For the Good of the State

Off the Record - Featuring Bill Rogers

State Senator Jason Allen on the film tax incentive

Click here for the interview with Senator Jason Allen

Brooks Patterson has words with Beckmann on Detroit City Council

Frank & L Brooks Patterson, Oakland County Executive, comment on yesterday's Detroit city council meeting. 

Action by the People

As you may know, all across the country, people are rallying together in support of the “Chicago Tea Party”.  The name is in reference to Rick Santelli’s comments on CNBC’s Squawk Box, from the floor of the Chicago Stock Exchange.  If you missed it, here it is:

On February 27th, we had a demonstration on the steps of the Michigan State Capitol, organized by just a few bloggers and concerned citizens, protesting the irresponsible bailouts enacted by our very own US Government.  

People are concerned and know these policies will not bolster our economy, but continue to stifle it. Reports have it at 200-300 people huddling in the cold to protest.  This is not a movement started by any Party, but by regular citizens getting the word out.  We here at MRP only have so much say, but events like this show that YOU CAN get your neighborhoods involved. This also shows that people you wouldn’t normally think would be caught up in certain issues can be motivated to speak up and spread the word. We need them in the fight for better government too. 

Congratulations go out to everyone who was there.  Together we can make a difference. 

Pictures Courtesy of RightMichigan.com

Nancy Cassis on WJR

Frank talks with Senator Nancy Cassis about the nearly $50 million in film incentive tax rebates that will be issued

Participation Appreciated!

Fellow Republicans:

 Thank you very much to all of you who took the time to respond to the survey.  The information that you provided has given me valuable insight that I will keep in mind as I continue to communicate with you in the future.  I will work to do everything I can to accommodate your requests as we move forward and arm you with as much information as possible so that you can help spread our message and help Republicans across our state win!

If you haven't had the time to participate in ou survey yet, you still can by clicking here.

MICHIGAN REPUBLICAN PARTY UNVEILS NEW SUPPORT E-MAIL ADDRESS

Already, many of you have contacted our headquarters with questions, thoughts, and concerns on a wide variety of topics.  I believe that ensuring a prompt and detailed response to all of your inquires is highly important to building a solid foundation for all of us to work from.  This is why the party has created a separate E-mail address to specifically focus on you at support@migop.org.

This address will provide you with a "one-stop shop" for anything that we here at the party headquarters can help you with and prevent you from being bounced around from one staff member to another.  We will be checking this account regularly throughout the day so that you can expect a quick response to all of your inquiries.  Please feel free to utilize this service and take advantage of our staff's expertise.

PARTY TO HOLD CONTEST FOR NEW LOGO DESIGN

Your Michigan Republican Party is already hard at work, improving, changing and making the plans we need for victory in 2010.  And in the process, we've decided that our current logo is ready for a serious makeover and we want you to help! 
 
As you may know, our current party logo has been around for decades.  It has served us well, but it's time for us to update our brand.  Over the next two weeks, we will be accepting designs and will then select the new model that will lead us into 2010.  The new logo will make its debut appearance on the party website, complete with the winning designer's name!  It will then be phased into everyday use as our party uses up our current supply of materials featuring the former logo.
 
Please send your submissions, no larger than 50 KB and in .gif or .jpeg format, to support@migop.org.  The deadline for submissions is March 13, 2009, and we will announce a winner on March 18, 2009. 
 
We look forward to seeing your ideas!

OUR PARTY IS OFF AND RUNNING IN THE 19TH SENATE DISTRICT SPECIAL ELECTION

Late last month, Governor Granholm announced that the special election for the 19th district State Senate race to replace Congressman Mark Schauer will take place this November.  Our staff's top focus is developing a strategy that will score us an early victory in this cycle's State Senate elections and we are confident that this is a seat we can put back in the Republican column.  So far there are only two candidates that have formed committees to run for this seat.  Former State Representative Mike Nofs (R-Battle Creek) and State Representative Martin Griffin (D-Jackson).

As will be the case going forward with races at all levels in our state, we're going to need the hard work of all Republicans across Michigan to get our message out and persuade more people to vote Republican.  Recently I had the privilege and opportunity to speak with Right Michigan about this race and the overall direction our party will be heading this coming election cycle.  If you are interested, you can view a transcript of the interview here.

Thank you again for everything that you do to strengthen our party.  Together we will win in 10!

WJR Links

Michigan Congressman Thaddeus McCotter talks to Paul W. Smith about the ongoing efforts to bring the auto industry back to financial health.

Frank speaks with Congressman Thaddeus McCotter about the President's fiscal responsibility summit.

Frank Beckmann speaks with Senator Mike Bishop, Senator Majority Leader, about meeting with the Obama administration to raise awareness about the auto supply chain.

Frank Beckmann speaks with Kevin Elsenheimer, House State Minority Leader, who reports about the meeting in Washington regarding the auto supply chain problems.

Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson kicks off Oakland County’s “Count Your Steps” program with Steve Courtney and he talks a bit about Cobo too.

Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson kicks off Oakland County’s “Count Your Steps” program with Steve Courtney and he talks a bit about Cobo too.

In Warren Pierce's Sunday AM Roundtable, Democrat Strategist Debbie Dingell, Republican PR Consultant Paul Welday and Lansing Pollster Steve Mitchell discussed the economic stimulus plan.

New Look, in and out

With the new Weiser administration here at MRP, we're cleaning a few things out and restructuring.  There's a new look to the blog, obviously.  Hopefully, you like it.  We've also enabled comments for the posts on here.  Minor inconvenience in having to give up some info to post.  Truth is, we want you to post.  We want ideas.  Your first mission (maybe a small one, but just to get everyone thinking of the possibilities) is to think up a new name fo this Blog.

Sure, we think For the Good of the State is alright, but it lacks a pizzazz.  Send your suggestions in your comments and feel free to chime in on what you think of the new design or where we're going as a party.  We rely on you to help us, so keep at it.

We're also cleaning up our rather... dated building.  It's the 70s in here!  There are many things from previous campaigns, things from when it was an LCC building, and some things that just need to go!  We're going to try putting up some real drywall in a few rooms (as opposed to the tackboard looking walls) in a few rooms, and make this place look a bit more professional.  Come check it out once it's done. 

As we move forward as a Party, make sure you are including people in your ideas, not barking ideals at them.  We know most Americans still hold conservative values, but just aren't voting Republican.  Our mission is to appeal to those who are on the on the edge.  Have meaningful conversations with friends, relatives, community organizations; whomever will listen to you.  Make yourself informed and don't be afraid to go face-to-face with those that don't necessarily have your viewpoints.  We can win if we are inclusive and manage to make our conservative ideas appealing to more people.  We depend on you, so have at it!