The Senate Candidates

On Aug 8th Michigan voters will vote in a Republican U.S. Senate primary to see who gets to run against Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow this November. The candidates are Michael Bouchard and Keith Butler. According to the Detroit Free Press today 7/05/06, Mr. "Bouchard is a former Beverly Hills police officer and council member who served in the state legislature from 1990-99, when he was appointed sheriff. He has twice been elected to that position."

Mr. "Butler was elected in 1989 to a 4-year term on the Detroit City Council and remains the only Republican to have served on the council in more that half a century. He is the founding pastor of Word of Faith International Christian Church."

As an aside, I would venture to say that if you're wondering why Detroit City is in bad shape, could it be that the Democrats have had almost exclusive control of council for 50 years? In a Detroit News article in its Metro section of June 21st titled "In population, Mich. a loss leader" By John Wisely and Amy Lee, there is a quote by mayoral spokesman James Canning: "For the past 50 years, people have been leaving in large numbers, and we're cutting into that. Our goal is to stabilize, if not add to, the population."

While it is true that Detroit is experiencing a housing growth, most of it in single family homes and downtown lofts, it can't last as long as jobs keep fleeing the state. But to get elected to anything in Detroit you had to be a strong pro-union democrat, which means you had to be anti-corporation. And 50 years of that attitude simply chases jobs out of the state. And that brings us to the job killing policies of most Mich. politicians like Debbie Stabenow.

Personally, if either of these guys beat Sen. Stabenow in Nov. I'll be happy if for no other reason than they both are in favor of drilling in Anwar. Sen. Stabenow voted against Anwar and voted for windfall profits tax on oil companies.

At the moment, I tend to favor Keith Butler because he said the following on immigration. "It's too hard to get into this country, and it takes too long. So that needs to be reformed so that legitimate people-people we want-can get here, and it doesn't take 14 years to do so." I like that position but I needto hear some details.

Do these gentleman have any serious drawbacks? You bet they do.

Mr. Butler: "I'm not for a national health care of the type that you have in Canada. ...I am not for socialized medicine. But as a principle, I believe everyone should have it." Huh?

Mr. Bouchard seems to be in favor of health savings accounts and against socialized medicine whan he says: "National health care with government running it, I think, would be a mess." But then he's in favor of providing affordable and accessible health insurance to small businesses and thaoe concepts usually mean subsidized.

I'll have to hear more from both candidates of course and whoever wins will have an uphill battle as Sen Stabenow will have the union vote. I wouldn't mind getting behind the winner just to get Stabenow out, I think. More to come.