Mark Brewer needs to go..

[butterfly77]

we had no ground game anywhere that was up to snuff...

[SharonRB]

1. Amen to that

I said it before the election, and I'm saying it louder now. To lose every single statewide race, the state House and the state Sentate are unforgiveable. The most shocking to me was to lose both Supreme Court seats. That one is going to haunt us for a long, long time.

[maddogesq]

3. Woo, I feel better now that I know I am not alone.

I dunno who the replacement should be, but this needs to be done SOON!

[butterfly77]

5. I just found out about ...

the supreme court seats a few hours ago. I was so disgusted with what I saw I didn't want to see the final results of the house and state seats..

I had been trying to send emails to the MDP before the election and they kept coming back,which I took as them trying to block us out when they needed all the help they could get. Brewer needed to go a long,long time ago.

[1gobluedem]

2. Agree 100%

Who should replace him?

[butterfly77]

4. I don't know yet ...

but I am looking...

[GigiMommy]

6. Absolutely!!!!!

Time to PURGE!!!

[blue_onyx]

7. I think it's time for someone new

There were some mistakes. For example, relying on the "outsourced jobs to China" when it clearly wasn't connecting with voters.

It wasn't all his fault though. There were some weak candidates and it was a Republican year. The losses were much larger than should have happened.

[dmr]

8. I've been saying we need to clean up after the primary fiasco in '08.

Talk about being angry. Big waste of a primary, and all the time, effort & money it cost. It was almost as if we were purposely set up to fail.

I am just sick about going red.

[JNelson6563]

9. Sorry but 08 was Jen's doing.

Poor Jen but all her chips on one horse, how'd that work for you Jen? Got your DC office digs all picked out? Oh, wait...nevermind.

That was shameful and she's to blame friends. Yes, Brewer has his faults but let's remember who truly screwed us in the 04 primaries.

Julie

[PassingFair]

12. Brewer had to go out there and SELL it for her (and Levin).

Personally, I felt sorry for him, and thought he
handled a TERRIBLE situation with humor and grace.

I don't blame Brewer for this.

He has been nothing but honest whenever I've
had the opportunity to ask him questions.

[butterfly77]

17. I do..

where in the hell was the ground game. A lot of people told me they didn't really know there was an election coming up and that is his job to get people out there and to get out our message. Time for new blood and Conyers needs to go too..

[blue_onyx]

13. Nope

It wasn't all her. Michigan had been talking about moving up for years. If Dean had the backbone to stand up to NH And Iowa, maybe we wouldn't have had the problems we did in 2008.

[dmr]

15. Didn't know this. I had just returned home to Michigan

and wasn't sure who was behind this. All I knew is I was angry and confused.

I lived in Florida about 20 years & talk about insane politics! They throw bananas at Miami's city hall after elections! The dead vote down there - literally and politicians who want to be on the city or county council make up home addresses just to qualify to run in an opened district. Why, yes, that shed in the middle of the field is my home. Or, why yes, I live in a room at my nanny's house while my husband and children live in Kendall. Loved buying the Miami Herald each morning ... almost a scandal a day!
:rofl:
Anyway, I'm still trying to learn Michigan politics.

[butterfly77]

16. Engler had so many things

tied up when she got there that she couldn't do what she wanted..

[JNelson6563]

10. Who do you have in mind?

Better make sure they have a lot of friends in the MDP. Also, better make sure labor is behind their candidacy or you can just forget it.

Julie

[maddogesq]

11. Today's Free Press.

Article said that GOP takeover came with only 45% of eligible voters showing up. In other words, way too many Democrats stayed home. I’m sorry, but that falls in Brewer's lap like a pot of hot coffee.

Everyone we were calling for in the Farmington Hills office (Peters, Barnett, Nash and Schwartz) won re-election except Schwartz. Poor Steve was beaten by only 593 votes by that crook Dwyer for County Commission 14. That race breaks my heart more than loosing the U.S. House. I bring up our successes at GOTV because that’s were I think the MDP leadership failed. That fucked up primary with lil’ Crybaby Andy didn’t help either.

