Peters, Gary Sen

OMG BAIL 1 25

On the heels of former U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Lansing) retiring, newly minted Michigan senior U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Twp.) has announced he will not seek reelection in 2026, opening the field for what will likely be another hotly contested Senate race.

In a, Peters discussed his experiences working in Congress, calling it the honor of his life, but stating he always knew there would come a time to pass the torch to the next generation of public servants.

“Our founding fathers envisioned members of Congress as citizens serving their country for a few terms and then returning to private life. I agree. After three terms in the House and two terms in the Senate, I believe now is time for me to write a few more paragraphs in my current chapter and turn over the reins. I will therefore not seek reelection in 2026,” Peters said.

In 2024, Democrats lost control of the U.S. Senate while Peters chaired the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Republicans hold a 53-47 advantage this term. Democrats managed to hang onto Stabenow’s seat in 2024, as now-U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) narrowly defeated former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-White Lake).

While Democrats hope to retake the upper chamber in 2026, Peters’ decision makes that task considerably harder for the party that will have to defend another open seat.

Peters was first elected in 2014, succeeding longtime U.S. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Detroit). He won reelection in 2020 by a razor-thin margin over now-U.S. Rep. John James (R-Shelby Twp.).

With two years left in his term, there is plenty of work left to do, Peters said.

“I intend to continue my work on issues important to all Michiganders by working to lower costs, make sure everyone has the opportunity to succeed, feel safe in their community, and protect core American democratic values,” he said.

Peters was first elected to the U.S. House in 2008 before winning election to the U.S. Senate in 2014. However, Peters noted that while he is leaving Congress, he is not retiring.

“I look forward to writing many more chapters when my term ends. I do not know what those chapters will be, but I expect one of them will be me finding endless twisting back roads where I can experience the joy of total freedom riding my Harley Davidson motorcycle on a warm sunny day,” Peters said.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee is already gearing up for a tough campaign, with U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the group’s chair, issuing a statement shortly after Peters’ announcement went public.

“Gary Peters is reading the room. After spending years ignoring illegal immigration and destroying his state’s auto industry, Michigan is better off without him. We’re committed to giving them a fighter that will stand with President Trump to restore the economic prosperity and security of our country.”

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AN 2 26 MICHIGAN

Anthony Hudson, a Genesee County truck driver running for the Republican nomination for governor, has made a habit of threatening elected officials with hanging for “treason,” making such threats at least twice since the start of 2026.

On Jan. 4, in a video posted to Hudson’s social media, he says, “It’s time to get the rope” — while holding a large loop of rope around his arm — as a call to action to “Michiganians and patriots” against politicians who he alleges received kickbacks from former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, including Michigan’s U.S. Sens. Elissa Slotkin and Gary Peters, both Democrats.

“My hope is that every one of them will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and may their names forever live in shame for their treason,” he says in the video.

Less than a month later, on Feb. 1, in a Mason City Council meeting, speaking in opposition to data center development, Hudson again threatened elected officials — this time local government officials — with hanging.

“You guys never listen, and that’s the problem. These people voted you into office so that you could be their voice in government,” he said. “When you go against that voice, you commit what we call treason. The punishment for treason is public hanging. So, I suggest you start listening.”

Hudson’s statements were strongly condemned by the state Democratic party, who also urged the Michigan Republican Party and the other Republican candidates for governor to similarly condemn the threats.

“Political violence is completely unacceptable, and this kind of dangerous, hateful extremism has no place in our state and country. Anthony Hudson must immediately retract these comments and issue an apology,” Michigan Democratic Party spokesperson Derrick Honeyman wrote in a statement.

The Michigan Republican Party did not respond to a request for a response.

But Hudson doubled down when asked to comment on his statements.

“Know the law and the consequences! I didn’t write the law, as governor I will enforce the law. Educating someone about the law and what the consequences are is not threatening anyone,” he wrote in an email to the Michigan Advance. “Don’t come at me for holding them accountable and saying the worst part out loud.”

Hudson’s comments are similar to those of President Donald Trump, who has accused six elected Democrats, including Slotkin, of committing treason after they recorded a video reminding military members that they did not have to follow illegal orders.

In reaction to the video, Trump called it “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS” later saying it was “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”

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tony fabrizio pow?

