Last night we held the first weekly Right Roots Action Day, this one at the Michigan Republican Call Center in Jenison, dropping absentee chase and voter identification calls into Grand Rapids in support of Dan Tietema.

Dan's got a fight on his hands as he goes up against an entrenched incumbent in tax-hiking Democrat Robert Dean.

By the time the dust settled the Right Roots had directly touched well over 700 voters with Dan's tax relief message.

Thanks especially to Juli on the Web and Kevin Rex Heine for being the biggest rockstars of the night.  And thanks to Representative Dave Agema for swinging by and saying hello to everyone.

We had great numbers but aren't near meeting our potential.  So stay tuned... we'll be back at it in another district next week.

LifeBeat: Critical Reading on CURE MICHIGAN's Website

Suburban Voice: MEA Endorsement - A Conflict of Interest

That's Saul, Folks: Sarah Palin Wins, Biden LIES

Thug Watch: Ex-Union Prez "Disheartened" by His Former Union's Tactics

Just take a look at Lansing!  I know... shock.  Awe.  Something positive in the Capitol City.  The Associated Press reports on yesterday's Senate action that saw the Republican majority back up their tough talk by actually passing legislation to roll back the Democrats' massive 22% surcharge on the Michigan Business Tax.

The move delighted the business community and garnered some Democratic votes, too. The unresolved question: How to offset the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue for state government?

The legislation passed 26-12 and was sent across the Capitol to the Democratic-led House. A spokeswoman for Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm said she would be open to Michigan Business Tax adjustments if they were "pared with reforms that can save the state money..."

Senate Democrats accused the Republican majority of "shooting from the hip..."

Shooting from the hip?  Let's put it in those terms, then... Michigan is in a fight to save jobs.  To keep jobs.  To create jobs.  It's a 50 state royal rumble.  Everyone's competing for the same slice of the pie and things are turning ugly.  Bullets are whizzing by on the left and on the right, to the north and the south and local jobs keep getting killed.  

The onrushing hordes are closing in around us and picking off our job makers one by one.  We have job creation weapons at our disposal but the Democrats have holstered them and snapped them in tight.  A couple of times they've pushed them so hard into the holster they've actually gone off and fired a round or two into our own feet.  

And now that the GOP (and several of their own lefty members) vote to return fire the Democrats are upset about the way they're doing it?  Hey, shoot from the hip, the toes or the top of your pointy little liberal heads.  For the love of Pete, just return fire!  Defend Michigan jobs!

Read on...

That sucks.  Hard.

Now let me tell you a quick story.

On January 11, 1987 the Denver Broncos looked just about finished.  Their young gunslinger of a quarterback had led them to the AFC Championship game for the first time in decades.  The upstarts were playing the powerful Cleveland Browns and an imposing gunslinger of their own, Bernie Kosar.

Down 20 to 13 with 5:32 to play the Broncos took the kickoff from their rival... and muffed it.  Any hope of a good return and decent field position disappeared in one of the ugliest special teams plays in NFL history.  That left a fourth-year quarterback in the biggest position of his life with 98 yards to drive and a touchdown to gain just to force overtime.  Nothing less than the SuperBowl hung in the balance.

Fans of the NFL know what happened next.  It's lore.  It's magic.  It's the stuff of legends.  It's what happens when you give 60 minutes on the field... not 54:28.

Apparently the McCain campaign doesn't boast a single student of the National Football League.  

Word out of Washington, D.C. is that they're pulling up their stakes here in Michigan.  They're yanking the plug.  They're shutting her down.

There's time left on the clock and we're only down a single score... and yeah, the way the polls have been trending the last week you can argue we've muffed the kick-off.  But "The Drive" is the reason coaches everywhere preach "sixty minutes."

What exactly does "pulling out" imply?  You name it.  Speaking on condition of anonymity, several sources within the campaign confirm that staff, media, tv and mail are all being yanked.  The spicket of yard signs and bumper stickers is being cut-off.  While today we boast several dozen fully operational "victory centers" that number will immediately dwindle to less than ten.

The moves are especially disappointing given Senator McCain's fantastic showings in previous Michigan elections and the heavy Wolverine State influence in the campaign's senior leadership.  Long-time Republican National Committeeman Chuck Yob is a huge McCain backer and his son, John, is the national Deputy Political Director.

Apparently their influence wasn't enough to overcome a recent bout of rough polling.

