Question: Why is Jennifer Granholm unpopular in Michigan?

[Tony_FLADEM]

I'm looking at the Survey USA poll for all 50 Governors and her Disapproval is higher than her approval rating.

[Maddy McCall]

1. I don't know, but I'm thrilled beyond words that Mississippians are...

very unhappy with Haley Barbour. I KNEW he had no chance for reelection. Woooohoooo!!

[4morewars]

2. We are a blue city....

surrounded by a red state. Once one leaves the Detroit metro area, one may as well be in Kansas or Texas. Sure, there are a few blue areas outside the Detroit metro area, but they are few and far between.

[LynneSin]

12. You almost described Pennsylvania

Except we've got 2 blue states(Pittsburgh & Philadelphia) bookending a red state

[noamnety]

3. Her predecessor

pretty much left the state in shambles, and the Bush economy kept us from recovering. Because of the auto industry, when the economy is doing great, Michigan is one of the first to feel it. But when it takes a dive, we also feel that first.

However, in polls against potential republicans rivals, she's kicking ass - so it's not like people are really all that dissatisfied with her.

[NEOBuckeye]

5. A Republican has no answers for a state in economic turmoil.

Trust me. I live in Ohio. I'd give anything to have a Democrat with even an ounce of a plan and vision in our Governor's Mansion here. Gov. Taft has twiddled his thumbs while Ohio has crumbled and faded far away from the industrial powerhouse it once was.

Republicans have no vision and no answers for our future.

[tokenlib]

4. Higher fees instead of higher taxes..

All the bitching and whining I hear is beacause of higher trailer registration fees and similar. To avoid raising taxes--many fees got raised--and it irritates the hell out of a lot of sportsmen types.

You can explain to the critics that Engler left an economic shit-pile, and that Granholm has to work with a repuke legislature that refuses to raise taxes but agrees to fee increases---and they still don't get it.

[zoids]

13. Fees...

Are just a way for a politician to say they didn't raise taxes... placating the RW.

[fujiyama]

6. Her approval rating at this time

may not be very high, but I have little reason to worry about her being reelected.

As others stated Englar left a mess. She's doing the best she can with a repuke dominated legislature (though there is a small chance Dems can take back one or both houses).

[greenman3610]

7. hard to understand

I saw her recently, and she is a rockstar.
She polls really well in one on one matches with the
likely challengers.
People in MI are generally pissed off with the
jobs and economy situations, and that
translates into dissatisfaction, I'm sure.

[Hello_Kitty]

8. If they don't like her in MI, we'll take her on a national ticket! n/t

[tritsofme]

9. She is not a natural born citizen IIRC

So she is not eligible to be POTUS or VPOTUS.

[Blue_In_AK]

10. Wow, Alaska's governor has the second lowest approval

rating in the country, beat out only by Taft in Ohio. Pretty odd for a Republican in this supposedly red state to have only a 31% approval rating. Hmm......

[Moosepoop]

11. Smokers are the ones who disapprove

Granholm raised the cigarette tax substantially, as well as made it illegal to bring so much as a pack of cigs across the state line from other, cheaper states.
I live right above the border to Indiana, and I work at a cigarette/tobacco store 5 miles into IN. A huge number of our customers are from Michigan, coming a few miles south to beat the cigarette tax. I've heard more complaints (bordering on hatred) about Granholm from them regarding the high cost of cigarettes than I have heard about any other issue from Michiganders combined. Of course, my job puts me in the position of hearing that specific complaint.

I'm a smoker too, but I do see the need for Granholm to have had to take drastic measures to fix the mess Engler left her with. At least she's TRYING to balance the budget, even if it does hit some people more than others (myself included).
The first thing Granholm did on taking office was to cut her own pay in half, on the grounds that if she were going to have to cut a lot of things for other people, she was going to start with herself.
I give her a lot of credit for that.

Edited to say that I meant to reply to the OP.

[noonwitch]

16. I'm a Michigan smoker, but I don't hate her

I don't like the pay cut and all, but I don't see that as her fault. Engler gave away the treasury to all his friends before leaving office.
Richard DeVos is one scary loose cannon. If he is elected Governor, the state will be in the hands of a christian dominionist who made his fortune from a pyramid scam. It is very important for democrats to run ads that show the manipulative and fraudulent practices of Amway/Alticor to make sure that voters connect him with that business.

[KharmaTrain]

14. Tough Choices...We Have A Similar Problem In Illinois

Thanks to Bunnypants tax giveaway to the rich...the less taxes they had to pay to Federal, the less money states received. Also with the outsourcing and recession/depression in many areas, tax bases dried up. Surpluses that were spent like they were going to go on forever in the 90's turned quickly into huge defecits with even more bills coming due.

A lot of this "creative financing" was done under Repugnicans, but it's the Democrats who have to pick up the mess. Be prepared, folks, this is similar to the mess we'll face when Democrats win back the House, Senate and White House...we'll have a ton of debris to sort through and a lot of tough choices will have to be made.

In Illinois, education (no child left) funding took a major hit. The Democratic Governor, Blago, has pissed off a lot of Democrats with how he's handled this crisis and has alienated others with other cuts/choices he's made. I see Granholm in a similar situation.

To steal a Jesse Jackson chestnut..."when Washington gets a cold, every state capitol sneezes"

[msrbly]

15. It's a little more complicated than the polls reveal

Detroit is blue and most of the rest of the state is red (with some exceptions). Jennifer Granholm had to take over the reins from Fat John Engler who drove the state into the ground. She's had an uphill battle. I think some of the republicans are blaming her for a mess that is not her fault. She is a fantastic governor, a very inspirational and powerful woman and an excellent politician.

[pstokely]

17. most of the people polled probably live outside Detroit