MIRS Monday Podcast

A 59% majority of Capitol insiders believe Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will run for president by the 2028 election.  Bernie Porn from EPIC-MRA talks about this and other results from MIRS Capitol Insiders survey. 

 

Sen. Sylvia Santana responds to the lone no vote on her Juneteenth bill, Rep. Bryan Posthumus is asked about the DeSantis presidential rollout and an expert on housing addresses why we may be seeing the return of trailer parks.

If Republicans don't agree to give the Democrats' early presidential primary immediate effect, the legislature would need to adjourn by Sept. 1 in order to make the mechanics work for an election, says Peter Ruddell of the Honigman law firm. Ruddell and the Baldy Bipartisan crew of Adrian Hemond of Grassroots Midwest and John Sellek with Harbor Strategic talk about the legal and political challenges associated with this.

A potential challenge to the income tax rollback, 7th Congressional district possibilities, and Sen. Darrin Camilleri talks about why trains are blocking roads in his district for hours a week, all in this week's show.

Michigan House Appropriations Committee Chair Angela Witwer says the state needs more spending on direct economic incentives, not less. She breaks down why along with the significant spending priorities for House Democrats in their passed 2024 budget.

Should Michigan return to fusion voting? Former Republican Congressman Dave Trott says the “common sense” party could temper political extremism by endorsing moderate candidates.

And a former Republican gubernatorial candidate has already announced his candidacy in Michigan’s 3^rd Congressional district.  Financial consultant Michael Markey talks about what he learned in 2022 and what he thinks about the Bud Lite controversy.

A former official within what is now the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services concedes that it shouldn't have taken three years for the Detroit News to get copies of COVID-era nursing home complaints. 

Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet and Sen. John Damoose are working across the aisle on a new twist to an older idea and a former federal Tobacco Products director questions why Michigan and other states aren't spending more on smoking cessation when tobacco use here is more than 50% higher than the national average.

Alexis Wiley, the chief strategist for Moment Strategies, talks about working as the chief of staff for Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and her perceptions on the future of Highland Park. 

Rep. Sarah Lightner is asked what legislative Republicans want out of this budget process after none of them have supported a single subcommittee spending plan from the Democrats at this point in the process. 

 

And Rep. Noah Arbit talks about expanding the statute of limitations on sexual assault cases, expanded penalties on hate crimes, and more. 

Political consultant Lis Smith talks about why an early Michigan primary is important even if a President Biden re-nomination appears to be a fait accompli.

 

Sen. Jeff Irwin talks about his no vote on the Gotion plant near Big Rapids, Line 5, his new nursing bills and other issues.

 

And Green Township Supervisor Jim Chapman talks about some of the crazier rumors that have sprouted out as his divided community debated the Gotion Plant. What can stop the plant, at this point, if it can be stopped?

 

House Minority Leader Matt Hall talks about "the deal" that's stuck in neutral.

 

Former Michigan Democratic Party spokesperson Rodericka Applewhaite talks about Gov. Whitmer's national presence and why Perry Johnson is running for president.

 

And Rep. Felicia Brabec, the new chair of the Michigan Firearm Safety and Violence Prevention Caucus talks about what she'd like to see from the Legislature on gun safe legislation.

What would opening up gun companies to civil penalties for mass shooting mean to the industry? We talk with Adams Arms President Jason East. Would there be the votes for legislation along those lines? We talk with Sen. John D. Cherry, the only hunter in the Democratic caucus. 

Gov. Whitmer's second 100 days, the U.S. Senate seat and a 2024 primary challenger already emerging in the Detroit-based 13th Congressional District against Congressman Shri Thanedar.

 

Former President Donald Trump's claims of a corrupt legal system is having an impact on criminal cases throughout the country according to former U.S. Attorney in Detroit Matthew Schneider.

 

Rep. Julie Brixie talks about her personal relationship with the family of an MSU shooting victim and the prospects of her running for congress.

 

And bring out the black Sharpie. Chris DeWitt of FOIA Services Michigan commiserates with MIRS Editor Kyle Melinn and the rest of the MIRS team on the inconsistent and heightened use of redacations in Freedom of Information Act responses. 

What is behind the looming possibility of reactive violence to a Donald Trump arrest? According to clinical psychologist Dr. Emily Bashah and political expert Paul E. Johnson, it's an addiction to extremist ideologies. They explain. 

 

Former Rep. Jim Townsend's latest project as the director of the Levin Center at Wayne State University has him telling legislators that good oversight is good policy and good politics.

 

And southeast Michigan business executive Nasser Beydoun says he's willing to spend "whatever it takes" to make a competitive U.S. Senate run.

 

Reporters Samantha Shriber and Andrew Minegar join MIRS Editor Kyle Melinn.