Michigan Today

US Auto Sales Fell by 4 Percent in the Third Quarter

“Major automakers said Tuesday that U.S. sales fell 7 percent in September and 4 percent for the June-through-September quarter, compared with the same periods last year.

Weaker numbers for September and the third quarter wiped out a 1.8 percent gain during the first half of the year, and left auto sales on pace with 2017. Some analysts had cautioned that the first-half gains were driven by incentives and low-margin sales to fleet buyers like rental car companies.”

Auto makers are blaming this on the hurricanes. More likely, it is building to an inventory goal without adjustments to meet demands. Inventory costs money.

Michigan’s Gubernatorial Race: Whitmer Focuses on ‘Fundamentals’ Like Roads

“Democrat Gretchen Whitmer said she is focused on fixing Michigan’s ‘fundamentals’ like roads, water systems and schools in her run for governor, contending that not spending enough on core services under Republican leadership has still left residents paying more out of pocket for car repairs and other unexpected expenses.

She said her polling lead over GOP rival Bill Schuette since last month’s primary shows the problem-solving message is resonating, but “not for one second” will she let up less than two months until Election Day. She dismissed as ‘phony political talking points’ Schuette’s warning that she would be the next Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat who was governor during the state’s protracted economic decline.

‘It’s not working. Maybe they’re going to figure that out at some point during this campaign, that people want solutions to problems,’ Whitmer told The Associated Press in an interview.”

Michigan Repubs and the AFP are claiming Whitmer is trying to steal another decade from Michiganders by fixing infrastructure through increased revenues.

US House Candidate Arrested During Wage Protest in Detroit

“A U.S. House candidate was arrested Tuesday in Detroit during a protest for higher pay and the right to form unions.

Democrat Rashida Tlaib and more than a dozen other demonstrators sat at — and banged on — a long table that took up a lane of traffic in Detroit’s Midtown. They were part of a group of several hundred people who marched along the street before gathering outside a McDonalds. Management inside locked the doors as marchers approached.

The protest followed one Tuesday morning in Flint where eight people were injured after being struck by a pickup truck as they marched outside another fast-food restaurant. Flint Police Chief Tim Johnson said he doesn’t believe the crash was intentional and that the driver “seemed pretty shaken up” afterward.

Both protests were organized by Fight for $15, a national movement seeking to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour for fast food.”

I do not believe we would see Kavanaugh out there protesting for a $15/hour wage. He would be to busy trying to explain away what he meant by “boofed” as a teen.

Major GOP Group Pulls Support for 2 Imperiled Congressmen

“In an ominous sign for the GOP’s bid to hold onto the House, the political group affiliated with Speaker Paul Ryan on Friday dropped its support of two incumbent congressmen, signaling how difficult November could be for the Republican majority.

The Congressional Leadership Fund canceled $3.1 million in ad spending in the districts of Michigan Rep. Mike Bishop and Colorado Rep. Mike Coffman. It’s CLF’s first act of triage ahead of the election and comes at the time of the cycle when major spenders cut their losses in races they think are no longer winnable.
The Congressional Leadership Fund canceled $3.1 million in ad spending in the districts of Michigan Rep. Mike Bishop and Colorado Rep. Mike Coffman. It’s CLF’s first act of triage ahead of the election and comes at the time of the cycle when major spenders cut their losses in races they think are no longer winnable.

Dropping Bishop is perhaps the more significant sign of the party’s prospects. President Donald Trump won the suburban Detroit district by 7 percentage points while narrowly winning Michigan overall. But Republicans in Michigan have struggled this year, and Bishop has been regularly outraised by his challenger Elissa Slotkin, a former CIA agent and defense official.

Jesse Hunt, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said the House GOP campaign arm has not canceled its ad reservations in either Bishop’s or Coffman’s district.”

It is too early to declare a victory. Pour it on . . .

State of Michigan Rank amongst the 50 states?

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Republicans have a lot to account for in Michigan. They have controlled the legislature and the governorship since 2011. Republicans have controlled the Senate since 1992. Republicans have controlled the House 18 years since 1992. Since 1992, the governorship has been controlled by a Democrat 8 years of 26 years. Yet, everything is former Governor Granholm and Senate leader Whitmer’s fault for infrastructure being in bad shape.