MI-SEN 2024 Megathread - Meijer out

[The Mikado]

Probably just me, but I think Slotkin should consider dropping out and running for reelection instead.

If Harper runs a progressive enough campaign, she will lose the primary, as black voters+progressives is enough to win the primary.

Not a chance.  He’ll be lucky to crack 10% 35% in the primary.

Fixed. I think a Slotkin challenger has an easy path to 30% just by generically unsatisfied people. Gets a lot harder past there.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Are we still pushing this racist trope that black voters are complete sheep who always vote in bloc and are essentially single issue voters for any black candidate? The same nonsense that made people actually panic over Kanye West?

[Del Tachi]

Probably just me, but I think Slotkin should consider dropping out and running for reelection instead.

If Harper runs a progressive enough campaign, she will lose the primary, as black voters+progressives is enough to win the primary.

Not a chance.  He’ll be lucky to crack 10% in the primary.

A point I've made before is there's this bizarre mindset that Democrats are just as obsessed with celebrity candidates as Republicans are when with the obvious exception of Al Franken, it's very difficult to come up with any examples of them nominating one. If we include professional athletes you could count Heath Shuler although that was now quite awhile ago, and currently Colin Allred, but he was nominated largely on his legal work and work with the Obama Administration instead of his sports career (he didn't even play for a team popular in the area he represents.) After that the only example I can think of is John Hall who played in some B-tier yacht rock band that was mildly popular in the 70s and served two terms as very generic D backbencher in the House from 2007-2011. I'm sure if you dug hard enough you could find something like a State Senator somewhere who was on a reality TV show like 15 years ago, but regardless the point is clear.

Raphael Warnock and Wes Moore are the most obvious and recent examples of celebrities turned Democrat politicians.  And this really isn't hard if you inclusively define celebrity to mean "previously known for something other than politics" - a majority of Democrats' freshman House class in 2018 had no previous elected experience. 

I wouldn’t call those celebrities in the common sense of the word. No one knew who the hell either of those were prior to their runs unless you went to Warnock’s church or read Moore’s book.

This is really splitting hairs.  Exactly how much of a "celebrity" does someone have to be before they're an unserious candidate?  Moore hosted a show on the Oprah Winfrey Newtork, and Warnock won his seat running as an activist preacher.

Making a stink about Republican "celebrity" candidates implies that there's something unifying about the experience of "normal" candidates, which isn't the case.  People are getting elected to office from an increasingly diverse set of backgrounds. 

And there's also the point that politicians are really just a type of celebrity.  The skills you need to be a compelling public personality are mostly interchangeable whether your chosen passion is entertainment, business, politics, etc.  This is increasingly true in the age of cable TV and social media.   

[Del Tachi]

I don’t think you’re wrong, but I think it has more to do with democrats wanted political experience more then republicans. For example 9 republican senators have no prior elected office with four having no kind of politcal or government experience. Only five democrats have no elected experience and of those only 1 has no political or government experience, maybe two depending on how you count Kelly. Even Franken was deeply connected in politics before his senate career.

See, this just proves how weasley and non-specific this criticism of Republicans really is LOL 

What the hell does it mean to be "deeply involved" in politics?  Could you not say the exact same thing about Trump before his first presidential run? 

[Atlas Force]

Probably just me, but I think Slotkin should consider dropping out and running for reelection instead.

If Harper runs a progressive enough campaign, she will lose the primary, as black voters+progressives is enough to win the primary.

Not a chance.  He’ll be lucky to crack 10% in the primary.

A point I've made before is there's this bizarre mindset that Democrats are just as obsessed with celebrity candidates as Republicans are when with the obvious exception of Al Franken, it's very difficult to come up with any examples of them nominating one. If we include professional athletes you could count Heath Shuler although that was now quite awhile ago, and currently Colin Allred, but he was nominated largely on his legal work and work with the Obama Administration instead of his sports career (he didn't even play for a team popular in the area he represents.) After that the only example I can think of is John Hall who played in some B-tier yacht rock band that was mildly popular in the 70s and served two terms as very generic D backbencher in the House from 2007-2011. I'm sure if you dug hard enough you could find something like a State Senator somewhere who was on a reality TV show like 15 years ago, but regardless the point is clear.

The guy who played Steven from Breaking Bad is a county commissioner in Bernalillo County, New Mexico if you really want to scrape the bottom of the barrel for examples of Democratic/liberal celebrities running for office.

[wbrocks67]

https://twitter.com/UrsulaPerano/status/1679469898060251144

[coloradocowboi]

https://twitter.com/UrsulaPerano/status/1679469898060251144

I won't weigh into the debate about the ontology of "celebrity." But this guy obviously is one, and I think for Democrats that is always a major mistake excepting possibly Al Franken.

Dems are already pegged as the elitist Hollywood party. And s*** like this is extremely toxic for them. Obviously, I would prefer a Black progressive over Elissa Slotkin but this guy isn't it.

