Mayor Dane Slater, chosen initially by city council to replace recalled Janice Daniels and then re-elected to finish her term, stands in the Troy Community Center. (photo by Nancy Derringer) Jennifer Hilzinger is one of many Troy residents who sometimes can’t understand what’s going on in her hometown. One minute she’s living in the place […]
Inside the rise of Michigan's Tea Party
Posted inPhil's Column
Will Tea Party have the legs to grab the GOP?
The lead headline said it all: “Michigan’s Tea Party battles for GOP’s soul.” In a recent series in The Center for Michigan’s Bridge magazine, reporter Pat Shellenbarger detailed the remarkable rise of the Tea Party from a little bunch of noisy right-wingers to a group that claims it is poised to take over the Michigan […]
Posted inMichigan Government
The Tea Party’s tepid relations with Michigan business groups
As the Tea Party has gained political profile and headlines, it has crossed swords with business groups that would seem to be natural allies in the push for conservative policies. “Long before the Tea Party, the business community was the voice of fiscal responsibility and limited, rational government, and the business community will still be […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Tea Party teamwork: money and foot soldiers
Scott Hagerstrom, executive director of the Americans for Prosperity Michigan chapter, addresses a group of Tea Party members at a recent meeting in the state capitol. The room was reserved by State Senator Patrick Colbeck, a Tea Party favorite. (Bridge photo by Pat Shellenbarger) A Tea Party member had a question for the moderator of […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Michigan’s Tea Party battles for GOP's soul
It’s the second Saturday of August, as a group of political newcomers gathers in a classroom of a Baptist school near Lansing. They are plotting a political coup. Among their many goals, they want to dump Republican Lt. Gov. Brian Calley and replace him with one of their own. They’d like to repeal or at […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Kitchen table politics: Tea Party leverages social media to advance causes
Joan Fabiano, founder of Grassroots in Michigan, at her home computer. “I wanted to show that an ordinary person doesn’t need to have an organization in order to change public policy,” she said. (Bridge photo by Pat Shellenbarger) From a corner of her dining room, Joan Fabiano directs a Tea Party group she founded called […]
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