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2020/02/13/devos-family-pumps-800-000-into-super-pac-focused-senate-race/4748081002/

no lnx

DeVos family pumps $800,000 into super PAC targeting Peters

Craig Mauger

The Detroit News

Members of West Michigan's influential DeVos family have given $800,000 to a group focused on unseating Democratic U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, according to new fundraising disclosures.

Democrats alleged the contributions showPeters' GOP opponent, Farmington Hills businessman John James, will stand with U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and her family. But Republicans countered that the contributions revealed key donors see how vulnerable Peters is this year in his re-election bid.

Republican U.S. candidate John James and incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Gary Peters will face off in November 2020.

A Jan. 3-7 poll by Glengariff Group of 600 likely Michigan voters showed Peters leading James 44% to 40% in a survey with a margin of error of minus-plus 4 percentage points. Peters is one of two senators running in states that President Donald Trump won in 2016, and first-term senators normally face a challenging re-election campaign, Glengariff's Richard Czuba said.

Six members of the DeVos family gave a total of $800,000 to Better Future MI Fund, a super political action committee, on Dec. 9. Under federal election law, super PACs can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money trying to persuade voters as long as they act independently of the candidates' campaigns.

Candidates face limits on how much they can raise from individual donors for their campaigns.

Asked about the contributions, DeVos family spokesman Nick Wasmiller said family members are "committed to active involvement in their communities."

They make political contributions and philanthropic contributions to "advance opportunity for all, preserve and enhance individual freedom, and encourage a fair and open economy that rewards hard work, encourages innovation and recognizes the important value of each person," Wasmiller added.

Better Future MI Fund formed Oct. 31, according to a filing with the Federal Election Commission. The super PAC had to file its first campaign finance disclosure, covering the last two months of 2019, on Jan. 31.

The super PAC's only contributors were, at that point, from six members of the DeVos family. Daniel and Pamella DeVos, listed as executives with RDV Corp., each contributed $200,000. Cheri DeVos and her husband, Steve Ehmann, each gave $100,000. And Doug and Maria DeVos each gave $100,000.

Members of the DeVos family gave a total of $800,000 to Better Future MI Fund in December, according to new campaign finance disclosures. The super political action committee is focused on Michigan's 2020 U.S. Senate race.

Tori Sachs, who served as campaign manager for James during his 2018 race for the U.S. Senate, is now consulting for Better Future MI Fund. Sachs declined to discuss the DeVos family contributions on Thursday, saying she wouldn't comment "on fundraising or strategy."

The DeVos family's patriarch, Richard DeVos, co-founded the health and beauty products company Amway. His son Dick DeVos unsuccessfully ran for Michigan governor in 2006.

Dick DeVos' wife, Betsy DeVos, is secretary of education under President Donald Trump. She's received heavy criticism from Democrats and some teachers over her support of charter and private schools. Betsy DeVos is not making contributions to candidates while serving as education secretary.

The DeVos family has traditionally given the most political contributions of all Michigan families. For the 2018 election, DeVos family members combined to spend $11.3 million on federal and state-level contributions, according to the nonprofit Michigan Campaign Finance Network.

Elena Kuhn, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Democratic Party, blasted the DeVos contributions to the pro-James super PAC.

“It’s easy to see why the DeVos family is already spending nearly a million dollars to fully throw their support behind John James — they know that he would stand with Betsy DeVos in boosting for-profit colleges and undermining our public schools instead of fighting for Michigan students, educators and hard-working families,” Kuhn said.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos

As of the end of 2019, outside groups — organizations acting outside of the candidates' campaigns — had already spent $3 million on Michigan's 2020 U.S. Senate race, according to a Detroit News analysis.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, has been "funneling millions of dollars to Michigan to try and protect a vulnerable incumbent," said Abby Walls, spokeswoman for the James campaign.

"Democrats recognize that a 30-year career politician will have a tough time against a combat veteran and job creator like John James," Walls added.

James challenged Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, in 2018 and lost by 6.5 percentage points. Individual members of the DeVos family contributed $450,000 to the two top super PACs backing James in that race, ESAFUND and Outsider PAC, according to campaign finance disclosures. The total doesn't include corporate contributions from entities tied to the family.

James, like U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, has been able to draw contributions from donors across the country, said John Sellek, CEO of the Lansing-based consulting firm Harbor Strategic Public Affairs.