I dk Pugh's record, but I would imagine it's to Slotkin's left? Why wasn't he content to let her have a moment to shine. If anything, Hill's candidacy is a nail in the coffin for the hopes of having a Black Senator from Michigan. It all just feels odd, like he's some Veep character completely unaware of how he will be perceived because even he believes in his "brand" - and I say this as somebody who tbh is v skeptical of Slotkin and her politics. Were I a Michigander, I might be considering voting for her rn tho just cuz of this guy lol

[Zedonathin2020]

Slotkin update: this doesn't look good on her end

https://twitter.com/craigcaplan/status/1679703190932013056?s=46&t=XC6qQa4mbo...

While I still don’t fully buy that "Sinema 2.0" garbage, this ain’t exactly making her appealing

[coloradocowboi]

Slotkin update: this doesn't look good on her end

https://twitter.com/craigcaplan/status/1679703190932013056?s=46&t=XC6qQa4mbo...

While I still don’t fully buy that "Sinema 2.0" garbage, this ain’t exactly making her appealing

The LGBTQ issues are the exact ones that I would not want to be seen as equivocating on. Lucky for her, she has very divided primary opposition. But yeah this was an unforced stupid mistake

[Born to Slay. Forced to Work.]

Slotkin update: this doesn't look good on her end

https://twitter.com/craigcaplan/status/1679703190932013056?s=46&t=XC6qQa4mbo...

While I still don’t fully buy that "Sinema 2.0" garbage, this ain’t exactly making her appealing

The LGBTQ issues are the exact ones that I would not want to be seen as equivocating on. Lucky for her, she has very divided primary opposition. But yeah this was an unforced stupid mistake

I’m gay and I don’t hate this vote. It doesn’t single out gay people, but it does affect us. It also affects  the trumpnuts flying the f#%k Joe Biden flags or the stars and bars

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Slotkin update: this doesn't look good on her end

https://twitter.com/craigcaplan/status/1679703190932013056?s=46&t=XC6qQa4mbo...

While I still don’t fully buy that "Sinema 2.0" garbage, this ain’t exactly making her appealing

That tweet is a highly misleading and (I suspect quite deliberately) inaccurate description of the amendment. 

[coloradocowboi]

Slotkin update: this doesn't look good on her end

https://twitter.com/craigcaplan/status/1679703190932013056?s=46&t=XC6qQa4mbo...

While I still don’t fully buy that "Sinema 2.0" garbage, this ain’t exactly making her appealing

That tweet is a highly misleading and (I suspect quite deliberately) inaccurate description of the amendment. 

Wdym? Cuz the text is right there and it seems not only fair but close to verbatim lol.

I am also gay, if that wasn’t clear enough, and I don’t like Slotkin’s vote. I’m not a free speech absolutist by any stretch, but you don’t wanna brand yourself the thought crime police. Isn’t there a lot more the military should be doing rn than policing its members self expression? Also, I am not a fan of comparing anything to the confederate flag, which is uniquely offensive because it represents a racist traitorous movement opposed to this country and military. That’s not what the rainbow flag means and it sets a bad precedence to “both sides” this at a time when lgbtq Americans’ patriotism and lives are being assailed. There is a reason slotkin was alone in the party on this vote, and I don’t wanna make excuses for her when she’s to the right of Henry cuellar on an issue.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Slotkin update: this doesn't look good on her end

https://twitter.com/craigcaplan/status/1679703190932013056?s=46&t=XC6qQa4mbo...

While I still don’t fully buy that "Sinema 2.0" garbage, this ain’t exactly making her appealing

That tweet is a highly misleading and (I suspect quite deliberately) inaccurate description of the amendment. 

Wdym? Cuz the text is right there and it seems not only fair but close to verbatim lol.

I am also gay, if that wasn’t clear enough, and I don’t like Slotkin’s vote. I’m not a free speech absolutist by any stretch, but you don’t wanna brand yourself the thought crime police. Isn’t there a lot more the military should be doing rn than policing its members self expression? Also, I am not a fan of comparing anything to the confederate flag, which is uniquely offensive because it represents a racist traitorous movement opposed to this country and military. That’s not what the rainbow flag means and it sets a bad precedence to “both sides” this at a time when lgbtq Americans’ patriotism and lives are being assailed. There is a reason slotkin was alone in the party on this vote, and I don’t wanna make excuses for her when she’s to the right of Henry cuellar on an issue.

All it does is ban unapproved flags in Pentagon common areas. The tweet makes it sound like it’s some sort of wide-reaching targeted ban on pride flags.  I’m sure some Republicans are voting for it b/c they hope it will be applied to pride flags (although those could quite easily just be added to the approved flags list), but it applies just as much to Confederate, Right-wing “Patriot” militia, pro-Trump/f*** Biden flags, etc. 

Respectfully, claiming that Slotkin and Davis are somehow voting against gay rights by backing an amendment that clearly has nothing to do with the LGBTQIA community (at least no more than it does any other group) is a gross over-simplification at best and (in cases stuff like that tweet) deliberate dishonesty designed to help push some other narrative.

[Born to Slay. Forced to Work.]

Slotkin update: this doesn't look good on her end

https://twitter.com/craigcaplan/status/1679703190932013056?s=46&t=XC6qQa4mbo...

