I want to know more about Granholm

[BlueStorm]

yes this may sound like a stupid post but the reason I am doing this is because I live in red Kent County and many of the people here don't view Granholm favorably.

For example my sister's neighbor says that Granholm doesn't care about Grand Rapids and the west side of the state. That she favors the eastern side because she comes from there. Also that the jobs she gets to Michigan go to cities like Detroit and Ann Arbor.

Also they complain that Granholm hasn't been getting any money in and she isn't helping the economy much.

I am wondering what I can say or do to counter this claim of bias against the western side of the state as I feel Granholm is doing an ok job considering the situation that she is in with this Republican legislature that she has to deal with.

So I would appreciate it if anyone can help me.

Edited: My mom favors DeVos because she feels that he knows more about business and that he will bring jobs over to Grand Rapids. Plus her dad and DeVos's dad knew each other.

Blue

[notadmblnd]

1. here's some stuff

Granholm was handed over a big mess when engler left. The State was on the verge of bankruptcy, she has had to make some tough decisions to keep the State afloat and it's pissed many people off.But the bigger arguement is DeVos, he's another George bush.. silver spoon fed heir to the Amway fortune (can anyone say pyramid scheme) and connected by marriage to The Blackwater private security company (in other words mercenaries). Jennifer has worked hard to improve Michigans economy and this year alone got the funding to create jobs for Michigan workers doing road repairs. DeVos has actually lobbied to send michigan jobs off shore. While he was the CEO of Amway, he laid off over 1,300 workers. Three years later his company announced plans to invest $220 million in production facilities in another country. He has lobbied Congress in support of free trade policies that have killed tens of thousands of jobs in Michigan.

[skipos]

2. "he will bring jobs over to Grand Rapids"

Why would he do that? As president of Amway, the legal pyramid scheme, he layed off a thousand or so Michigan workers. Amway has invested a few hundred million creating jobs in China to boot. DeVos is a megamillionaire now, he doesn't need to be governor to invest in MI.

Is your mom a fan of school vouchers, or making abortion illegal even in cases of rape and incest? Does she like the policies of George W. Bush? If that is the case, she SHOULD vote for DeVos.

See my signature.

[BlueStorm]

9. I do remember something about that..

That he laid off people from his company.

Thanks for the site.

Blue

[UrbScotty]

3. Here's what Granholm has been doing

It's important to talk about DeVos; focusing on the challenger helps the incumbent. But don't forget about the incumbent!

http://www.granholmforgov.com/site/PageServer?pagename=iss_main

Also check out the link about DeVos in my sig line.

[SuperWonk]

4. DeVos on jobs and business

Under DeVos' less-than-stellar leadership, Amway sales went down for the first time in over a decade, which directly led to the elimination of over 1000 jobs in Michigan. During that same decade, DeVos invested almost a quarter billion dollars in China. So if "knows more about business" means keeping himself rich through poor leadership, cutting American jobs, and sending business overseas, then sure, DeVos is a great businessman.

[Lefty48197]

8. DeVos and Walmart. Fighting to send American jobs to China.

.

[MichiganVote]

5. Well, let's think about this...

-For example my sister's neighbor says that Granholm doesn't care about Grand Rapids and the west side of the state.

** The East side of the state has suffered massively due to globalization, the loss of manufacturing jobs---neither of which are the responsibility of Granholm. Rather, these economic events are the result of staunchly republican and multi-national protectionism. Grand Rapids schools have recieved the same educational benefits b/c of Granholm's intercession that East side schools have.


-Also that the jobs she gets to Michigan go to cities like Detroit and Ann Arbor.

** Granholm fought hard for Electorlux to stay in Greenville. Sadly, the company pulled out anyway. Moral of the story, companies choose their place of business, not governors.

-Also they complain that Granholm hasn't been getting any money in and she isn't helping the economy much.

** Granholm has operated her governing agencies within the budgets that the State has mandated. Are we broke? No. In hoc to the Chinese like the Federal government? No. That's the perogitive of the Bush admin. It is not the "job" of Governors to generate money like entrpreneurs. The job is to manage and she has performed admirably. No scandals, no graft, no corruption in her office.

IMHO, these people need to show more appreciation for Granholm instead of bitching about living in a state that has always fallen further behind when there is a recession. That is their choice. If they don't like it, they need to move.

For the record, Dick DeVos has worked for one company his entire life--his Dad's. That's experience? The family HAS an entire business just to manage this family's day to day affairs. This crew occupy an entire building in GR. Dick DeVos's Dad has added businesses to GR. Dick hasn't added a single one.

A billionaire governor is about as far removed from the lives of average citizens as anyone could get.

[livvy]

6. Some ammo...

Granholm Announces Plan To Keep Ford Jobs In State
Wednesday, August 9, 2006
By: Click on Detroit, WDIV
The plan, which was approved by the MEDC, is aimed at encouraging Ford to make new investments of up to $1 billion in Michigan facilities for flexible manufacturing and advanced powertrain technologies. If approved by the company, the project will retain a total of 56,200 Michigan jobs, including up to 13,740 jobs directly by Ford, according to the Office of the Governor. "There is no vision for Michigan's new economy that does not include Ford cars and trucks designed, engineered and made in Michigan," Granholm said.