“There have been a number of signs that both Michigan’s GOP leadership but also national leadership seesJohn James as a rising star and someone who could flip a Senate seat,"said Sellek, who has previously worked with Republicans.

cmauger@detroitnews.com

https://www.alternet.org/2022/02/louis-dejoy/

The outrageous story about the Postal Service too many know nothing about

Louis DeJoy is plotting more moves to destroy the Postal Service — he must be stopped

Thom Hartmann and Independent Media Institute February 12, 2022

The Republicans are about to win a major battle in their war on electric vehicles, this time with the second largest vehicle fleet in America owned by the US Postal Service. It's an outrageous story that most Americans don't know a thing about.

Transportation, after all, is the single largest source of global warming emissions from the United States. And the Post Office once thought they could do something about it.

To understand what's going on with the Post Office right now, you first must know the backstory that, it seems, most media outlets aren't interested in discussing. It's an issue that's hitting millions of Americans right now.

One of our kids, for example, recently became the first member of our family to buy a fully 100% electric car. She was so excited and has loved it driving around Portland…until she had to drive to another state for a conference, when she discovered what a problem America not having an electric charging infrastructure causes.

The way to solve this problem, of course, is to have a substantial and massive increase in electric vehicles and that's exactly what the Post Office set out to jump-start back in 2006.

Transportation, after all, is the single largest source of global warming emissions from the United States. And the Post Office once thought they could do something about it.

Things were going well for the Post Office in 2006.

They were making money and had a surplus. They were therefore seriously considering replacing a large part of their fleet—the largest fleet of civilian vehicles in the nation—with electric and hybrid vehicles.

It would be a mighty boost for the electric car, and a huge slap in the face of the fossil fuel barons who had an outsized say in the Republican Party.

On May 17, 2006 Walter O'Tormey, the Post Office's Vice President, Engineering, unveiled a new hybrid gas/electric mail delivery vehicle in Boston to an audience of "nearly 100 industry representatives, environmentalists, and Postal Service employees," saying:

"As an agency that delivers mail to 145 million businesses and households six days a week, drives approximately 1.1 billion miles a year, and consumes more than 125 million gallons of motor fuel annually, we are in a unique position to demonstrate to the public and other businesses the growing viability and positive environmental and energy-savings benefits of alternate-fuel technologies."

In their 2006 annual report the Postal Service openly bragged about their ambition to move away from relying entirely on fossil fuels:

"With more than 216,000 vehicles, the Postal Service has the largest civilian fleet in the United States.We continue to evaluate various fuel types and alternative fuel vehicles including hybrid trucks, hydrogen fuel cell vans, electric step vans and liquid natural gas delivery vehicles."

If the Post Office pulled off a massive transition away from fossil fuels, it would jump-start the then-new electric, hybrid and fuel cell technologies, paving the way for wider use, a large national electric "refueling" infrastructure, and a significant reduction in greenhouse gasses.

Americans were excited by the possibility. Speaking on behalf of a coalition of mayors from all parts of the country to the World Congress on Information Technology annual conference in Austin on May 6, 2006, Austin Mayor Will Winn proudly announced:

"Transitioning the Postal fleet to plug-ins would serve as a springboard for the commercial production of delivery vehicles that could be extended to a wide variety of delivery services across America.

"The commercial market would also provide the economic certainty needed by automakers to make the production investments necessary for the mass production of plug-ins.

"The plug-in technology is available right now and represents a realistic near-term solution to the serious problems of over-reliance on foreign oil, out of control gasoline prices, as well as greenhouse emissions."

Given that postal vehicles typically have a 30-year lifespan, this would produce a huge tilt in the balance of alternative-versus-fossil-fuel vehicles on the road.

But the possibility of that transition happening to the nation's largest vehicle fleet was, in a word, intolerable to the morbidly rich rightwingers who'd made their fortunes drilling, refining, shipping and selling fossil fuels, particularly oil, diesel and gasoline.

The Post Office had to be stopped, andRepublican Congressman John McHugh (NY) was just the man to do it. He'd been a member of the Koch-funded American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), and was deeply in the pocket of right-wing interests.

As Wikipedia notes in an exercise of gentle understatement:

"[McHugh] was chairman of the Oversight Committee's Postal Service Subcommittee for six years and worked to pass legislation to significantly reform the U.S. Postal Service for the first time since it was demoted from a Cabinet-rank department with passage of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (Pub.L. 109–435) in 2006."

