Michigan

More Lies In Michigan Court Race

Oct 9th, 2008 | By Dan Pero | Category: Judicial Elections, Michigan, State Battlegrounds

Would the National Rifle Association (NRA) endorse a candidate who wanted to “ban hunting” and “take away our rights” to hunt on private property?  Of course not.  But that’s the lie being circulated by Judge Diane Marie Hathaway in her campaign to unseat Michigan Chief Justice Cliff Taylor. (Full disclosure: my wife, Colleen, is managing […]



Lies, Damn Lies, and Michigan’s Supreme Court Election

Oct 7th, 2008 | By Dan Pero | Category: Judicial Elections, Michigan, State Battlegrounds

Once again, the blogosphere has caught the mainstream media asleep at the switch.  RightMichigan.com does a devastating dissection of the lies being peddled by opponents of Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Cliff Taylor.  A left wing group has taken out billboard ads on the side of busses across the state claiming that a University of […]



Mulling Over Michigan

Sep 29th, 2008 | By Dan Pero | Category: Judicial Elections, Michigan

Defending the right of citizens to choose state judges through democratic judicial elections can be a lonely job.  You have to counter the arguments of the legal elite, including former U.S. Supreme Court Justices and sitting state Supreme Court justices, not to mention every state bar association in the country.  You face stiff opposition from […]



Liberal Rag Rips Taylor, Demonstrates Importance of Michigan Supreme Court Race

Sep 10th, 2008 | By Dan Pero | Category: Judicial Elections, Michigan, State Battlegrounds

One of Michigan’s most unabashed liberal rags – the Michigan Messenger –rips Chief Justice Clifford Taylor for being … horror of horrors … a judicial conservative who upholds the rule of law.  (Full disclosure:  my wife, Colleen, is Chief Justice Taylor’s campaign manager.)
The Messenger darkly warns that Taylor has amassed “a record-setting $1.5 million war […]



Why Do “Merit” Selection Supporters Believe People Are Too Dumb To Pick Judges?

Sep 10th, 2008 | By Dan Pero | Category: Judicial Elections, Michigan, State Battlegrounds

Proponents of “merit” selection constantly argue that ordinary people don’t have the skill to elect judges democratically and, even if they did, judges shouldn’t demean themselves by going before the public.  They believe a judge who explains his judicial philosophy to the voters somehow sacrifices his or her impartiality.
They should watch this interview with Michigan […]



The Choice in Michigan: Who is Diane Hathaway?

Sep 8th, 2008 | By Dan Pero | Category: Judicial Elections, Michigan

The long-cherished goal of Michigan Democratic Party head Mark Brewer to unseat Supreme Court Chief Justice Cliff Taylor was always a long-shot.  The odds got even longer after the scandalous court-packing, gerrymandering scheme hatched by Brewer melted down, prompting several leading Democrat lawyers to pull out of consideration for the nomination.  So over the weekend, […]



Who’s Really Afraid of Public Opinion?

Aug 25th, 2008 | By Dan Pero | Category: Judicial Elections, Michigan

A story in the Lansing State Journal leads off with the usual gnashing of teeth about the rise in campaign spending for state judicial races.  After attacking me, a flak for the Michigan trial lawyers association claims that rule-of-law judges can’t win through public opinion, so business groups need to buy their seats.
Funny, but wasn’t […]



Michigan Court Of Appeals Unloads On Bogus Ballot Petition

Aug 21st, 2008 | By Dan Pero | Category: Michigan

That smoking hole you see in Lansing is all that’s left of the ballot petition peddled by Reform Michigan Government Now. In a 21-page ruling, the Michigan Court of Appeals shot down the petition as unconstitutional and barred it from the November ballot. According to the unanimous decision:
The RMGN initiative petition is overarching, […]



Candidate Needed In Michigan: Must Be Comfortable With Losing

Aug 11th, 2008 | By Dan Pero | Category: Michigan

John Gizzi of Human Events has a nice wrap-up piece of the political state of affairs in Michigan.
Gizzi correctly analyzes the sham Reform Michigan Government Now proposal as a power grab in the tradition of hard-left subversion, larded with enough superficial items meant to appeal to conservatives to reveal the utter cynicism of its authors.
Upholding […]



Dillon’s Dilemma

Aug 5th, 2008 | By Dan Pero | Category: Michigan

Even Michigan Democrats are beginning to recognize the shameful nature of Reform Michigan Government Now! In late July, Michigan’s congressional Democrats canceled a Washington, D.C., fundraiser for the state party over concern about the propriety of the RMGN ballot measure — that measure would use legislative redistricting to disenfranchise minority Democrat candidates and Republicans […]