Mich. Sen Debbie Stabenow's biography (wish we had more like her)

[PeaceProgProsp]

I just read this in a glossy regional magazine (Detroit Hours?). This is from memory, so I might have a few small details wrong...

Stabenow was from a working class family. She went to Michigan State where she played folk guitar at coffee houses on the weekends. After college, she got married and embarked on an MSW degree. Two years later, while working on her degree, she found out that the county she lived in was going to cut the funding for the home her (grandmother?) was living in. She ran for election to the control board and won. Next, she ran for something bigger (state rep?), against a guy whom her huband unsuccessfully ran against a few years earlier. She won. Then she went on to the state senate. After a couple terms, I think it said she worked her way up to speaker and then became a clear favorite for governor. She lost in the primary, which was a major upset at the time. However, the guy who won, although running a terrible campaign, never would have beaten John Engler, the Republican candidate, that year, and neither would Stabenow have beat him. So it was a lucky break somehow -- can't remember -- she got to keep her state senate seat? -- and she was alive for the US senate race when it came up, which she won.

Somewhere in there she got divorced, and only got remarried recently. So, she was hippy social worker from a working class background who got into politics because of a serious threat to the well-being of a vulnerable, ordinary person, and she was a single mother, and she has gone straight to almost the top of American politics and is a member of what is probably the most clubby, wealthy and elite body of legislators in the history of the world outside of British House of Lords.

That is a great story. We need more of politicians like Stabenow.

[bif]

1. Debbie's great

makes me proud to be a Michiganian.

[PeaceProgProsp]

2. This biography is very similar to Lynn Rivers's

It must be something in the water in Michigan. I hope that Lynn Rivers makes a come-back.

[RoeBear]

3. She beat Spence Abraham...

...an incumbent to get her current Senate seat. An even bigger feat, but then Spence was/is a big weenie.

[PeaceProgProsp]

4. I bet she got Emily's List money and assistance in that race.

[LynneSin]

14. No need to bet on that one

Debbie Stabenow was a favorite of Emily's List. I'd love to see Debbie's name in for consideration for Vice President. I think she's a doll!

[LisaM]

5. She might have been on the Lansing City Council

or maybe the Ingham County Commission? I remember when she first burst on the scene. Everyone like her from the start.

I think she lost the gubernatorial primary to Fieger, Dr. Kervorkian's attorney. While he may have made a perfectly good governor (if allowed to govern) he had that stigma, as well as being a know grandstander. Kind of the Jerry Springer syndrome.

It's terrible about Lynn Rivers, but I think she'll stage a comeback.

[PeaceProgProsp]

6. Ingham County Commision rings the bell. Lansing doesn't.

However, Fieger doesn't ring the bell as the primary opposition. But I don't know if that name would have.

The article definitely called that person's campaign 'inept'.

Just to repeat for emphasis, this should be the biography of EVERY politician.

[UrbScotty]

8. To clear things up...

Howard Wolpe was the Democratic nominee in 1994, while Fieger was the nominee in 1998.

[UrbScotty]

7. She was also elected to the House in 1996

She served two terms there before beating $pence.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

9. Inspiring.

Here is her biography from her Senate website:
http://stabenow.senate.gov/biography.htm

Hmm, if John Edwards can run for President as a freshman Senator, why not Stabenow for Veep? It's a long time since 1984...

[dofus]

10. You also have a fabulous governor.

Too bad she wasn't born here. She'd make a great president.

We flew to Detroit back in August, the morning of the big blackout. As we drove to our hotel from the airport (not even knowing if they'd have electricity there and we'd be able to check in) we listened to the press conference she was having, explaining how they were dealing with the crisis. She was amazing.

We pulled up to the hotel literally as their electricity came back on, and had a good trip.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

13. Not born in US? too bad... so much for the Veep spot

[UrbScotty]

16. Let's petition our Congress(wo)men to propose a Constitutional Amendment!

Now, it would need 290 Representatives, 67 Senators, and 38 states to approve, but it's happened 27 times before!

[goobergunch]

17. Hatch is already supporting this

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c108:S.J.RES.15:

And :thumbsup: :thumbsup: to Sen. Stabenow!

[Feanorcurufinwe]

18. Can you say... President Ah-nold? No thanks

[AP]

11. Why is Michigan electing such good Democrats? Is there a lesson...

...that the national party can learn from Michigan?

Any insights, Michiganders?

Is it the gender thing? Is there a race component (is Michigan one of the few states in the north in which black Democrats play a significant, powerful role in the party?). Is it shifting demographics?

What's going on in Michigan which has resluted in the election of Stabenow and Granholm after years of Republican domination? Aren't there lots of NRA types and fundies there?

[UrbScotty]

15. Well, that plus labor plus education.

Those are the reasons why we are trending Democratic in the Great (Lakes) State of Michigan. Of course, trending Democratic is one thing, electing good Democrats is another. Why we elect such good Democrats, I don't know. Maybe it's just coincidence.

[AP]

20. I'll buy the education -- Michigan must

dump a ton of money into giving Michiganders a great education at the UofM (although they probably screw over Flint and Dearborn to do that), and those classes are really large too. And they make an effort to get kids from all classes and races in there, and not just the college, but all the great graduate programs. Furthermore, MSU is no slouch either.

Michigan is probably an excellent example of why the Republicans want to destroy public educaton -- you give middle and working class kids a great education, they get wealthy and politically powerful and smart and they vote Democratic.

As for labor, labor has been stronger in the past than it is now, and the Republicans have figured out ways to contain it right?

[Upfront]

19. One Big Thing

Debbie is a country girl raised in Clare Mi. It is a fairly small country town. Hunting is big in Clare and Michigan. Debbie had hunted as a young person and her whole family did. So did almost everyone else in out state Mi. She was good on the gun issue, much as Dean is now. She won, after being out spent badly by the Rethugs. It was a hard fight in which the rethugs tried every dirty trick they could come up with. Granholm our new Governer is great, and she to was right on guns. She selected as Lt. Governer a State Sen. who had a trap shoot as his big fund raiser every year, plus years of experince in the Sen. His name is Don Cherry and he packs the gear to go far. It has been along time sense the Democrats have got right on the gun issue in our state. So we lost lots of elections. Gov. Granholm and Sen. Stabenow changed that and they won. We also have Levin and he is an icon who will be in office as long as he wants to. If you haven't listened to Granholm give an inportant speach you need to do so. She will knock your socks off, she is so good. Little Debbie can put the hurt on the rethugs also, and in a very class, nice way. We Democrats in Michigan are proud to have all of these people working for us and the nation.

[AP]

21. It's all about gun safety not gun control.

I once wrote here that if I were running as Democrat in a state where they care about guns, I go out and learn how to shoot skeets or something like that.

[UrbScotty]

22. Absolutely. Levin, Stabenow, Granholm, Cherry, Dingell, Conyers

What a lineup we Michigan Democrats have.

As a side note, I think it's been about 40 years since Michigan last had two Republican Senators. We had two Democrats (Levin and, was it Don Riegle? I know Hart died before Levin was elected) for a while, and we have two Dems now.

BTW, it's John Cherry, not Don Cherry. But hey, our Lieutenant Governor by any other name would do just as good, right?

[Upfront]

23. Darn, Your Right

I knew that, sorry John.

[Michigander4Dean]

24. And don't forget about Kildee!

And Dean! Whoops, wrong state!

[JohnKleeb]

12. nice story Debbie Stabenow

:thumbsup: from a person who supports a humble and a candiate who grew up in humble circumstances.