LANSING — In response to the news that extremist Republicans are attempting baseless recall efforts of state House members, Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes released the following statement:
“This unfounded effort to recall our representatives has no teeth. These representatives are fighting for their communities and representing the needs of their constituents. This is another attempt by extremists to distract from their radical agenda as they continue to vote against legislation that grows the middle class. Make no mistake, we will fight these recalls at every turn.”
LANSING — Today, Governor Whitmer signed legislation to establish Juneteenth as a statewide holiday, taking an important step to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. This bill expands the already existing holiday from affecting only state employees to every Michigander.
In response to the signing, Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes released the following statement:
“It took too long to get us to this day, but now, with Governor Whitmer’s signature and thanks to Democrats in the state legislature, we now have a day where every Michigander can honor the freedom, culture, and empowerment of Black people. While places across our nation are choosing to ignore our history, we in Michigan are taking the time to acknowledge and learn from our past.”
LANSING — In case you missed it, after Democrats spent the week delivering at scale for their constituents, passing an historic budget with dozens of programs to uplift Michigan’s middle class, Republicans spent their weekend getting into a physical fight during a controversial committee meeting.
This brawl comes on the heels of ongoing chaos within the Michigan GOP, as Kristina Karamo convened the Saturday meeting to address protests from her members over her removing a budget committee chair who questioned her internal spending.
This is not even the first physical altercation to break out amongst members of the Michigan GOP – in April, Kalamazoo Republican Party Chair Kelly Sackett and Macomb County GOP Secretary Melissa Pehlis threw drinks, phones and hands at each other over an argument about Karamo.
Importantly, Republicans in the state legislature have remained silent. As Karamo leads the Michigan GOP further into disarray, we continue to wonder where Minority Leader Matt Hall stands and if he will make any attempts to control his party, or if he will wait silently by the sidelines as party infighting turns physical.
Don’t just take it from us – watch and read the far-reaching coverage about the Michigan GOP’s literal infighting below:
The state GOP is currently led by Kristina Karamo, a notorious election denier who fell far short in her Michigan secretary of state campaign last year. She’s perhaps best known for sharing concerns about “demonic possession,” which she said can spread from person to person through intimate relationships.
The state GOP also recently invoked the Nazi Holocaust while condemning efforts to prevent gun violence.
It’s against this backdrop that there have been literal fights at two recent Michigan Republican Party gatherings.
While the scuffles may be verbal as leading Republicans jostle to become the party’s 2024 presidential nominee, down at the state level things have actually turned physical — at least in Michigan, and not for the first time.
Michigan Republicans have been struggling to find a path forward after losing control of the state’s legislature for the first time in nearly 40 years. State Chair Kristina Karamo, an election denier, has been fighting with the party co-chair over budget issues.
Karamo also refused to concede her loss in Michigan’s 2022 secretary of state race, and she, along with others, was ordered to pay more than $58,000 in legal fees for bringing a baseless lawsuit challenging absentee votes in Detroit.
The state of the Michigan GOP is so chaotic, this isn’t even the first physical altercation at a state party meeting this year. In April, police were called when two Republicans got into a fight.
A Saturday meeting of Michigan’s GOP state committee reportedly resulted in one person being sent to the emergency room after a brawl broke out at the host hotel.
Although the dust-up took place outside the actual meeting room, members inside got an eye full.
The chair of the Clare County Republican Party says he is “a little sore” but recovering from suspected stress fractures in his back following a physical altercation at a contentious Michigan GOP meeting in Clare.
“That closed meeting had no business happening,” Chapman told Bridge on Monday. “Kristina (Karamo) ran on transparency in connection with the delegates. You can’t do that by having a closed meeting.”
LANSING — Coming off of the July 4th holiday, we wanted to make sure you saw how last week Democrats in the state legislature delivered, passing a historic budget. The budget, which will take effect on October 1st after Governor Whitmer’s signature, funds key priorities that will improve the lives of Michiganders across the state.
The landmark budget includes record investments in education, infrastructure, and public safety. It will bolster Michigan’s middle class by lowering the cost of health care, adopting a universal free breakfast and lunch program for public schools, and bringing good-paying manufacturing jobs back home from overseas.
Republicans, meanwhile, once again decided to play politics over delivering for their constituents. The vast majority stood vocally opposed to funding these overwhelmingly popular priorities, while at the same time providing no answers to Michiganders as to why they decided supporting education, law enforcement, and health care weren’t worthy of their votes.
