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I would bet that very few of the people reading this know their U.S. House or Senate members. Significantly more of us know our members of the Michigan Legislature. Still more of us know, often personally, our City and County Commissioners. The title of this blog is a variation of an old saying that says “All politics is local”. The phrase dates back to the early 1930s and was used regularly by Speaker of the House, Tip O’Neill. It is perfect for this week’s blog entry. Since this is my last posting before the election, I thought I would make it light in a heavy sort of way. What follows are a few recommendations for candidates and the 3 proposals that are on Tuesdays’ midterm ballot.

A lot of Democrats are repeatedly stating that democracy is on the ballot this year. As someone who has already voted, I can tell you for certain it is not. Because I was told it was on the ballot I checked, double checked, then triple checked. There wasn’t a single box that asked for me to vote for or against democracy. What follows are a few of the issues we are being asked to decide, and how I cast my ballot.

Let’s start as local as we can get. Never before has it been more important for us to spend time researching school board candidates. We must spend the time necessary to discover which candidates are committed to protecting our children and supporting parental consent and involvement in our local schools. Because my blog is read by people all over the state it is impossible to list each candidate. Therefore, I am going to suggest you check out local websites like StandUp (the name of your school), We the County, or My Faith Vote, to find those parents who are running to make a change locally. Staying on the educational theme, it is counter productive to elect the proper school board members, then not support them at the state level. Right now the State Board of Education (SBOE) is home to 6 Democrats and 2 Republicans. When the SBOE issues “guidance” it is followed almost slavishly by cowardly school administrators. The attorneys advising schools warn that to go against that “guidance” will result in unwinnable law suits. There are not enough school administrators with the courage to do what is right in the face of such advice. It is their “guidance” that led to boys on girl’s athletic teams, and in girl’s locker rooms. Their “guidance” cleared the way for the teaching of Critical Race Theory, the teaching of the 1619 history curriculum, and sexually explicit reading material in our children’s libraries. There are only 2 candidates committed to putting an end to this lunacy and in giving parents a say in what happens in their children’s schools. Those 2 candidates are Tamara Carlone and Linda Lee Tarver. If elected, the SBOE will be comprised of 4 Democrats and 4 Republicans.

I am also asking you to vote for Dave Morgan to be our representative in District 44 of the Michigan House of Representatives. There are multiple reasons I voted for him. First, I have known Dave for a long time. He is honest, hard working, and has a long resume of quality public service. Dave served in the U.S. Air Force and served as part of President George Bush’s security patrol. He spent years coaching kids in many of our local school districts. Dave was the Founder of a couple very important organizations. The first was Wishes on Wheels, an organization in Southern California that worked in conjunction with Make a Wish Foundation to help terminally ill children fulfill a last wish if it involved trains. Dave is the Founder and Chairman of the local Calhoun County Red, White, and Blue, Foundation. It is a fantastic organization that honors pre-military and post-military personnel. It conducts important events for veterans and their families as well as high school grads entering the military and/or military academies and their families. Dave is a good listener, is readily available to constituents, and is devoted to his community. Second, in the awful event that Gretchen Whitmer is reelected, we will need as many Republicans as possible to override her vetoes of common sense legislation. Please join me in voting for Dave Morgan and send him to Lansing as our Representative in District 44.

As for the proposals, I have read and reread each of them. For different reasons I voted no on all of them. I am least concerned about Prop. 1. I am strongly in favor of term limits. The proposal only benefits politicians. It does nothing to help the people of Michigan. Therefore I voted NO. Prop. 2 is considerably more concerning. I’ll list just 3 of the reasons I voted NO on Prop.2. 1. The proposal will make it easier to vote without ID. People without ID will be asked to sign an affidavit saying they are who they say they are. Few, if any, are ever checked. The proposal would remove existing law that requires photo ID. 2. It would legalize third party funding of our elections. In 2020, a single third party put $400 million dollars, $20 million in Michigan, into the election to influence it. Since 2020, 24 states have passed laws making third party funding illegal. The Michigan Legislature put forth a similar Bill that was vetoed by Whitmer. (See my second reason above for voting for Dave Morgan). 3. The proposal will mandate that only the Secretary of State (SOS) can conduct post election audits. Because of that, proposal 2 will reduce voting integrity and make it easier to cheat. Remember is was our SOS who unilaterally sent mail in ballots to EVERY registered Michiganian, whether they wanted one or not. For these and other reasons I voted NO on Prop. 2. Prop. 3 was the easiest for me to make a decision. I only needed to read it once. If you think that parents are better equipped to make decisions for their children than the government you must vote NO. I am not going to bore you with more rhetoric. If you are open minded, and undecided, I urge you to go to my blog titled: What you need to know before voting on Prop 3. You can find it by scrolling down on this page. I voted a resounding NO on Prop. 3.

Just a few sentences on a couple of other candidates. Again, I just posted a blog titled: We don’t know much about Tudor Dixon. We know too much about Gretchen Whitmer. Gretchen Whitmer has punished the people of this great state for 4 years. She has done nothing to deserve reelection. I voted for Tudor Dixon.

I have had the opportunity to meet and talk with Secretary of State candidate Kristina Karamo. She is a bright, articulate, and driven candidate. This decision was another easy one for me. Her opponent’s unilateral decision to send mail in ballot applications to every registered Michiganian created the doubts surrounding our last election. She fights the Courts, existing election law, and steadfastly refuses to clean up Michigan’s voter rolls. We deserve better. I voted for Kristina Karamo.

I am not enamored with either candidate for Attorney General. I am familiar with both of them. One of the deciding factors for me was when the left leaning Detroit News said they couldn’t endorse Attorney General Dana Nessel for reelection. That was truly astonishing. I believe that, if we are to increase election integrity Matt DePerno is the best choice.

Please take the time to research the candidates and the issues. Democracy is NOT on the ballot but election integrity is. If citizens can’t trust that elections are legitimate then nothing else matters. If election integrity is important to you then you must vote no on Prop. 2, and for Tudor Dixon, Kristina Karamo, and Matt DePerno. Please find the State Board of Education section on the ballot. It is critical that we elect Tamara Carlone and Linda Lee Tarver. Please write their names on a piece of paper and take it with you when you go to vote.

I hope this is helpful to any of you who are undecided. Please don’t be hypnotized by all of the talk about a “red wave”. Those of us who are unhappy about the direction our country is heading and concerned about the future of our children and grandchildren must show up and vote on Tuesday, Nov. 8th.

Please share with your undecided friends. Thank you for taking the time to read my posts. Bob