National Interest Picking Up in Funding Rogers' Challenger?

During the fall campaign, Michigan congressional districts 7 and 9 dominated the news and the attention of political junkies elsewhere. But after Republican incumbents in those two districts lost on Nov. 4 to Democrats Mark Schauer and Gary Peters, the Washington-based blog, The Hill, has begun to wonder about the future standing of some of Michigan's other Republican members of Congress.

In a recent post, The Hill noted that the results of the Nov. 4 congressional races showed which Republican incumbents likely will be targeted for defeat in 2010, based on their unimpressive wins this time. One of those is likely to be Thaddeus McCotter, who managed just 51 percent against a Democratic challenger who only spent $25,000.

The Hill adds that, "McCotter saw two neighboring Detroit-area GOPers lose, while a fourth area incumbent, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), took just 56 percent against an unheralded and under-funded challenger."

The unheralded and under-funded challenger was, of course, Democrat Bob Alexander. Alexander ended up with a $35,000 campaign debt, which he is working to retire. If you'd like to help out, visit his webpage and make a donation via ActBlue. Then invite your friends to do the same.

A Million Hits--But Still Something Is Missing

Congratulations to the Livingston Press and Argus for its thriving website, as noted in Maria Stuart's piece for Sunday (Nov. 16, 2008).

The column notes:

"For the first two weeks of November, we're closing in on almost 600,000 hits, surely helped a bit by the election. Even so, we're regularly averaging well over a million hits a month.

"More than a million hits!

"Never, in a million years, did I dream that livingstondaily.com would be averaging more than a million hits a month."

Sadly, the news media as a whole has been slow to figure out the whole internet-thing, but it's good to see that locally the media is now trying to catch up.

Stuart goes on to note that the Press and Argus regularly posts videos of events, including the two candidate debates it sponsored this election year.

Unfortunately, that's not the whole story. For the last debate, the newspaper put up video of only some of the candidates in its Oct. 30 debate.

Video of Democrat Donna Anderson's debate with Bill Rogers in the 66th House District and of Democrat Bob Alexander's debate with Mike Rogers never made it to the site that I could find.

Maybe the newspaper wasn't too proud of the way its two endorsed candidates performed against their Democratic opponents.

Is Rogers In Trouble?

When long-time incumbents begin attacking their opponents, they either have no class or they think they're in trouble.

So it was with no little sense of surprise that supposedly secure Republican Mike Rogers was caught conducting a negative push-poll earlier this week to smear Democratic challenger Bob Alexander in the 8th Congressional District race.

Now, the Michigan Republican Party has been caught sending negative fliers to voters in the 8th District attacking Alexander for supporting health care for all.

If Rogers' job is so secure, why he is attacking Alexander? If he has done so much for the people of Livingston County and elsewhere, why doesn't he just run on his accomplishments?

The answer is pretty clear, isn't it?

Incumbent Rogers Going Negative

Mike Rogers, an incumbent congressman with a huge war-chest, is going negative against an under-financed Democrat.

Is he worried?

Democrat Bob Alexander's campaign is receiving reports that voters in Michigan's 8th congressional district are receiving calls in what appears to be a negative push poll.

The calls are from an organization that identifies itself as either "Wilkerson Associates" or "Vanguard" which claims to be conducting a poll. One of those voters receiving such a call made a return call to the number, which turned out to be one of the GOP's "Victory Centers."

The calls generally start out asking who the person plans to vote for, and then asks a "question" containing false allegations about Bob Alexander.

Anyone receiving such a call is asked to make a note of the content, ask who the caller is working for, and then contact Bob Alexander for Congress by calling 517-367-7400 or emailing info@alexanderforcongress.com.

After all his years in Congres, is this all Mike Rogers has to talk about -- lies about his opponent? Shouldn't he be bragging about his accomplishments for the people of the 8th District?

The silence speaks volumes.

More Good News About Alexander Race!

It's time to start believing in Bob Alexander.

I've been a believer for a long time in Bob's chances against Mike Rogers in Michigan's 8th Congressional District. But now Mark Grebner has done a mini-poll of ticket-splitting voters in the district to find Bob close to Rogers in what is expected to be a big Democratic year in Michigan.

Check out Grebner's post on Michigan Liberal.

This confirms what I have been hearing from people for months who have come into the Livingston County Democratic Party office looking for yard signs and other information. When Rogers' name is brought up to them, they recoil. But when asked if they support Bob, they ask for more information. Lately, some people have come in expressly asking for Alexander yard signs.

The word is getting out.