Here are just a few key stories about the Democrats’ record-breaking investments that came out of the past week:
Michigan lawmakers approved an $82 billion budget Wednesday that will boost funding for K-12 schools and universities while using the state’s financial surplus to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on special projects.
The plan’s supporters labeled it historic on Wednesday evening, saying it will bring generational change and a record level of funding for public schools.
“We are creating a budget that is going to change the lives of so many students for a generation,” said Sen. Darrin Camilleri, D-Trenton, a former teacher.
The most notable winners in Michigan’s $21.5 billion budget for K-12 schools will be the state’s neediest students, English language learners, children in high-poverty schools, and special education students.
But with smaller amounts, the budget also delivers money to benefit teachers, Detroit schools and other local districts, campus infrastructure, community-based advocacy efforts, regional education nonprofits and rural districts. Those less-noticed budget items could have a significant impact on education across the state.
The state budget makes key investments in infrastructure including advanced energy, which will add jobs to the state’s strong clean energy industry while improving grid resiliency, lowering energy bills and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The budget supports implementation of key aspects of the governor’s MI Healthy Climate Plan, the state roadmap to economy-wide carbon neutrality by 2050, to lead in the energy transition. Still, more work is needed to carry the MI Healthy Climate Plan forward beyond these historic state budget investments. The state legislature has introduced many bills that will continue to realize the economic gains that clean energy industries offer.
LANSING — Today, Governor Whitmer signed into law a package of bills to prevent the kind of sexual assault perpetrated by former Michigan State University athletics team physician Larry Nassar. This long overdue legislation will help prevent assault, protect children, and support survivors. We cannot ignore that while these bills passed by both chambers of the legislature with wide margins with bipartisan support, leaders in the Freedom Caucus still stood in opposition.
On this important occasion, Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes released the following statement:
“Democrats are working to make Michigan a safer place for everyone, and this long overdue legislation is an essential step toward justice for those who have suffered abuse and to prevent this type of abuse in the future. We are so proud of our Democratic leadership in the legislature, and for Governor Whitmer’s efforts to champion this important package of bills.
Inexplicably, Republicans in the House Freedom Caucus voted against this necessary, commonsense legislation that will protect Michiganders. Despite the protests of these MAGA Republicans, Governor Whitmer’s signature will safeguard children’s health and wellbeing for generations.”
The packages requires comprehensive education on child abuse to help teachers, coaches, and parents better identify when abuse is happening. It also bans anyone from using their professional authority to stop someone from reporting sexual abuse.
The Freedom Caucus members who voted against protecting our children were: Reps. Andrew Beeler, Steve Carra, Neil Friske, Matt Maddock, and Josh Schriver.
The state budget will make life better for millions of Michiganders, yet the GOP still opposes it
LANSING — Democrats in the Michigan legislature passed a landmark budget today that will lower costs, grow the economy, and invest millions in public safety and education – as well as create dozens of unique programs to uplift the middle class. Republicans, on the other hand, are once again standing against building a brighter future for Michiganders as they vote against the budget.
In response to this historic legislation, Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes released the following statement:
“It’s, unfortunately, no surprise that Michigan Republicans are voting against this groundbreaking budget that will grow the middle class and make life better for Michiganders everywhere. Time and time again, Republicans have turned their backs on working families in favor of giving tax breaks to the same corporations that shipped our jobs overseas. Whether it’s lowering costs, growing the economy, or investing in our communities, Michigan Democrats are fighting for Michiganders in every corner of the state.”
Here are some of the key policies these Republicans are opposing:
Raising the rainy day fund to an all-time high of $2 billion by the end of 2024, setting aside $450 million in a new rainy day fund for schools, and bringing total debt paid down since the Governor took office to $18.1 billion.
Expanding free pre-K to up to 5,600 kids, saving families $10,000 a year.
Delivering free breakfast and lunch to all students, saving families over $850 a year, and bolstering educator recruitment and retention, lowering the cost of becoming a teacher.
Additional resources for vocational and career and technical education and funding Michigan Achievement Scholarship to lower the cost of community, private, or public college by thousands for 80% of students and help 65% attend tuition-free.
Expanding Healthy Moms Healthy Babies, offering support for new and expecting moms, and improving access to essential health services under Medicaid.
Funding $400 million for public safety, totaling $1.5 billion since the Governor took office, and delivering record resources to hire, train, and retain local first responders.
Resources to draw down federal funds to fix the damn roads and expand transit, rail, and marine infrastructure, building more housing and backing more community revitalization projects, continuing to replace lead service lines, and protecting access to safe drinking water.