Granholm: 'This is our niche'
Sunday, August 6, 2006
By: Robert Warner, The Battle Creek Enquirer
"This is our future as a state," she said. "We should be the state that breaks the U.S.'s dependence on foreign oil. This is our niche. We put the world on wheels. We have a phenomenal agricultural sector. We have the Great Lakes. This is our moral and economic obligation. And you're starting it right here in Albion." ... The plant will convert 20 million bushels of corn into 55 million gallons of ethanol per year after it goes online today. And it will add 85 jobs to the Albion economy.

Granholm touts health care plan
Thursday, August 3, 2006
By: Barrie Barber, The Saginaw News
"We know it's not working right now, so the question is what can we do to make it work," said the Democratic governor facing re-election. "I don't want to be a nation where we beg for quarters in glass jars next to cash registers at Dunkin' Donuts." It isn't just a case of business competitiveness in a global marketplace or a matter of consumer affordability; it's a moral question for the richest nation in the world, she said.

http://www.granholmforgov.com/site/PageServer?pagename=homepage2
Here are two articles from today. This is the Republican controlled Michigan Congress she has had to work with. The big question is...How will this money be replaced? Who will pay? The answer is you and I, and every other middle class person in Michigan. We will pay either through tax increases, or cuts in education, police and fire protection, or other social services.
Michigan legislature votes to repeal single business tax

Updated: Aug 10, 2006 11:17 AM

LANSING -- The battle is far from over, after the legislature voted to repeal the single business tax. It was due to expire in 2009. Now, it will expire at the end of 2007.

Earlier this year, the governor vetoed a similar attempt to get rid of the tax, but she couldn't this time because it was brought through a petition drive.

Now, the State must figure out how to replace the almost $2 billion the tax brings in every year. Republicans say they'll do that next year. Governor Granholm says cutting the tax without a replacement plan in place is foolish.
http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5263889&nav=menu44_2

Here is another report from the Free Press.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060810/NEWS06/608100391/-1/BUSINESS07
When tax dies, what will plug the money gap?
SBT replacement is topic of debate

BY JOHN GALLAGHER
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

August 10, 2006

The final decision Wednesday to speed up the death of the wildly unpopular Single Business Tax sets up an intense debate -- in the Legislature and in the race for governor -- over how to replace the lost $1.9 billion in state revenue and, more broadly, how to energize Michigan's faltering economy.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm called the party line votes in the state Senate and House "an act of extreme cowardice" because -- come Jan. 1, 2008 -- it would leave the state without a replacement for the tax that produces $1 in every $5 the state collects for its general fund.

She warned that repealing the tax endangers money for health care, higher education and public safety.

>more

Check out Granholm's website. DeVos would be a disaster for Michigan. He does not care about the state and its people like Granholm does. He is insincere, and is only using the this bid for the governorship as a stepping stone to increase his own political goals and those of the Republican far right agenda. He would do to this state what Bush is doing to this country. If you think Engler was destructive, DeVos would be even more so because of his political ties (Abramoff, DeLay).

[Lefty48197]

7. Tell them that Granholm has been fighting against the right wing agenda

of the legislators elected by the dumb fucks in Grand Rapids. Their agenda is low paying jobs, with little job-security, or worker protections. Basically, they want us to return to 1910 and the pre-Union era jungle that was America. Governor Granholm opposes that agenda. She fights for the common people and not the corporate whores.

[BlueStorm]

10. Hey thanks for this information... I know who I will be voting for

I don't care much for DeVos and I know I will be voting for Granholm. I have been pleased with her so far and I think she is doing a stellar job. She has gone to Japan at least twice to get jobs here in Michigan.

I just don't know where people here in GR are getting the notion that she is biased against this city. I do remember that the local news was all in a tizzy when she came here to visit a school. She was originally supposed to visit Central (I think that was what it was) but had changed to another school. The local media was "speculating" that Granholm was racist or some shit like that.

I also like Granholm because unlike Engler, she's getting our roads fixed! Though construction can be a pain in the ass at least I won't have to pay $70 every time my tire pops on a pothole.

My mom used to say that Granholm is doing what she can and that she inherited the mess that Engler gave us (and where is our lovely ex-governor now? In Virginia!!) Also like you all have said in the posts above we have a very lousy Republican legislation that she is constantly having to fight against.

So even if she is getting jobs to Detroit and that side of the state, perhaps she is doing so because it has been hardest hit economically and not just because she is from there. Perhaps in her second term she will get jobs to GR.

I know I am voting for Granholm whether or not people like her or not. It is my opinion that I think she has done the best that she could considering the circumstances.

Blue

[noonwitch]

11. Engler privatized DOT, which messed up the roads

The DOT used to do all those road construction jobs themselves. Now private companies do it. But Granholm has had them busy fixing roads state-wide. The freeways in the Detroit area had gotten really bad, too, but are in much better shape than they were 4 years ago.

Granholm saved the state from bankruptcy. That is a major accomplishment in and of itself.