2013 Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference

Snyder touts his accomplishments at GOP Mackinac conference: Gov. Rick Snyder all but announced his plans to seek re-election Friday, unveiling a campaign-style video that touts his accomplishments and denouncing as “hogwash” questions about whether he wants to keep his job. “We’re going to keep going and we’re going to reinvent our state,” Snyder told Republicans at the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference, held every two years on Mackinac Island. That prompted chants of “four more years” from the partisan crowd. http://on.freep.com/18JxmDT

Paul, Calley win Mackinac straw polls: Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky won the presidential straw poll at the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference, with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie finishing second, according to results released Sunday, the final day of the three-day conference. Attendees also gave a strong endorsement for re-election to Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, who came out ahead of tea party challenger Wes Nakagiri, with 432 votes for Calley and 69 for Nakagiri, according to Decider Strategies and Gongwer News Service, which conducted the poll of conference attendees on Mackinac Island. on.freep.com/15i8fxd

Land emerges as GOP's likely U.S. Senate candidate: Two years ago Terri Lynn Land ferried into the island as the woman in the wings among a half-dozen men campaigning for U.S. Senate. This past weekend, however, the former secretary of state stepped into the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference in the starring role. bit.ly/15lHNNK

Michigan's 'nerdy' Snyder says he's GOP model: Gov. Rick Snyder — the understated, self-described "nerd" and former CEO — is making one thing clear as he prepares for a challenging re-election race next year: He intends to be part of the national conversation underway about the Republican Party's future. The first-term governor used his role as host of a biennial state GOP conference that drew more than 1,000 state and national figures — including three potential presidential candidates — to cast himself as a problem solver with a governing philosophy that can fix the nation's ills. http://yhoo.it/18jRtKZ

August 19, 2013: The Bay County Bulletin

Camp Won’t Run for Senate Seat. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp will not run for a seat in the U.S. Senate, the Michigan Republican said Friday. Many considered Mr. Camp, one of the House’s most powerful lawmakers as the head of the tax-writing committee, the GOP’s best shot at reclaiming the Senate seat that will be vacated in 2014, when longtime Democratic Sen. Carl Levin retires. http://on.wsj.com/1ac3UN5

Republicans vote to boycott CNN, NBC debates if Clinton specials air. The Republican National Committee has voted to boycott any presidential primary debates planned by CNN and NBC if they proceed with lengthy television features on Hillary Clinton, widely expected to be a 2016 Democratic candidate. http://fxn.ws/17uXDqE

Court: RTW applies to state employees. A divided state Court of Appeals panel ruled Thursday that Michigan’s right-to-work law applies to roughly 35,000 unionized state employees — a decision that is a blow to organized labor. In a 2-1 decision tinged with political overtones, the appellate court said the state Legislature had the constitutional authority to set conditions of employment for state workers when it made financial support of a labor union optional. http://bit.ly/16ZVpBN

BIRTHDAYS. Monday. Governor Rick Snyder, State Rep. John Walsh. Tuesday. Robert Plant. Saturday. Mike Huckabee, Cal Ripken, Jr. Sunday. Regis Philbin.

August 5, 2013: The Bay County Bulletin

DAVE CAMP WEIGHING MICHIGAN SENATE BID. G.O.P. Rep. Dave Camp is considering a possible Senate run in Michigan in 2014, a move that could put in play another Democratic seat heading into next year's midterm elections. Camp has met with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) about the race, he said in an interview. "I have talked to McConnell," Camp told POLITICO on Tuesday. "I'm looking at it." http://politi.co/1cnkLM7

Former Senate candidate Glenn campaigning for Stamas' State House seat. Larkin Township resident Gary Glenn, who serves as president of the American Family Association of Michigan, has announced he will seek the Republican nomination for Michigan's 98th State House district in 2014. Glenn, 55, said his top priorities if elected would include defense of Michigan's new right to work law, preventing the implementation of any portion of the federal Affordable Care Act known commonly as "Obamacare" and education reform. http://bit.ly/14tuXLl

Snyder's approval rating gets boost from bankruptcy, Medicaid decisions. Gov. Rick Snyder’s decision to take Detroit into bankruptcy has statewide popularity, but his advocacy for expanding Medicaid has cost him support among fellow Republicans, according to a new poll released exclusively to The Detroit News. Snyder’s favorability has regained ground from a 38 percent low point in February after the divisive right-to-work debates, climbing to 44 percent this month, according to statewide polls commissioned by Lambert, Edwards & Associates, a bipartisan public relations firm. http://bit.ly/13y0Q5l

BIRTHDAYS. Friday. State Rep. Peter Pettalia. Saturday. State Rep. Kevin Daley.

