I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
[COMMENTARY] Some members of the Congressional Black Caucus are not pleased with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) for what they consider unfair targeting of caucus members who had a good voting record with labor.
The catalyst for this frustration came last week, when lawyer and community activist Donna Edwards bested eight-term Rep. Albert Wynn in Maryland’s 4th Congressional District Democratic primary.
Roll Call reports that “anti-Wynn ads paid for by SEIU’s Committee on Political Education blanketed local airwaves in the final weeks before Tuesday’s primary. SEIU-COPE reported spending at least $875,000 to communicate to voters in Maryland’s 4th District on Edwards’ behalf, with the bulk of that going for television advertising.”
This race took on national significance as people all over the country saw it as a contest between electing a true progressive Democrat in Edwards versus electing an incumbent more beholden to special interests in Wynn. (Wynn voted in 2002 to give President Bush authorization for the war in Iraq, and voted for the pro-business bankruptcy bill of 2005.) Edwards took in over $400,000 from online donors.
Continued -Roll Call reports that “CBC Chairwoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-Mich.) plans to reach out to SEIU President Andrew Stern and request a meeting to discuss caucus members’ concerns.”
Congresswoman Kilpatrick’s office had no comment for this article. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) told Roll Call that among himself and other caucus members “there was palpable anger within the group over Wynn’s treatment. He said members believe the lawmaker did not have an anti-labor voting record and they are perplexed as to why he was so aggressively targeted.”
“The Black Caucus members are very upset,” Cummings said last week. “I’m very upset. I think my fellow members think he didn’t deserve that.”
The caucus members who are upset at the union are using flawed logic, however. Union spokeswoman Stephanie Mueller said the decision to back Edwards was based on a combination of factors, including the incumbent’s overall voting record, not solely his votes on labor issues.
Caucus members who are solely interested in their voting records should count themselves vulnerable in this election cycle. Why would progressive organizations settle on supporting a candidate who voted the right way when they can get someone they think will not only vote their way but will also be a champion for their issues?
Cummings’ statement regarding Wynn not deserving to be targeted by the SEIU should serve as a warning to all caucus incumbents that unless they find themselves being a champion for issues, there will be more people like Donna Edwards prepared to change the status quo.
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