MIRS Monday Podcast

MIRS Monday, July 11, 2016

On a scale of 1-100, what are the chances the Republican delegates at the Cleveland convention will be unbound? Scott Hagerstrom, the head of presidential candidate Donald Trump's Michigan operation answers this, among other questions. What type of ground game does Trump have in Michigan? Why is he confident disenfranchised GOP voters will back Trump in the fall?

Also a MIRS staffer talks about video evidence showing protestors pounding on the door of Attorney General Bill Schuette's Midland house last week. Should have been ticketed for trespassing? Does their demonstration hurt them or just their cause? This and more in this week's podcast.

MIRS Monday, July 4, 2016

Does the head of the House Republicans' campaign operation, Rep. Aric Nesbitt, support likely GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump? What is he urging his candidates to do about Trump as they campaign around their districts? Nesbitt answers these and other questions a month before the House primaries.

Also, MIRS discusses the possibility of House Republicans using the new criminal charges against Rep. Brian Banks (D-Harper Woods) on the campaign trail and how Attorney General Bill Schuette is continuing to up his profile during a busy week for his office.

MIRS Monday, June 27, 2016

Did the Republicans make a mistake by pushing the election of board members for a new Detroit schools systems in November, when Detroit voters, which are historically Democratic, may not have a reason, otherwise to vote down ballot with the elimination of straight ticket voting? The MIRS team talks about this dynamic.

Also, why does no-fault reform keep petering out in the state House? Steve Pontoni, executive director of the Michigan Association of Justice, talks about the message it shares with lawmakers on why putting caps on the coverage available to drivers catastrophically injured in car wrecks isn't in the state's best interests.

Finally, the MIRS team and Pontoni eulogize Rep. Julie Plawecki (D-Dearborn Heights).

MIRS Monday, June 20, 2016

MIRS polls in the 10^th Congressional District, but the most interesting number coming out of it may be how few people cared enough to participate. Is this an indictment of the 10th Congressional District? Lower ballot races in general? Or of people's growing disinterest in robo-polls at this point in the process?

Also, Gov. Rick Snyder is expected to vote as soon as Tuesday on whether he believes Waukesha, Wis., should be allowed to tap into the Great Lakes Basin. Why is Michigan's position on the issue so vital? The MIRS team bats around that question.

MIRS Monday, June 13, 2016

Tens of millions of dollars managed by the Michigan Health Endowment Fund  should be put toward addressing the public health impact of the Flint water crisis, says one of the Fund's board members, Jim Murray, the president of AT&T Michigan. Murray is supportive of legislation that makes it more clear that the money can go toward Flint-like emergencies.

Also, can the world thank the media for the creation of Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee? The MIRS team debates how much impact the media's coverage of Trump led to his rise in the polls and his eventual success in the GOP primary.

MIRS Monday, June 6, 2016

Did the House Republicans' passage of the latest Detroit Public Schools reform package upstage the Detroit Regional Chamber conference? Is the annual event on Mackinac Island over-covered by the state media, anyway? 

Also, on this week's podcast, listen to House Speaker Kevin Cotter talk about the DPS plan moments after its passage on Thursday night. A road package may have passed last year, but Department of Transportation Director Kirk Steudle says we're only about five years away from needing to revisit the issue.

And, finally, MIRS talks about why Line 5 will be the issue that keeps giving for environmentalists until the public is sick of hearing about it.

MIRS Monday, May 30, 2016

How many Republican state House candidates have bothered to send back a questionnaire to Planned Parenthood of Michigan? How many Democratic questionnaires have not been supportive of Planned Parenthood? Lori Carpentier, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood talks about abortion as an increasingly partisan issue in the past 15 years and if she sees it continuing to be.

Also, Brad Williams of the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce previews the annual policy conference this week on Mackinac Island. What he is looking forward to? Are Republican House members playing politics by not showing up?

And why isn't District Court Judge Hugh Clarke a big fan of Attorney General Bill Schuette? And is it possible the AG went after Gov. Rick Snyder last week as cover in case his Flint water investigation doesn't dig up anything else?

MIRS Monday, May, 23, 2016

Would the Great Lakes Education Project (GLEP) support any iteration of a Detroit Education Commission (DEC) as part of a Detroit Public Schools (DPS) reform package? What if all five members were appointees of the charter school movement? Gary Naeyaert, GLEP's executive director, answers that question and why GLEP doesn't support a Senate version that only puts a DEC in charge of approving the opening of a charter school entity that doesn't have an A or B grade.

Also, will the Governor sign legislation that sets a firm 180-day window for collecting citizen initiative signatures? The MIRS team tackles this question while also commenting on the Governor's use of a fund created to pay for his presidential exploratory efforts last year to cover his Flint-related legal bills.

MIRS Monday, May 16, 2016

Will the state of Michigan pay to replace Flint's lead water pipes? When it's all said and done, Lt. Gov. Brian Calley said the answer is yes. Having spent at least three days a week in Flint since mid-January, Calley talks about his experiences in the city suffering through a lead-laced municipal water supply that has made national news. Has he been as poorly received as Gov. Rick Snyder when he was booed during the President Obama visit?

Also, Mitch Bean of Great Lakes Economic Consulting said he sees lawmakers needing to make $200 to $300 million in negative adjustments to the Fiscal Year 2017 budget after Tuesday's Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference. Where are the most likely places to get money?

MIRS Monday, May. 9, 2016

As much as $5 million in state government money is being proposed to reimburse private schools for the costs of state mandates. It's not a voucher, said Tom Hickson of the Michigan Catholic Conference, who also talked about Syrian refugees, among other things.

Meanwhile, Democrats are amusing themselves by listening to different Republican officials conduct verbal gymnastics on the question of whether they would support Donald Trump at the convention. Answering yes and you are connected to his controversial comments. Say no and you don't support the Republican nominee.