Wednesday, January 14, 2009

A (Sort of) Rousing Endorsement

Today's Press & Argus editorial, "Rogers for Gov.? It's opportunity worth exploring", rehashed a recent MIRS report and gave it a little "local boy" twist.
While Rogers has served us well in Congress, perhaps he can have the greatest political impact in Michigan, which desperately needs a big turnaround. We're glad to see he's exploring the waters, because having a governor from Livingston County would obviously benefit the home folks.
After a nod to Kingsley Bingham and Edwin Winans (earlier Livingston County natives who served as Governor from 1855-1859 and 1891 -1893, respectively), the editorial ended with this somewhat restrained endorsement:
So why shouldn't Rogers put his hat into the ring? The Howell High School grad is as qualified as anyone else considering a run, and having him as governor could only be a good thing for Livingston County.
As qualified as anyone else?  Really?  Wow.  Now there's some enthusiasm.

Take a minute and come up with an example of something Mike Rogers has done during his time in Congress that was of benefit to the people of Livingston County (much less the state of Michigan).  In the past year, he voted against health care coverage for children of working families, and voted against Michigan's unemployed.  As our economy has gotten worse, he's spent his time in, um, less than productive ways.  

Given all that, it was heartening to read that Mike Rogers was proposing a tax credit for purchasing American-made autos:
“With the state of our economy and consumer confidence at the lowest point in years, my hope is that this bill could help give folks who need a new vehicle an incentive to go out and purchase one with tax benefits. The bill also gives incentives for lenders to loan the money to folks buying the new cars,” Rogers said.
... but then I found out that was the idea of Alabama Congressman Mike Rogers.  Oops!

Over the next few weeks, The Neighborhood will take a closer look at how Mr. Rogers is "as qualified as anyone else."  Stay tuned...

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