ALEC, which writes corporate-friendly legislation and relies on its membership of Republican lawmakers around the nation to pass that legislation, just happened to have a model 2006 bill known as the Unfunded Pensions Liabilities Act, which called on state governments to account for exactly how they plan to fund future retiree benefits.

Adapting that ALEC concept to the Post Office, McHugh's bill was passed by a voice vote in a Republican Congress and signed by Republican President George W. Bush. There is no record whatsoever of who voted or how they voted on the legislation.

It was preceded, however, by a virtual waterfall of op-eds and PR efforts by groups affiliated with the Koch network including the Reason Foundation, the National Taxpayer's Union, and the CATO Institute.

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What the law did was ram a poison pill down the throat of the Post Office.

It required the USPS to pre-fund its Retiree Health Benefits Fund for seventy years into the future, forcing the Post Office to take the money they planned to spend on electric vehicles and set it aside for the health benefits of future retirees who weren't even born yet (and should be eligible for Medicare, anyway).

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It's an obligation that no other private business or government agency has ever had to comply with before.

Costing the Post Office $5 billion a year, it succeeded in stopping their plan to electrify their fleet dead in its tracks.

And it set it up more cleanly for eventual privatization, once enough infrastructure like postal drop boxes and million-dollar high-speed sorting machines was destroyed—a processReagan called "Starve the Beast"—that "customers" were complaining about the service and public opinion finally agreed the Post Office would work better in private hands.

Reagan had tried to do the same thing to Social Security and the IRS, and Trump doubled down on that plan, offering tens of thousands of staffers early retirement to gut both agencies; they're now so hobbled by underfunding and worker shortages that Social Security disability claims can take two years, and extremely wealthy people are no longer generally audited at all because of the cost and manpower needs determined by their complexity.

Which brings us to Louis DeJoy.

The Post Office is finally on the verge of getting out from under that $5 billion-a-year prefunding burden so they can now start buying that new fleet they proposed in 2006.

Postmaster General DeJoy was strongly encouraged by the Biden administration to give the contract to a company that would manufacture electric and electric/hybrid vehicles.

But DeJoy essentially told Biden to go screw himself: he's going to buy fossil-fuel vehicles for 90% of the fleet instead.

The Washington Post laid it all out in the open to an article last week titled: Biden Officials Push to Hold Up $11.3 Billion USPS Truck Contract, Citing Climate Damage, noting:

"The Biden administration launched a last-minute push Wednesday to derail the U.S. Postal Service's plan to spend billions of dollars on a new fleet of gasoline-powered delivery trucks, citing the damage the polluting vehicles could inflict on the climate and Americans' health.

"The dispute over the Postal Service's plans to spend up to $11.3 billion on as many as 165,000 new delivery trucks over the next decade has major implications for President Biden's goal of converting all federal cars and trucks to clean power."

And it's not just the White House that's outraged. CNN reported yesterday:

"Rep. Gerry Connolly, a Virginia Democrat who chairs the House subcommittee that oversees the Postal Service, called for DeJoy's resignation.

"'Postmaster General DeJoy's plan to spend billions on brand new gas-powered vehicles is in direct contradiction to the stated goals of Congress and the President to eliminate emissions from the federal fleet,' Connolly said in a statement. 'If Mr. DeJoy won't resign, the Board of Governors has got to fire him -- now.'"

Because Republican senators are holding up confirmation of Biden's Postal Board of Governors' appointees, DeJoy can't be fired by the current Trump-appointee-dominated board, a fact that Senator Sheldon Whitehouse pointed out last week, demanding the Senate move the Democratic nominees forward over GOP objections.

But DeJoy is itching to sign the contract for all those gas and diesel vehicles, and he still has the power to do so.

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So, now that the possibility of electrifying the nation's (now second) largest fleet of vehicles is pretty much dead and they're planning to go ahead with fossil fuels, Republicans in Congress are fine with eliminating the retirement prefunding dead weight on the Post Office.

The vote in the House this week was 342-90 to end the prefunding requirement and give DeJoy the money to buy the gas-powered vehicles. Now it goes to the Senate, where the AP noted:

"Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said he expects his chamber to 'move quickly' on the measure. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he's planning a vote before a recess that starts after next week. The bill has 14 GOP sponsors and, with strong Democratic support expected, seems on track to gain the 60 votes most bills need for Senate passage."

