.



Something tells me that the Guv has had just about enough of this shit, thank you very much, and took matters into her own hands.



Like Clinton before, the Democrats have spent their time worrying about their own future rather than attending to the events of today, and the events of today are undermining any kind of future they might have. Bishop is constantly attacking the governor in a personal way, as is Anuzis. The focus is turned on Granholm, and the Republicans play "run out on the clock" on the real issues.



Time for the Democrats to stand up for their leader, and for themselves. When they start taking a proactive stance, perhaps the public will be impressed.



Until then, this continuous drumbeat of negative press from the Republicans can and will take the toll here in Michigan, and hello Governor DeVos in 2010.



Didn't we learn our lesson with Bill?