[blue_onyx]

14. Yes, Dems stayed home

I did the numbers myself and about 566,000 fewer people voted for governor this year compared to 2006. About 123,000 fewer votes came from Wayne county.

It wasn't all Brewer's fault though. Bernero was a pretty weak candidate and that probably hurt down ticket.

[butterfly77]

18. What I see in the Democratic party as a whole is..

a bunch of old foggies who are living in the past and are fighting a party who wants to keep us in the past. We need to fight in different ways how could we be losing with all of the nonsense the other side throws out.

The leadership keeps fighting on the issues that aren't as important for a majority of people they stay on it instead of just getting on with passing one thing of or the other that Dems are supposedly agreeing on they let those issues take up a whole cycle.

[cyclezealot]

28. The press pushed Snyder all along

We all liked Bernero in 09 when he spoke up in support of the auto bail out. He was a fighter for working people everywhere. His You tube hits were astronomical as America's angry mayor.. Little Democrats could have done to improve the situation in 2010. Like Dillon would have been the better choice with his pandering to Snyder.. I predict Bernero will one day soon be resurected . GE just announced it will invest 2 billion into the economy - China's.. His theme of Fair Trade will some day soon be a popular cause. Because it is the hear of Michigan's problem.. Particularly after the Republicans don't deliver on the jobs front. Nothing will, until trade laws are changed... . I predict Bernero might be the perfect candidate to replace Carl Levin..

[blue_onyx]

29. Of course...

Dillon would have been worse. That doesn't change the fact that Bernero performed poorly. He did about the same as Geoffrey Fieger. I think Bernero is done as far as state-wide office goes. Maybe he can run against Mike Rogers...depending on how the districts are redesigned. Also, fair trade isn't Bernero's theme. It's something most Dems from Michigan advocate.

[cyclezealot]

30. Politicians are constantly being re-made.

All it takes is a new speech writer.. With 2 more years of job losses helped along by the New Repuke Congress' Free Trade plans with Colombia and Korea , the message of Bernero could well resonate in the near future... Who else do you want to replace Carl Levin.. Andy Dillon.?

[blue_onyx]

31. No

My first choice would probably be Gov. Granholm. Gretchen Whitmer would be a good choice but I would prefer her run for governor. Once again, you won't hear me say anything positive about Dillon. I'm not really sure why you keep going back to the idea that I must like Dillon becuase I thought Bernero was a weak candidate.

[butterfly77]

34. Hell,no!

I was mad as hell when I found out he was on Snyder's team, he was angry when he lost because we who did vote knew he was a republicon he was working with Snyder all along just like a lot of these so called Dems.

Black republicons were all over black radio the day after the election boasting about what they were going to do and how everyone may as well go along with it,there were republicons on all stations that day even progressive radio.The bluedogs/republicons were bragging about how they could now do what they wanted...

[butterfly77]

32. Everything being revealed..

I kept telling my friends and family that Andy Dillion was republicon...Fake lying bastard along with the rest of the so called leadership in Lansing..

[mstinamotorcity]

19. Mark Brewer is an embarrassment to Michigan!!!!

He has a fucked up ground game. He cannot connect with today's voter.They were mad because Andy Dillon didn't get the Michigan Nomination for Governor. They felt he was more pragmatic. Thats what this Bullshit is about. Virg Benero was for unions and the working man. Never a good platform when union busting is in effect. And white collar professionals feeling as they are being ignored. Most of them don't understand the need for unions. They don't need or use them.

Brewer is showing his non-inclusive factors. He has not kept his democratic electorate engaged. That is in my opinion is a loss like what was just put on our ass. Even if the proper candidate is not what he personally wanted it is who won the nomination. And deserved our support. And if he wasn't up for the job then that is what the ballot box is for. The poll numbers should not influence the vote, the bodies showing up to the polls is what counts. Brewer was supposed to make sure there were enough voters to out weigh the poll numbers for victory!!!!!