When asked Wednesday night on MSNBC why Congress had crippled the Post Office with that bizarre prefunding requirement in the first place, Senator Peters—one of the truly good guys in the US Senate—answered that he had no idea.

As is the case with most members of Congress; the pre-funding was essentially slipped into the bill at the behest of the fossil fuel industry and, at the time, got virtually no publicity. Thus, I tweeted him:

It was incomplete on my part to miss the privatization bonus in the tweet, and the vendor will supply gasoline vehicles as well, but you get the point.

Like so many other weirdnesses in American politics, when you pull back the veil you find the hands of a fossil fuel industry that values profits and right wing ideology over the future of our children, our nation and the planet.

https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/gop-candidate-john-james-high-dollar-legal-fund-to-challenge-michigan-election-loss/

won by 85K votes

https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/gop-candidate-john-james-high-dollar-legal-fund-to-challenge-michigan-election-loss/

roger s salon

lost by 85K votes

John James, the Republican challenger who lost last week to Democratic incumbent Sen. Gary Peters in Michigan, has started a legal defense fund in anticipation of the costs of challenging his 85,000 vote defeat, according to records filed Monday with the Federal Elections Commission.

The organization, called the James Legal Fund, is a joint fundraising vehicle between the James campaign and the Republican National Committee (RNC). It can collect donations, pay fundraising expenses and disburse money to both committees. Further, the partnership allows the fund to accept six-figure donations from individuals and transfer money out of the RNC to other GOP committees, such as the Trump campaign.

James has plenty of high-dollar donors in his Rolodex. For instance, he has his deep ties to the wealthy DeVos family, members of which have donated tens of thousands to his campaign. The DeVos family has also given to the Better Future Michigan Fund, including hundreds of thousands of dollars from Dan and Pam DeVos. The super PAC spent upwards of $7 million supporting James.

The James campaign has also taken money from GOP megadonor and current Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, whose campaign donations have become the subject of congressional and legal scrutiny. James also appeared in a documentary soliciting support from a Steve Bannon political incubator. (It is unclear whether Bannon has funneled money to James.)

Brett Kappel, a top campaign finance attorney at Harmon Curran, told Salon that contributions could find their way to the Trump team's legal expenses.

"The money that James raises here can go to his campaign or to the RNC, which can use them however they like," Kappel said. "The group's statement of organization doesn't specify that funds going to the RNC are going to be deposited into the RNC legal proceedings fund. Even if it did, the RNC could still use the money to pay for any Trump campaign legal challenges in Michigan or elsewhere."

"John James is ending his failed campaign the way he started it: '2,000%' with Trump as he continues to prove his loyalty to the Trump team until the very end and damaging whatever credibility he had left," a Democratic aide in Michigan told Salon.

Peters, a one-term incumbent and ranking member of the Homeland Security and Government Accountability Committee (HSGAC), which oversees the DeJoy-run U.S. Postal Service,trailed James as early results poured in on Tuesday. After mail-in ballots were counted, media outlets called the race in the Democrat's favor on Wednesday. The final tally put Peters ahead by about 85,000 votes, or about eight times the size of Trump's 2016 margin of victory in the state (which opponent Hillary Clinton did not challenge).

Once heralded as a rising Republican star, James, who got 10,000 votes less than Trump statewide, has now lost back-to-back Michigan Senate races. Trump, whose legal challenges have already failed in the state, lost to Biden there by about 145,000 votes.

Both margins are highly unlikely to be swung in a recount, but James, under pressure from Trump surrogates to keep up the fight, has not conceded. Michigan law grants requests for recounts if the complainant alleges fraud or an error and completes a statewide canvass.

"John James: Do not concede," South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Trump loyalist, said during a Fox Business appearance on Sunday. "These computers in Michigan do not pass the smell test. Keep fighting for every legal and live vote."

Two judges have tossed legal challenges from the Trump campaign — one to halt the counting of votes and another to postpone the certification of results.

Stuart Sandler, a consultant for the James campaign, alleged to Fox News that the Republican candidate had lead Peters until ballots mysteriously appeared under the cover of the night.

