ACHTUNG: This is not a “fair and balanced” story. It is an editorial by the editor.
This is the best demonstration I can think of that elections in our democracy or constitutional republic have deteriorated badly because they are decided by who put the best ads on TV.
I speak of the contest between John James and Sandy Pensler in the GOP U.S. Senate primary Aug. 7 for the right to lose to Democratic incumbent Debbie Stabenow in November. All I know about both gentlemen from their marketing campaigns is that they both love President Donald Trump.
Both have approved televised messages to try to convince potential supporters they love Trump more than the other guy. James has the edge, because Trump actually has endorsed him.
Despite phony claims their opponent is a closet liberal, politically they are pretty much the same. They both claim to be conservative and promise to implement the Trump agenda and secure our borders against hordes of immigrants. Both campaigns have been plagued with being long on style and fawning love for the President, but alarmingly short on information about contrasts on issues.
This contest merely proves my long-held assertion that our elections too often are empty exercises in marketing and advertising without providing much in the way of useful information to help us poor unwashed masses make a rational decision.
James is a graduate of West Point. Pensler is a Detroit area businessman with a law degree. So neither candidate is a dummy. You wouldn’t come to understand that by examining their advertisements.
Furthermore, both are playing a very risky political game by pledging fealty to Trump, whose support in Michigan has been slipping badly and not likely to get much better by November. They both have decided to win today, lose tomorrow.
I give only a slight edge to James. You can call it my nod to affirmative action — when it’s really too close to call, give the person of color a chance.
Maybe Pete Hoekstra should run again. Remember his ridiculous ads – implying that we should vote for him because he likes bicycles? I like Debbie. She’s done a lot of good work in DC, especially in the Senate Agriculture Committee. She has also been consistent in her support for veterans, and her disdain for the silly wall idea.
Anyone would be better and more effective than Sen. Stabenow. She is weak and for all the years she’s been senator, overall performance has been good for the Democrat party, but she represents the Swamp more than the state she represents. Just like Speaker Ryan.
All Debbie Stabenow does is have real people answer the phones at her state offices and her DC office if you call during regular business hours as opposed to numerous Congressmen, including incumbent Fred Upton whose MI offices ask you to leave a message. Senator Stabenow has been responsive to her constituents, even seeking out US military academy appointments from other members of Congress and the Senate whose offices have extra because their students either failed a physical or changed their minds deciding on another college or university. Her office has helped families through the red tape of VA benefits, Medicare issues and even Social Security.
Senator Stabenow got a battery plant to be located in Holland. It employs hundreds and she lobbied to keep the Battle Creek military airfield open with new assignments. She’s fought for the federal government to locate the $750M National Superconducting Cyclotron laboratory on Michigan State’s Campus rather than Illinois, Ohio, Texas or California.
There is a reason for Fred Upton deciding to make another run for Congress in 2018. Why Trump 2016 co-chair Lena Epstein did a 180 and decided to run for Congress and former MI Supreme Court Justice Robert Young opted out of the GOP primary race and accepted an appointment from MSU interim President John Engler to be MSU VP and chief legal counsel. They all saw the polls and realized Stabenow has support across the board statewide.
Now we are left with Stanford (aka Sandy) Pensler and John James, two who have been in a very public contest to see who likes President Trump best.
Its interesting that Pensler is a Grosse Pointe native who attended prestigeous and private University Liggett HS. He then went to Yale, where he earned a BS in chemical engineering, a BA in economics and a masters in economics. After working in the business world for a few years then got his juris doctor degree from Harvard Law and is painting himself as everyman who bought a cleaning supply company. According to some self-labeled “conservatives” we shouldn’t trust Ivy League “elites.”
Facts are Stanford Pensler was a partner at Dillon Read where he specialized in mergers and acquisitions before he founded PenslerCaptital Corporation where he’s specialized in buying struggling companies and rescuing them with federal, state and local tax breaks.
Then there is John James, a West Pointe grad, combat aviation pilot who also completed Army Ranger School. James also did combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan after graudating from the academy.
After leaving active duty James joined the family business founded by his father who spent almost a decade at Chrysler before starting The James Group which offers services to automotive companies like transport, logistics and repackaging supplies for assembly plants. All needed services and because James Sr happens to be a minority, any of the automotive companies that want to sell vehicles to the US government are required to use some minority suppliers. It’s interesting that John James Jr is running as a Republican when the every existence of the business he’s in and father founded was helped mightily by Democrats in Congress who pushed for minority participation.
The most recent development is, it appears John James Jr. has won the endorsements of President Donald Trump and VP Mike Pence. I think their endorsement is very cynical and think until that endorsement Pensler stating he’s spent $5 milliom of his own money for the general election would give him the nomination.
Trump’s endorsement has been powerful in the GOP primaries has been effective as we saw in Georgia’s GOP primary for governor and that is a positive for James. Unfortunately for James, President Trump’s popularity in MI is polling at 36% and a Trump endorsement hasn’t meant much in elections where Democrats have a competitive candidate.
And so it goes.