[butterfly77]

20. Exactly...

Especially about Andy Dillion..

[PassingFair]

21. "Today's Voter" despised Andy Dillon.

You may be right about "today's voter" being anti-union.
Just because they "don't understand the need for unions"
doesn't mean we should placate them by running a candidate
who only cares about the investment returns of the leisure class.

It is the Democrats FUNCTION to stand for the working man.

The day the Democrats stop working for the working class is
the day I stop being a Democrat.

Michigan was swept up in a RED TIDE this cycle. It wasn't just
Bernero. If we had run Dillon, or JESUS for that matter, the
results would have been the same.

"Brewer was supposed to make sure there were enough voters to out weigh the poll numbers for victory!!!!!"

Is it Brewer's fault that we lost the House in DC, too?

[blue_onyx]

22. I disagree

that the election results would have been the same no matter who was the nominee. Bernero didn't excite the base which is why both Leyton and Benson out performed him. Snyder didn't have a real plan but neither did Bernero which made it difficult to criticizes Snyder for the lack of detail on what he would do as governor. Dillon wouldn't have done any better but I can think of several candidates that would've been stronger candidates.


"Is it Brewer's fault that we lost the House in DC, too?"

Are you going to overlook Brewer's mistakes because Dems did poorly in other places too?

[PassingFair]

23. Are you going to over look the fact that Leyton and Benson lost too?

Plus, we usually disagree.

:hi:

On edit, and just out of curiosity:

Who are the stronger candidates that would have done better, in your opinion?

[blue_onyx]

24. Yes they lost...

in part because the top of ticket was dragging down Democratic support. If Bernero had inspired more Democrats to show up to the polls, Benson and Leyton would've done better too. One of Brewer's mistakes was not shifting money from Bernero to Benson. In early October, it was clear Snyder would win and the MDP should have focused on races that were more winnable. If Benson had a little more money and had been on the air a week or so sooner, she probably would've won.

There were numerous people mentioned as possibilities that would have been stronger: Dan Kildee, John Cherry, Dennis Archer, Jim Blanchard, and Debbie Stabenow. Hell...even Gov, Granholm would've done better if she weren't term-limited. Bernero did about the same as Geoffrey Fieger (who got 38%) which shows how weak of a candidate he was.

[PassingFair]

25. Debbie Stabenow was a "possibility"?

Didn't know she was interested in giving up
a non-term limited Senate seat. And Cherry
headed for the hills. Nobody like Blanchard
for the job. Kildee and Archer? Who knows,
but they were both WEAKER candidates than Bernero.

Our state house candidates and incumbents
were slaughtered as well....

I really don't see how you can blame the
republican tsunami here on two people,
Brewer and Bernero.

If, should, would.

Remember that George Wallace once carried Michigan.

[blue_onyx]

26. She was mentioned

but said she wasn't interested. She would've done well but I don't blame her not wanting to run. I really came to like Kildee during the short time he was running. I saw a 30 minute interview he did with a news station in Grand Rapids, as well as youtube videos from a Democratic forum. I was impressed with him. He came across as likable, informed, and competent. Archer was well-liked, well-known, and would've done well. Although I was disappointed with his involvement in the Ohio casinos.

Bernero turned me off with the large amount of rhetoric (ex: "fat cats"). He also wasn't nearly as progressive as people made him out to be...probably because when primary opponent is Dillon, anyone looks progressive. I wanted Bernero to win but my support was more anti-Republican than pro-Bernero.

Bernero and Brewer aren't completely to blame. They do deserve some blame.

[mstinamotorcity]

27. Detroiters detested

Dennis Archer. He wasn't what some thought he was. And it was his wife who also was rumored to have had some bad dealing with being the chief Justice at 36th District Court.

[PassingFair]

33. My brother lives in and follows Detroit politics pretty closely. He has always said...

that Archer should wear a jacket with
"Oakland County" embroidered on it where ever
he goes, because that's who's bidding he did.

[butterfly77]

35. What's with Stabenow and ..

the NO Labels campaign with Joe Scarborough and company?