Enjoy Breakfast with Bob Next Week!

Have questions about how Bob Alexander would represent you in Washington, D.C.? Want to know what he would do about the financial crisis, about health care, or about any of the several other crises eight years of Republican rule have brought us?

Then you will want to join him at a Livingston County edition of "Breakfast with Bob" at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 23. Bob will be at the Breakfast Club, 676 W. Grand River, Brighton.

Alexander's campaign is catching on. Russ Feingold recently named him one of his ten "Progressive Patriots." A progressive patriot is someone who has made his or her race competitive but isn't getting much support from the Democratic Party and other major donors. Feingold is trying to raise $50,000 to give each of the candidates $5,000 each.

That's good news for Bob. So come and hear his message!

Golf for a New Congressman!

Would you like to see Mike Rogers go down to defeat on Nov. 4?

Then come play golf on Sunday!

Bob Alexander's campaign is hosting a golf outing/fund-raiser to raise money for his campaign.

The event is Sunday, Oct. 12, at 12:30 p.m. at Bramblewood Golf Course, 2154 Bramblewood Dr., Holly, MI. The course's number is 248-634-3481. The $60 outing includes golf, contests, prizes, and more.

For more information, contact Lydia Mitchell at lydia@alexanderforcongress.com or call her at 517-242-0320.

With your help, Alexander will have the funds to get his message out prior to the Nov. 4 election!

Internal Alexander Poll: Rogers Is Weak

The truth will make you free, the saying goes.

And in Michigan's 8th Congressional District, the truth about Republican Mike Rogers makes voters want to be free of him.

That's according to a survey of likely voters in the district.

When voters were told about Rogers' support for George Bush's policies, only 31 percent supported the incumbent for re-election.

His opponent, Democrat Bob Alexander, was favored by 51 percent. Another 18 percent were undecided.

The "informed head-to-head" poll gave voters balanced statements about each candidate. Christensen & Associates Inc. directed the survey, which was conducted by phone by the campaign.

The same poll found the district strongly behind Sen. Barack Obama for president by a margin of 46 percent to just 36 percent for Republican John McCain, with 18 percent undecided.

It may not have been an outside poll, but it does show that Alexander can beat Rogers -- if he can tell voters what Rogers really stands for, and not just what Rogers wants voters to hear.

Take a minute to visit Alexander's website and help him get the word out.

Thank You, Press and Argus!

The Livingston Press and Argus, while generally balanced in its news coverage, usually has an editorial policy that tilts toward Republicans.

So it was a shock on Sunday (Sept. 28, 2008) to see it editorialize so eloquently about the billboard on Genoa Township property touting the candidacy of Republican incumbent Mike Rogers against Democratic challenger Bob Alexander in the 8th Congressional District.

The newspaper says Genoa Township should have cleared up the matter of political signs when it accepted the donation of the land for the fire station, but since it did not, it should be pushing for a legal opinion on the presence of the sign to clear up the matter.

Because links to newspaper articles go dead so quickly, I will quote at length from the editorial:

"A township shouldn't be breaking the law, particularly election law. It owes it to its citizens and its self-image to know where it stands legally.

"But what if it's not illegal? What if it's a gray area that no one will settle? At that point, Nielsen can do what he pleases. But the class act would be to remove the sign, replacing it with a nonpartisan message and moving the Rogers sign to another location on land he fully controls.

"This may seem trivial to some, but it's not. Republicans rule the roost in Livingston County. But that doesn't mean that city or township governments — or fire department authorities — are taking sides based on partisanship. Those who denigrate the Democrats' protest would likely be singing a different tune if, say, a large banner supporting Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., were hanging from the Green Oak Township Hall, facing U.S. 23.

"The point is: You pay your taxes and you expect your government to perform its duties independent of politician affiliation. That's something you should expect even if all elected members of a township board are Republicans."

That's exactly right. Republicans may control the board, but that doesn't mean they can ignore the law or the rights of their Democratic and independent constituents.

Public Confidence in Elections at Stake with Political Sign

Perception is everything these days because in the modern world we have to take most things on faith. We can't verify them for ourselves.

We can't verify as individuals that the food we buy in grocery stores is safe, that our doctor is qualified, or that our elections are fairly conducted. We have to take it on faith.

And in a democracy like ours, when faith in the fairness of our elections is lost, it's hard to get back.

That's why a complaint has been filed with the Secretary of State against a political sign on public property in Genoa Township, a violation of Section 57 of the Michigan Campaign Finance Act. The sign supports incumbent Republican Mike Rogers against Democrat Bob Alexander in the race for the 8th Congressional District seat. But the issue is much broader than this year's congressional race. It goes to the heart of our democracy.

