You want to quibble about Macomb County, which went for Bush by one of the strongest margins in the country in 2004? Fine — but even that bastion of redness is weakening. You can see it in the reaction of folks who attended the Obama event there, week before last; the reporter who wrote the content at that link had a very hard time finding someone not sold on Obama. You want to quibble about Western Michigan? Fine — but turn-out at the Obama event in GR was incredibly strong for a staunchly Republican Christian-Dominionist part of the state (Richard Van Andel was surely spinning in his grave to see a black, Democratic presidential candidate speaking at the arena named for him.)

I’ve got a copy of an email from a well-known Republican Party activist, who deplores McCain because of his position on immigration; the email, sent out to many Republican Party activists, asks them to vote for change and vote their conscience after ranting about McCain.

Which all tells me that there are two key groups that Obama needs to concentrate on here in MI: blue-collar Reagan Democrats, and staunch HRC supporters. My money is on Obama’s appearance in Oakland County on Monday next week making an appeal for party unity and addressing both of those constituencies in one fell swoop.

If there’s any seat in this state that’s really at risk, it’s the Governor’s office, and that’s two more years out. DeVos might actually have a crack at it this time, if Crazy Pete Hoekstra doesn’t throw his hat in the ring. (Cox and Bishop have toooo much baggage.)

I think I have the politics here in Michigan down just fine, thank you. I make my living right now by staying on top of them.

Bill Johnson’s a first class whack job. With the lack of awareness/pariciaption in judicial elections I can easily imagine him winning with the Paulista vote.

Unless, of coure, someone like Howie comes along and shines a lot on this cockroach.

I hope KPFK (and Amy Goodman at DN) get word of this tonight and start getting the word out Friday AM: not much time left before Tuesday.

If LA Indymedia hasn’t already spotlighted Howie’s pick-up, that would be another venue….

Hmm: Communities For A Better Environment could also help get out the word among people of color (CBE’s constituency). Crap – my laptop is down and that’s where I have my contact # for them stored…..

Great work, Howie!

But geez…talk about a wingtard!

Mike Rogers (MI-08), for example, is 18th on the list of most likely to flip seats, and DCCC has been ignoring it. But we now have a grassroots candidate that may be able to kick Rogers’ ass — just have to get him hooked up with ActBlue and BlueAmerica this week to help him put the pedal to the metal.

It’s been a swing state for a while; it also went for McCain over Bush in 2000. Many of those same voters have not yet been fully educated about the changes in McCain over the last 8 years; people on the west side of the state are also more uniformly white-Christian-fundie, will be likely to vote for someone more like them than not like them. The media here is also locked down tightly, owned by only a couple companies and thin in their ability to cover any beat in depth, let alone offer any diversity of opinion. Makes it very difficult for voters to get informed if they are not internet savvy.

But as said up thread, Obama has been working on getting a ground game going; he’s actually much farther ahead than people outside MI realize. (My Dem organization received a presentation from the Obama team a year ago in August — have NEVER been approached by Clinton people, either before the primary or after.) Unions will throw behind Obama, although their voters will be pretty independent; many are god-guns-gays folks and still haven’t figured out their jobs were shipped overseas by god-guns-gays candidates/incumbents. They may wise up before November.