G4G Talking Points for 09/13

[SharonRB]

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 (55 Days until Victory 2006)

Protecting Real Peoples’ Pocketbooks and Wallets: The discounted insurance pool that Governor Granholm announced earlier this week will save thousands of Michigan citizens 10% on insurance.


Governor Granholm has fought back against high gas prices, she’s signed a bill that will increase the minimum wage on October 1, and soon she will sign the state’s first ever earned income tax credit to help low-income families keep more of their hard-earned money.


New MDP Ad: DeVos has the wrong priorities for Michigan, doing things to benefit himself at the expense of real people. DeVos has based his campaign on the idea that he will be a jobs maker for Michigan. But his record as a businessman is exactly the opposite - he cut jobs in Michigan and created jobs overseas. Click here to watch a new MDP ad highlighting this... http://www.michigandems.com/provincial.html

The Associated Press: Ads in Mich. gubernatorial race tap fears of jobs going to China
Most of Michigan's economic woes can't be blamed on China, but the Asian powerhouse certainly raises the concerns of workers who are seeing their plants close and their jobs disappear. The Michigan Democratic Party and Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm have tapped into those fears with three ads — including one that began running Tuesday morning statewide — that tie Republican gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos and the direct marketing company he once ran to Amway Corp.'s investments in China… Brewer said the party's ads criticize DeVos, not China. "It's not about China, it's not about the Chinese people," he said. "It's about the bad business practices of Dick DeVos." … the Granholm and Democratic Party ads point out that DeVos, as president of Amway from 1993-2002, cut nearly 1,400 Michigan jobs while investing $200 million and creating thousands of jobs in China… The DeVos campaign sent letters to television stations last week requesting that they stop running the Democratic ad contrasting Amway's creation of jobs in China with Granholm's work to attract jobs from Asia to Michigan, saying the ad was inaccurate. TV stations WWTV in Traverse City and WWUP in Sault Ste. Marie briefly complied before deciding to run the ad after all.
Click here to read the full article...http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/business/index.ssf?/base/news-37/115809566129250.xml&storylist=mibusiness&thispage=1

The Oakland Press: DeVos visit draws protesters
Holding up a sign that read, "Don't Let DeVos Buy This Election," Leigh Fifelski stood near Joslyn Road in front of the Canterbury Castle restaurant. "The Sierra Club is following DeVos' environmental record closely," said Fifelski, an organizer with the Clawson-based Oakland County Sierra Club. "Unfortunately, he hasn't said much about the environment." Fifelski was among a handful of Sierra Club members who showed up in Orion Township on Tuesday to protest an appearance by Republican gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos, who is running against incumbent Gov. Jennifer Granholm. DeVos was the luncheon speaker to the Orion Chamber of Commerce at Olde World Canterbury Village's restaurant. As the protesters stood in the midday mist, an occasional driver honked a horn to acknowledge them. At the chamber luncheon, DeVos campaigned for about an hour before 170 chamber members concerning his plans for Michigan, but made no mention of the protesters outside or his environmental plan.
Click here to read the full article...http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/091306/loc_2006091336.shtml