Funding the bipartisan Make it in Michigan Fund to win projects creating thousands of manufacturing jobs and bringing supply chains home to Michigan.
Building on the over $1.5 billion (4th highest in the nation) Michigan will receive through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program to expand high-speed internet access to over 200,000 Michiganders in unserved and underserved areas across the state.
Trump showed how out of touch he is with Michiganders while Michigan Dems continue to build the middle class
LANSING — To no one’s shock, Trump and the MI GOP continued pushing misinformation on electric cars, jobs, and our democracy this Sunday in Oakland County. Instead of peddling the disgraced former president’s conspiracy theories and attempting to carry out his MAGA agenda in Michigan, Republicans should get on board with Democrats’ countless policies that are growing the middle class and lowering costs for families.
In Trump’s “alternate reality”, as Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes put it, he clearly didn’t notice the tens of thousands of auto jobs brought to Michigan that Democrats secured last year – jobs that Trump sent overseas. Nor did he notice that Democrats are creating thousands of good paying, union jobs – in all fairness, helping the middle class was never his thing anyway.
To read more about his visit to Michigan, check out the stories below:
Lavora Barnes, chairwoman of the Michigan Democratic Party, said Trump was “living in an alternate reality.”
“The truth is, thanks to the leadership of Gov. Whitmer and our Democratic majority in the Legislature, Michigan is leading the way in the development of electric vehicles, and thousands of good-paying union jobs are being created for Michiganders,” Barnes said.
“Trump’s MAGA agenda that Michigan Republicans are trying and failing to carry out here is deeply out of touch with the values of Michiganders,” said Michigan Democratic Party chair Lavora Barnes. “Whether it’s attacking abortion rights, undermining our elections or advocating for policies that hurt the middle class, Trump and his radical agenda have no place in our great state.”
“Trump’s MAGA agenda that Michigan Republicans are trying and failing to carry out here is deeply out of touch with the values of Michiganders,” Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes said in a statement.
“Republicans are prioritizing MAGA extremism over the real needs of Michiganders. Whether it’s attacking abortion rights, undermining our elections, or advocating for policies that hurt the middle class, Trump and his radical agenda have no place in our great state.”
LANSING —Michigan Republicans are welcoming disgraced former President Trump as they continue to do his bidding in state, prioritizing MAGA extremism over the real needs of Michiganders.
“Trump’s MAGA agenda that Michigan Republicans are trying and failing to carry out here is deeply out of touch with the values of Michiganders,” said Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes. “Whether it’s attacking abortion rights, undermining our elections, or advocating for policies that hurt the middle class, Trump and his radical agenda have no place in our great state.
Michigan Democrats remain laser-focused on holding Trump and his MAGA counterparts in the legislature and within the state Republican Party accountable while building a brighter future for all Michiganders.”
Republicans worked overtime to ban abortion, and Michigan Democrats got to work protecting reproductive freedom
LANSING — Ahead of the anniversary of the US Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, it is more clear than ever that abortion is on the ballot, and only Democrats are committed to defending reproductive freedom.
On this anniversary, Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes released the following statement:
“While Republicans continue to work overtime to undermine abortion rights, Michigan Democrats have proven that when we get power, we take action. In the face of the Dobbs decision that directly attacked reproductive freedom, voters turned out and Michigan Democrats not only won a trifecta, but we got to work.
We repealed the archaic 1931 state abortion ban and went on to expand abortion access for millions of Michiganders and Americans. We will continue to fight back against the GOP that is deadset on turning the clock backward on abortion rights across the country.”
This landmark legislation bans hair-based discrimination in the workplace
LANSING — After passing through the legislature with overwhelming support, the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act was signed into law by Gov. Whitmer today in a powerful statement that Michigan stands against discrimination. This law will help protect people of color from rules and discriminatory practices rooted in systemic racism by amending the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to include hair as an aspect of racial identity that cannot be discriminated against.
For this historic act, Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes and Vice Chair Erika Geiss released the following joint statement:
“Today’s signing of the CROWN Act is a huge step forward in protecting Michiganders of color from prejudice and hate, and its importance cannot be overstated.
On this historic, long overdue day, we must not forget that the most extreme MAGA Republicans in our state legislature voted against this progress.
Hate has no place in Michigan and Democrats are standing up and protecting Michiganders rights in the workplace, classroom, and beyond.”
Proposed by Senator Sarah Anthony, Democrats rallied behind the CROWN Act this week as they championed its passage through the House and onto Gov. Whitmer’s desk. The powerful impact of Senator Anthony’s bill is more evidence of Democrats’ keeping their promises and ushering in groundbreaking progress.