The Livingston Press and Argus has coverage here.

Livingston Community News has coverage here.

Detroit News has coverage here.

And WHMI has coverage here.

Hear Bestselling Author's Eloquent Endorsement of Bob Alexander in Michigan's 8th Congressional District

Democrat Bob Alexander has won an eloquent endorsement in his race for Michigan's 8th Congressional seat from bestselling author, lecturer, radio and television personality Marianne Williamson.

Williamson, founder of The Peace Alliance, met with Alexander during the Democratic
Convention in Denver after learning of his long history of advocating for peace. But Williamson did not stop with supporting Alexander's position on peace issues. She endorsed his entire platform.

Check out this youtube video of her assessment of why Alexander would be better for Michigan families than Mike Rogers.

Political Sign on Public Property In the Spotlight Again

The Livingston Press and Argus has followed the lead of the Livingston Community News and picked up on the presence of a political sign on public property.

The newspaper, in editions for Wednesday (Sept. 17, 2008), noted the presence of the "Rogers for Congress" sign on the firestation in Genoa Township.

Rogers' staff says they were unaware of the sign. Guess Rogers needs to spend a little more time in the district, then.

How Many Houses Do You Own?

While John McCain has trouble remembering how many multi-million-dollar condos and houses he owns, too many Michigan families are struggling to hold onto their only home.

And people like Mike Rogers aren't helping. Instead, he takes money and favors from one of the nation's largest mortgage foreclosure law firms -- Trott and Trott. He also has voted against measures to help people losing their homes to foreclosure.

Meanwhile, Bob Alexander spent the day with a Michigan family losing their farm and home. Watch the tragedy unfold:

Road Trippin' with Bob Alexander

Bob Alexander brought his "Road Trip for Change" to Brighton a few weeks ago to formally kick off his campaign for Michiganb's 8th Congressional District. If you missed it, here's your chance to sample the trip via video.

The campaign stopped at Bagels and Bites in Brighton, where Bob laid out his energy independence strategy, which shares many similarities with Barack Obama's, including a $150 billion commitment to alternative and clean energy.

The video is well done, and the original background music is great. Another sign of what a terrific campaign Bob's team is running.

Take a peek.

Michigan's 8th Congressional District -- Closer Than Some Think?

Michigan Liberal has a piece on Tuesday (July 29, 2008) which suggests that the battle Democrat Bob Alexander is waging in the 8th Congressional District might turn out to be a lot closer than people think right now.

From what I've seen of the Alexander campaign so far, that's definitely true. Bob is running a professional campaign without much financial support.

But the numbers are running in his favor, with Rogers losing support in each of the last three elections.

Your Troubles Are Not Rogers' Priority

Mike Rogers seems to just say no to anything that will help average working people. And to say yes to things that will help those who don't need it.

Take his recent no vote on the bill to help up to 400,000 families keep their homes in the midst of the current foreclosure crisis. The measure passed the U.S. House last week, with significant GOP support -- but not Mike Rogers'.

Bob Alexander, Rogers' Democratic opponent in Michigan's 8th Congressional District, pointed out in a news release Monday (July 28, 2008) that Rogers was voting against homeowners in dire straits even as he said yes to taking funds from Michigan's largest foreclosure law firm. According to Alexander's campaign press release, Trott and Trott, P.C., has been a staunch Rogers supporter, organizing golf outings and other fundraisers for Rogers' lucrative political action committee, the MIKE R PAC.

According to the Alexander press release, since 2002, thousands of dollars have passed between Rogers and the foreclosure lawyers Trott & Trott in each election
cycle.

Here is the list supplied by Alexander's campaign:

2008 Cycle -- $7,163 for "fundraising expenses" (12/10/07)
2006 Cycle -- $5,735 for "fundraising expenses" (7/21/06)
2004 Cycle -- $7254 for a "MIKE R Fund golf outing (8/10/04) and $2194 for "fundraising expenses" (7/17/03)
2002 Cycle -- $1944 for "reimbursement for golf event" (8/13/02)

"Mike Rogers' vote against helping 8th District homeowners facing foreclosure shows once again, just how out of touch he is with the people he claims to serve. I think this shows beyond a doubt that he is for sale to special interests, and that the
residents he represents mean nothing to him," said Alexander. "It's time for the voters of the 8th District to send Mike Rogers to the unemployment line."