Lidstrom: It's a 'tremendous honor' to have number retired by Detroit Red Wings. That his No. 5 would be retired by the Wings never was in doubt. Few players embody greatness like Lidstrom, who is considered one of the best defensemen to play the game. His exemplary play coupled with his professionalism and politeness off the ice earned him the nickname “the Perfect Human” from teammates. http://on.freep.com/12UmA1E

July 16, 2013: The Bay County Bulletin

White House Has Known For Months Obamacare Implementation Wouldn't Work. If you've been reading all the Obamacare stories lately, you might get the impression that the administration has just realized it will not be able to implement the massive health reform as designed. It has known for months. http://bit.ly/15a0og4

FORD'S 'INTEGRITY' RECALLED ON CENTENNIAL OF HIS BIRTH. Born 100 years ago Sunday, former President Gerald Ford was criticized for pardoning Richard Nixon in 1974, but in the years since, many have changed their views on Ford's decision. http://usat.ly/12wmHhO

SVSU administrator Mark Potts announces bid for Jim Stamas' State House seat in 2014. Mark Potts, the assistant dean of the College of Business and Management at Saginaw Valley State University, formally announced his candidacy June 26. "Growing up and raising my family here, I value the people and resources it offers," Potts said. "I ask you to join me in working to preserve what we hold dear and realize its full potential. I believe leadership that focuses on these core values will help our community and Michigan grow even stronger." http://bit.ly/13aeQHW (Editor's Note: Gary Glenn has also announced his candidacy for the state House in the 98th District, but the editor was unable to find a news article.)

In Detroit, Snyder's a populist. It’s reflective of Snyder’s overall commitment to Detroit. He’s instructed Orr to leave behind a city that is not only clear of its debt, but viable for the long haul. No governor in the past 40 years, Republican or Democrat, has done more for Detroit. http://bit.ly/1alThEU

BIRTHDAYS. Monday. Barry Melrose (h/t his mullet) Tuesday. Barry Sanders Thursday. Razor Shines (h/t Lou E. Loon), Torii Hunter Saturday. Pavel Datsyuk

TIGERS' MAX SCHERZER IS A.L. STARTER FOR ALL-STAR GAME. How obvious was it? “13-1 Max Scherzer,” Jim Leyland said. “I don’t think I need to explain more than that.” http://bit.ly/1apFZHs

July 8, 2013: The Bay County Bulletin

Welcome back to the Bay County Bulletin. We've been away for a little while from our regular weekly publishing, but we're aiming to get back into the swing of things.

GOV. SNYDER OP-ED ON CNBC: The Comeback State: Michigan's Reinvention: Creating a business-friendly tax and regulatory environment is at the core of the reinvention of Michigan. We're using an approach that levels the playing field and promotes free market solutions, rather than having the government pick winners and losers. http://www.cnbc.com/id/100857238

30th Biennial Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference. Since 1953, Michigan Republicans have gathered every two years at the historic Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island to discuss ideas, to learn how to articulate the Republican message and to interact with fellow Republicans from across the state—and the country. The Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference has become one of the premier Republican events in the Midwest. Information and registration is available online: http://www.mackinac2013.org/

THE OBAMACARE MESS. Obamacare was sold on two flagrantly false promises: that you could keep the insurance you have and that prices for insurance would drop. But employers will dump significant numbers of employees onto the exchanges to save on their own health-care costs. And the latest indication of the law’s price shock came via The Wall Street Journal this week, which reported, “healthy consumers could see insurance rates double or even triple when they look for individual coverage.” http://politi.co/16QFhke

Supreme Court rejects governor's request for advisory opinion on RTW. The Michigan Supreme Court has denied Gov. Rick Snyder’s request for an advisory opinion on whether the controversial right-to-work law he signed in December is constitutional. “We are not persuaded that granting the request would be an appropriate exercise of the court’s discretion,” the court said in an order released Friday. http://on.freep.com/126MqwU

Unions strike out at appeals court on Michigan teacher dues. A federal appeals court says it won’t take a second look at a Michigan law that bars school districts from helping unions collect dues from employees. http://bit.ly/13w92Kj

BIRTHDAYS: Monday. George W. Romney Wednesday. Ken Horn (h/t Mrs. Horn) Thursday. Friday. Bill Cosby (h/t Cliff Huxtable) Saturday. Harrison Ford, Patrick Stewart Sunday. Gerald R. Ford.

Bay City Fireworks Festival 2013 ends with a bang to delight of large crowd. As streams of red, gold, green and blue poured down from the sky above the Saginaw River, couples tilted their heads together, children gasped in the laps of their mothers and friends contemplated the amazing sight of the 2013 Bay City Fireworks Festival finale on Saturday, July 6. http://bit.ly/16ZztoG

Vessels set sail for Bay City's 'breathtaking' Tall Ship Celebration. A fleet of majestic tall ships sets sail beginning Monday, July 8, from a stop in Cleveland on a voyage to Bay City. The city's 2013 Tall Ship Celebration take places July 11-14 and is the only official gathering of tall ships in Michigan this year. http://bit.ly/1d9I35M

TIGERS WATCH: The Tigers are currently in first place in the A.L. Central by 2.5 games over Cleveland. Miguel Cabrera leads the Major Leagues with a .368 batting average and 90 R.B.I. Baltimore's Chris Davis leads M.L.B. with 33 home runs (Miguel has 28). Max Scherzer has 13 wins, tops in the majors, and 139 strikeouts, third in M.L.B. The club finishes a series against Cleveland tonight, then hosts Chicago and Texas.

Happy Independence Day 2013!!

Happy 237th birthday to the United States of America!!

"About the Declaration there is a finality that is exceedingly restful. It is often asserted that the world has made a great deal of progress since 1776, that we have had new thoughts and new experiences which have given us a great advance over the people of that day, and that we may therefore very well discard their conclusions for something more modern. But that reasoning can not be applied to this great charter. If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final. No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions."

—President Calvin Coolidge, "The Inspiration of the Declaration of Independence," July 5, 1926

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation: For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world: For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.