"There were all kinds of chicanery, including ballots that came in reportedly in the middle of the night at 3:30 a.m. — 35,000 ballots that were deceptively brought in," Sandler said, without evidence.

Sandler also alleged that a former state Democratic chairman had bussed lawyers and activists to "disrupt the process" in Detroit. It is unclear why the Democratic Party would want to interfere with ballot counts a heavily Democratic area.

Democrats continue to fight for majority control of the U.S. Senate, which will likely be decided by two mandatory run-offs in Georgia this January.

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uh-oh

https://truthout.org/articles/michigan-republican-senate-candidate-has-strong-financial-ties-to-devos-family/

michigan Republican Senate candidate John James attended a fundraiser at the home of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ brother-in-law while trying to downplay the financial help his campaign has received from the family.

James attended a fundraiser at the home of DeVos’ brother-in-law, Dan, and his wife, Pamella, last month. Though James was well-distanced from the crowd, none of the attendees appeared to be wearing masks, according to a photo published (which has since been made unavailable) by former Allegan County Republican Party Chairman Kevin Whiteford to Facebook.

James has extensive ties to the DeVos family, which has poured money into his race against Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich. His campaign recently hired Betsy DeVos’ niece, and his wife has worked at the DeVos family’s Amway empire for years. Members of the DeVos family have directly donated tens of thousands to his campaign.

The DeVos family has also funded the Better Future Michigan Fund, a super PAC which has now spent at least $7.1 million to help James defeat Peters. Dan and Pam DeVos have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to the super PAC.

Despite other Republican Senate candidates being outraised by massive sums across the country, James has managed to outraise Peters throughout most of the campaign despite losing his 2018 Senate race to Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., by seven points.

Two recent polls, one of which showed the race virtually tied, suggest that Michigan is one of the few competitive seats where Republicans could pull off an upset next month.

James has spent some of the money he’s raised to buy ads downplaying his ties to the DeVos family.

James recently released an ad trying to distance himself from Betsy DeVos’ assault on public education, insisting that he believes a “quality education is a basic civil right.”

“You’re not running against President Trump, or Betsy DeVos or any other boogeyman,” James told Peters in the ad. “You’re running against me. This may surprise you senator, but no one owns me.”

James previously declared that he supports Trump “2,000%.”

A Democratic super PAC accused James of backing “DeVos’ agenda to cut public school funding and put it into wealthy private schools instead.” Politifact Michigan rated the claim “mostly false,” though only because James has repeatedly avoided saying anything specific about his education policy. James has frequently declined to state his views on education, and he turned down a request to push back on the claim. His campaign declined *PolitiFact* *Michigan*’s “request for any details about his education policies that would rebut” the allegation. The campaign did not respond to questions from Salon, as well.

James has generally been supportive of DeVos’ agenda, which has steered money away from public schools to private and religious schools.

“She’s headed in the right direction,” James reportedly said in 2018. “She’s got a lot of inertia, I think. By doing things to get more power back to the states and to parents, I truly believe that if we give parents the resources and the opportunity to decide what’s best for their children, they will make the best decision 100% of the time.”

“The job Betsy DeVos is doing in pubic education, I think, is very, very good,” he reiterated a few months later in audio published by the Democratic:{ }.

Those comments came after DeVos sought to cut Department of Education funding while increasing federal grants to private schools.

“James is very on the record about supporting her,” Senate Majority PAC spokesman Matt Corridoni told Politifact Michigan, “and she’s very on the record about her positions.”

sierra

GARY PETERS (D-MI) Team: Clean Air Aces Joined the League: January 3, 2015 Hometown: Bloomfield Township, MI BIO: Senator Peters burst out of the minors this season after taking on one of the nation’s toughest opponents head-on — and winning. He’s made climate action a key part of his game, and has been fun to watch in action this season so far as a result, knocking in big runs for Michigan’s clean energy economy — and we’re sure to see bigger things to come from this talented rookie. QUOTED: “I am not going to let the Koch brothers pretend as if they care about the health care of Michiganders. They care about their agenda, which is weakening environmental laws.”36 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS: « Senator Peters has voted right on all critical votes for climate action, clean air, and clean energy solutions across the board. « Senator Peters spoke out in support of international climate action, the President’s Climate Action Plan, and the Clean Power Plan. STATS: « Climate: « Clean Air: « Clean Energy: « Energy Efficiency:

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beat the odds 2014:

New head of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee? Oklahoma’s James Inhofe, author of The Greatest Hoax: How The Global Warming Conspiracy Threatens Your Future.