While I still don’t fully buy that "Sinema 2.0" garbage, this ain’t exactly making her appealing

That tweet is a highly misleading and (I suspect quite deliberately) inaccurate description of the amendment. 

Wdym? Cuz the text is right there and it seems not only fair but close to verbatim lol.

I am also gay, if that wasn’t clear enough, and I don’t like Slotkin’s vote. I’m not a free speech absolutist by any stretch, but you don’t wanna brand yourself the thought crime police. Isn’t there a lot more the military should be doing rn than policing its members self expression? Also, I am not a fan of comparing anything to the confederate flag, which is uniquely offensive because it represents a racist traitorous movement opposed to this country and military. That’s not what the rainbow flag means and it sets a bad precedence to “both sides” this at a time when lgbtq Americans’ patriotism and lives are being assailed. There is a reason slotkin was alone in the party on this vote, and I don’t wanna make excuses for her when she’s to the right of Henry cuellar on an issue.

I see your point, but that’s kind of what I was trying to get at. Yea loosing Pride flags sucks but I see it as a casualty of tackling a larger problem of getting rid of truly abhorrent flags. Granted, I’m no fool so of course this is republicans trying to suppress gay voices in the military. Perhaps a better amendment version would be more specific on what kind of flags are and aren’t allowed.

[JM1295]

I don't think Slotkin is the second coming of Sinema, but man that's such a weird vote. Like just about the entire Democratic caucus voted against the amendment, even Trump district Dems like Golden and Peltola. She's explained that it's about preventing hateful flags from being flown, but she has to know how easy this was to open her to attacks when it comes to pride flags? Like does Slotkin really think this was the issue to deviate from her party on?

[wbrocks67]

The discourse on this race is gonna be unbearable. People are just looking for a reason at this point to be annoyed/upset by her, it's strange.

[Galeel]

Why is everyone in this thread so upset at the idea of people not wanting Slotkin? Like there's absolutely no reason for any progressive to vote for her. She's not owed the nomination just because the DSCC wants her.

[Zedonathin2020]

Why is everyone in this thread so upset at the idea of people not wanting Slotkin? Like there's absolutely no reason for any progressive to vote for her. She's not owed the nomination just because the DSCC wants her.

I see it more as everyone getting tired of the near constant anti-Slotkin discourse being spoon-fed to us

[Born to Slay. Forced to Work.]

Why is everyone in this thread so upset at the idea of people not wanting Slotkin? Like there's absolutely no reason for any progressive to vote for her. She's not owed the nomination just because the DSCC wants her.

There’s not “no reason” for a progressive to not vote for her. The issue is there’s just not much in the way of a progressive of her political level running. There’s just not really any progressive that could seriously challenge her. Maybe Andy Levin?

[Horus]

This is very different from what the Hamtramck city council did when they specifically banned pride flags. This law would ban all non government/military flags. The stars and bars, pan African flag etc would all have to go too.

There are plenty of legitimate reasons to criticize Slotkin, especially her deep military industrial complex connections. But this seems like a nothingburger.

[wbrocks67]

This is very different from what the Hamtramck city council did when they specifically banned pride flags. This law would ban all non government/military flags. The stars and bars, pan African flag etc would all have to go too.

There are plenty of legitimate reasons to criticize Slotkin, especially her deep military industrial complex connections. But this seems like a nothingburger.

Yeah, and of course you have the likes of Jotline Hosh on Twitter trying to say it's "specifically banning Pride flags" when that is not at all what it says.

[ProgressiveModerate]

I think some of this recent backlash against Slotkin over the vote shows the issue with ideological purity and placing optics above actual policy within the Democratic Party.

On her part, it does seem like an unnecessary opening for attacks in a primary. If she really is voting her conscious though, good for her ig.

[Oryxslayer]

This thread is so overtaken by Dem primary discourse (rightly or wrongly) that I don't know if there is even a relevant Republican candidate yet. Is there? Last I heard it was the out-of-state billionaire and Meijer who were both putting out feelers. Both of those guys would lose to literally anybody more known in the state, even if they are from the circular firing squad that is the state party right now.

So is there anyone?

[Born to Slay. Forced to Work.]

This thread is so overtaken by Dem primary discourse (rightly or wrongly) that I don't know if there is even a relevant Republican candidate yet. Is there? Last I heard it was the out-of-state billionaire and Meijer who were both putting out feelers. Both of those guys would lose to literally anybody more known in the state, even if they are from the circular firing squad that is the state party right now.

So is there anyone?

Mike Rogers (currently running for president) made some noise about running.

[NewYorkExpress]

Lisa McClain is out.

Two-term Michigan U.S. Rep. Lisa McClain said Wednesday she won't run for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate next year, though she left open the possibility of a future statewide run, perhaps for governor.

McClain, 57, of Bruce Township, told The Detroit News she's happy serving in the U.S. House, which "is a good fit for me." She is currently the second-highest ranking House Republican woman as secretary of the House GOP Conference, and this year took on a gavel as chair of the Oversight Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services.


"I'm in a really good spot where I'm at. Life's about timing, and right now, I think I am best served to sit on the leadership team in the House. I like being in the majority. I think we've made some significant, although not perfect policy changes," McClain said.