ALL of that said, I don't very much feel like quitting.  There are two ways we can react individually... we can pack up ourselves and reign it in or we can fight and scrap and work for the Senator like we've never worked before.  We can talk to our friends.  Call our neighbors.  Drop off yard signs.  Participate in phone banks at our County GOP headquarters.  

And there are local races that matter in ways we can't even calculate.  Nevermind the Presidential race... heck, nevermind the state House.  We've got work to do to reelect Tim Walberg and Joe Knollenberg, a pair of incumbents who kick butt and take names and are going up against a group of the most liberal Democratic challengers the state's ever seen, including Dr. Death and the deciding vote on last year's $1.5 BILLION tax hike, Mark Schauer.

We've got a Supreme Court to defend in Cliff Taylor.  We've got local races that'll pave the way for the next generation of candidates.  The stakes couldn't be higher.  And we've still got a Presidential battle to wage.

We've got a little less than 5 weeks to get this thing done.  There's time on the clock.  If John Elway tought me anything, it's to play for a full 60 minutes and to leave it all out on the field.  Now let's get out of this huddle and shock the world.

Don't forget, this evening from 6:00 until 9:00 pm we're holding our first weekly Right Roots Action Day to support a local conservative House candidate.  

This week it is Dan Tietema in Grand Rapids' 75th District.  

What: Volunteering to help Dan Tietema!

Date: Thursday, October 2, 2008

Time: 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM (Or however long you can make it)

Where: 664 Baldwin Street, Jenison, MI  49428

This office just off of I-196 has a good sized phone bank set-up to help local candidates.  I went by last week and already spent some time there myself.  It is easily the easiest phone script I've ever worked.

Thanks again to everyone who has already emailed about their interest and the potential to help.  It isn't too late... we NEED all hands on deck!  Email me at RightMichigan@gmail.com.

The veterans appearing on his program talked about a new group they were launching locally and since they've now officially launched their own blog I wanted to give them a plug here on the website.

Michigan Vets for McCain is now online at MichiganVetsforMcCain.blogspot.com.  Check them out.

There are somewhere on the order of 849,000 folks who have served or are immediately connected to those who have served here in Michigan alone.  This is a local group that's hoping to speak to their issues.  

Former Republican Senate candidate and Captain (US Army Reserve) Rocky Raczkowski is working with the group alongside the dean of the Michigan Republican Party's officers, long-time Secretary Hank Fuhs.  Hank served for thirty-one years in the Air reserves.

My father served during Vietnam.  So did many of my uncles.  My brother joined the Marines right out of high school.  Another brother is at West Point right now.  My cousin Nate just joined the Marines and leaves his job with the Michigan Republican Party TODAY to head out for basic.  Two of my closest friends and one of their fathers are currently in the "sandbox," two other friends are recently returned and three others are currently stationed in different locations around the globe.

I love these guys.  All of them.  Military service runs in my family, it runs in my neighborhood and it runs through my circle of friends.  I know it runs through the Right Roots, too.  Bloggin on Down the Rogue, the Michigan Minority Report and Random Rants are all penned by veterans of our armed forces and that's probably just the short list.

Add Michigan Vets for McCain to that roster, too.  Check them out on the web and stay tuned.  And thanks, guys, for what you're doing!

Hall of Record: September Temperatures in Michigan

Republican Michigander: The House Bill Was a Crap-Sandwich.  The Senate Version a Matt Millenesque Cluster

That's Saul, Folks: Senate Bailout Bill Vote

Wade's Conservative World: Michigan Gangs on the Loose

Exhibit A.  The Associated Press reported a few hours ago on the latest auto sales figures, probably the number one market number affecting Michigan's jobs outlook. And the results:

Beleaguered Ford reported a 34 percent decline, while Chrysler said its sales fell 33 percent and Toyota posted a 32 percent drop.

It was Ford's worst sales month this year, and the results across the industry are a strong indication that the financial turmoil that has swelled since mid-September is pushing the auto industry deeper into its trough...

George Pipas, Ford's top sales analyst, said nearly all automakers saw "extremely weak" sales in the waning days of the month as the Wall Street crisis grew and Congress debated the government's $700 billion bailout of the financial industry.

"It was tantamount, really, to a natural disaster," he said.

All of this dropping the same evening the United State Senate counted Michigan Senator Carl Levin among those supporting a $700 billion spending spree using taxpayer cash to buy up bad debt.

This ain't pretty folks, and it ain't looking any brighter for us locally without serious changes in Lansing.  Which brings us to a smidge of good news on an otherwise bleak financial morning.  

Read on...