The Michigan Senate Race has piqued my interest:
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) is coming out in support of [Pete Hoekstra] the former House member tomorrow morning. Hoekstra could face a tough primary to take on Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D) from charter school founder Clark Durant, who is announcing his bid tomorrow [Friday]. But Republicans have been lining up behind Hoekstra. Meanwhile, Michigan Democrats are launching a website targeting Hoekstra, called HoekstraHoax.com, highlighting GOP complaints about the long-time lawmaker.
I know absolutely nothing about local Michigan politics. However, I do know some about Clark Durant, and I like the guy:
During his four year tenure as Chairman of the Legal Services Corporation Board, Durant, a deficit hawk, never asked for an increase in tax payer funds for his agency budget, and he challenged Congress to focus funds on where they could help the most, in the neighborhood. One United States Senator said the day after Clark’s testimony, “you go back and tell Clark Durant to shut up and to spend the money like everybody else.” …and that was a Republican.
Also during his tenure, Clark was invited to give a speech at a meeting of the past President of the American Bar Association (the professional association for attorneys). His speech emphasized that the greatest barrier to justice for the poor was the monopoly of the legal of profession — not exactly a popular position to take in that audience. The President of the ABA called for Clark’s resignation as Chairman of Legal Services. He was unsuccessful, and the resulting publicity highlighted the barriers to justice that face ordinary people. ….
In 1991, Clark co-founded the Cornerstone Schools with Adam Cardinal Maida and other civic leaders. … In 1995, Clark was named a Michiganian of the Year by the Detroit News for his work in education.*
Though I’ve heard the name before, I don’t know much about (former Rep.) Pete Hoekstra. From the looks of it, he’s not a terrible politician. However, he’s spent nearly twenty years in Congress, so…. color me skeptical.
Anyway, I definitely have some big gaps to fill. Sound off on what I should know about this race or your impressions.
* – As an aside, Clark’s son also runs a blog I read from time to time.
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Comments
This seems consistent with Bachmann’s turn to the Dark Side.
We need new people in DC. There is no upside to sending the same ones back year after year. We eed to impose our own term limits. Congress will never do it. A long stay in DC will corrupt the most honest person.
Hoekstra did good work on the House Intelligence Committee; don’t know much about him otherwise, but he should be judged on his record, not just on the length of time he spent on DC. Either he or Durant would certainly be a large step up from the intellectually-challenged Debbie Stabenow.
I can’t claim to be an expert on the topic of Michigan politics but I do know two things: A) the leftists of the state Democrat party are particularly well organized and active, and B) they will be unrelenting vicious in the 2012 election cycle, viz the recent Hoffa, Jr. comments.
Whoever the Michigan Republicans nominate to go against Stabenow will have a serious — and dirty — fight ahead of them.
Is “Michele Bachmann came out in support of” now to be used as a pejorative? Sheesh. Hoekstra is one of the good guys.
Maybe you should do some work other than just reading a candidate’s campaign website before you decide you like the guy. At least do yourself the favor of keeping it to yourself rather than coming off as ignorant for posting in support of someone you haven’t vetted.
The reason the ABA president called for his resignation is that Durant said that requirements that lawyers actually graduate from an ABA-accredited institution and pass a bar exam were ‘barriers to competition…’. Durant by implication wanted attorneys without demonstrated competence to assist the poor, in order to bring down costs and increase the number of so-called assistants.
Accreditation and examination to demonstrate competence keep out the incompetents that would otherwise hang a shingle right next to yours, Kathleen. Why do the work to become a competent attorney if someone can call him/herself the same thing without passing muster?
Here’s the link. I shouldn’t have had to provide it for you.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1987-02-15/news/8701120268_1_aba-president-eugene-thomas-legal-services-corporation-legal-monopoly
Personally, I’d love to have incompentent competition hanging their shingle next door.
BTW: Do you know anymore about this guy than what they print in the Chicago Trib (Obama’s home-town paper)?
As for coming across as ignorant, well … I’m sure you can figure that for yourself.
PS: You don’t work in a job — if you indeed work — that requires critcal thinking skills, I trust?
That is exactly what they are.
Surely it’s up to customers to decide whose services they should buy, and what competence they should have demonstrated. Where does the government get the right to license occupations and decide who has the right to practice them? Conservatives are against occupation licensing requirements when it comes to flower arrangers, hair dressers, coffin sellers, so why not lawyers? This is what the Privileges and Immunities clause of the 14th amendment was supposed to protect.
Yes, it’s called the free market. If you don’t like it get the hell over to the Democratic Party, where you belong.
For the same reason people in unlicensed occupations do what they can to prove their abilities, so people will buy their services.
Milhouse, thanks for the heavy lifting.
Biggergear, I happen to know a bit more about Mr. Durant, including the fact that he spent a night with David Friedman in jail for sitting on the floor of a conference. (Try finding that on his website!) I don’t agree with everything he has ever said, though I don’t find his argument reprehensible in the least and I overwhelmingly like the guy. I won’t resort to making personal attacks, I’m a bit above that (though maybe it’s just a sign of my incompetence).
DDFR was in jail?! I didn’t know that. Details, please. Or should I ask him?
Shoot me an email. 🙂
Can’t find your address anywhere on this site
kam424 AT cornell.edu — it was posted on the old LI site, sorry.