Gardner defeated staunch environmental ally Mark Udall in a campaign that included millions from Koch Industries and other fossil fuel interests.

“Everything in Colorado has shifted farther to the right toward the oil and gas industry and the climate-change denial funded by millions of dollars from the Koch Brothers,” said Colorado environmental activist Gary Wockner. “Most notably, Democratic U.S. Senator Mark Udall was swept out of office by Tea Partier Cory Gardner who is a 100 percent voting member of the most anti-environmental U.S. House of Representatives in history and declined to answer climate change questions during the race.”

Iowa’s Joni Ernst, probably the most conservative candidate elected last night, has punted on whether she believes climate change is manmade and boasts of driving an electric car. But she has vowed to work to abolish the EPA and repeal the Clean Water Act saying it was one of the most damaging laws for business. That’s another measure that once had overwhelming bipartisan support and has been a huge success in cleaning up America’s waterways. She replaced the retiring Tom Harkin, a strong pro-environmental vote.

But Beinecke pointed out, “Several senators won by running clean—including Jeanne Shaheen in New Hampshire, Susan Collins in Maine and Senator-elect Gary Peters in Michigan. All are climate champions. Peters took on the Koch brothers and promised Michigan voters he would fight in Congress to protect the Great Lakes from climate change.”

“The election may have changed the political dynamics in Washington, but it doesn’t change the science,” said Mindy Lubber, president of sustainable business group Ceres. “The reality of global warming and the need for urgent action remain an imperative. Business leaders understand this truth. Smart companies are making wise choices about their energy purchases and future operational planning in a carbon-constrained world.”

Another voice for business was Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), who urged political leaders not to leave solar behind. “It’s critically important for our leaders in Washington, as well as our state capitals, to put aside their differences and work together to find real solutions that will grow our economy and put more people to work,” he said.

“As one of the fastest-growing industries in America, solar is a shining example of how stable, consistent and reliable public policies are paying huge dividends for our economy and environment. As pundits analyze the results of Tuesday’s elections, here is one important mandate to remember: Polls consistently show that 9 out of 10 Americans want to see an expanded use of solar energy nationwide.”

Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, was also undeterred. “Despite the climate movement’s significant investments and an unprecedented get out the vote program, strong voices for climate action were defeated and candidates paid for by corporate interests and bolstered by sinister voter suppression tactics won the day,” he said.

“But don’t be fooled. This election marked a pivotal change in how candidates confront the climate crisis. Even the most anti-environmental candidates were compelled to greenwash their voting records and change their tune on climate denial. The climate on climate is changing. A Congress elected by corporate polluters may think it can force a polluter agenda on this country. But public support is solidly behind action to tackle the climate crisis. There is a growing movement of climate and clean energy voters that will be standing up to polluters and their political allies every step of the way.”

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http://scorecard.lcv.org/moc/gary-c-peters

93/89%

the Michigan League of Conservation Voters to call off and clean up open-air storage of this dirty byproduct of the oil refining process when it piled up on the shore of the Detroit River last year. Michigan LCV’s Lisa Wozniak was there, and she spoke to Congressman Peters’ leadership on ridding Detroit of petcoke and the black dust it blew into neighborhoods and the River, as well as the Congressman’s leadership on Great Lakes and clean energy issues. Congressman Peters served in the Michigan Senate before taking office in Washington DC, where he scored a perfect 100 percent on Michigan LCV’s *Environmental Scorecard*. His commitment to conservation issues continues in the US House of Representatives where he has fought for funding the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and brought Michigan’s pressing environmental issues, such as petcoke, straight to the halls of Congress. Congressman Peters faces Republican candidate and former Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land for the seat being vacated by current US Senator Carl Levin (D – Detroit), which has not been open in more than 30 years. As the clear conservation candidate in the race (and Michigan LCV’s 2013 Legislator of the Year), we were proud to join our national partner to support Congressman Peters from the banks of the Detroit River last Friday. Read more on the announcement here.(Photo: Michigan LCV and friends with Congressman Peters in Washington DC last year.)

2014 race:http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2014/senate/mi/michigan_senate_land_vs_peters-3820.html

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