What Others Are Saying

Here's a mini-roundup of what others have said about Democrats in our part of Michigan in the last week, in case you missed it:

The Conservative Media has a nice piece on the Thursday (July 24, 2008) Livingston Press and Argus debate.

WHMI had great coverage of Bob Alexander's campaign kick-off event, Road Trip for Change, Thursday also.



"The Democratic challenger to Brighton Congressman Mike Rogers kicked off his campaign for office Thursday. 64-year old Bob Alexander, who ran unsuccessfully against Rogers in 2004, made stops in Ingham, Clinton, Shiawassee, Oakland, and Livingston Counties. He told a crowd of about 25 people at Bagels and Bites in Brighton he wants to bring new jobs, renewable energy and better health care coverage to Michigan. He also spoke of his commitment to being fiscally responsible and getting through the foreclosure crisis. Alexander tells WHMI he realizes he’s headed into an uphill battle in squaring off with the republican incumbent, but says when going door to door people have expressed their frustration to him about current leaders; giving him confidence local residents are ready for a change. Alexander has an active teaching background at the K-12 and college level and has served in the Peace Corps. He currently owns and operates Alexander Consultants L.L.C., a governmental and business management consulting firm in East Lansing."

Great picture of Bob. A well-done event by Bob's campaign.

And the Livingston Press and Argus mentioned our write-in candidates in a sidebar in Sunday's editions.

Alexander Motoring Toward a Better Future for Michigan

Bob Alexander motored into Brighton on Thursday (July 24, 2008), riding on what could be part of Michigan's future, if only we are smart enough to seize it.

Alexander, the Democratic candidate working to unseat 8th District Republican incumbent Mike Rogers, came to town in a brand new Chevy Malibu hybrid.

"It's an amazing car," said Alexander as he sat down to lunch at Bagels and Bites in Brighton.

Of course, any new car must be amazing compared to the 1995 Ford Escort with 240,000 miles Alexander has been driving.

Even allowing for the generation gap between cars, the hybrid car -- and the technological advances it represents -- is pretty amazing in terms of what it could do for our nation and our state.

And Alexander was quick to point that out in a speech to about three dozen supporters that focused on the promise of alternative energy.

Alexander promised to support Barack Obama's Clean Energy Future plan to invest $150 billion over the next 10 years to bring about a new generation of biofuels and infrastructure for handling them, speed up the production of plug-in hybrids and all electric cars, and develop commercial scale renewable energy production from solar, wind, and geothermal sources. He supported a coupon program to boost the purchase of more fuel-efficient cars.

These sorts of technologies and ideas could help create new, good paying jobs in Michigan, he said.

"Our country faces an energy crisis, and our planet faces an environmental crisis. I can think of no better place than Michigan, with its history of technological leadership and a world-class workforce, to be at the forefront of the American energy revolution," he said.

Alexander billed the event, which covereed several cities in the 8th District, as a "Road Trip for Change," change that he said is needed after seven and a half yeas of George Bush's policies, supported by Mike Rogers.

"We need a government that will help in stressful times such as these, not a government that is going to stand in our way. Mike Rogers and George Bush are standing in our way. They are not helping, but impeding the people of Michigan; impeding our talents and impeding our success," he said.

He singled out Rogers' votes against a new GI bill to help returning combat veterans, against raising the federal minimum wage, against extending unemployment compensation for another 16 years, against full funding for Medicare payments to doctors and hospitals, against expanding medical care for uninsured children, and against expanding health care for millions of uninsured Americans.

Alexander is making a persuasive case for getting rid of Rogers. He is running an impressive campaign on a shoe-string.

Imagine what he could do with a little help from you!

Come See Bob Alexander in Brighton Thursday!

Bob Alexander, the Democratic candidate for the 8th Congressional District, will blow into Brighton Thursday (July 24, 2008) in a brand new ride.

Alexander will be riding in a new Malibu hybrid car leased for his campaign, demonstrating his support for green energy alternatives.

Alexander will be having lunch at 1:30 p.m. at Bagles and Bites, 5757 Whitmore Lake Road.

Come and have a bite with Bob and hear his exciting ideas for the 8th District!

Alexander Campaign Looking Professional

You've got to hand it to Bob Alexander. He may not have a ton of money, but he is certainly running a professional-looking campaign.

Alexander, who is challenging incumbent Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan's 8th Congressional District, has put together a team that is able to put canvassers in the field and fund-raisers on the phone.

He also has a first-class website up and running--alexanderforcongress.com.

Give the site a visit -- sign up for his newsletter, volunteer, make a donation. It's an impressive site and will make you want to help.