This is only anecdotal…but judging by the number of comments — and their extreme level of vitriol — to a Detroit Free Press profile of Democrat Speaker Andy Dillon, public anger over the recently enacted income and service tax increases is higH, hiGH, HIGH.

The Freep ran the profile today, and you can read it here. I won’t go into it. It’s mostly a puff piece about Young Andy and the turmoil he endured to increase taxes in Michigan. If we were in a locker room, I would replace “puff piece” with a more appropriate epitaph.

But what is worth reading is the reader reaction to the piece. So far, there are 158 comments left on the Freep’s website — the most, by several multiples, of any other story — all but a handful are critical of Dillon, and most of them very much so. You can jump right to the comments here. I think the Democrats misread public sentiment on this one.

Two seemingly unrelated bits of information arrived in my mailbox today — one via snail mail, the other electronically. The first was a notice from the Michigan Department of Treasury informing me that “Public Act 94 of 2007 raised the income tax rate to 4.35 percent effective October 1, 2007.” Hmmm, that’s an interesting way of putting it, kind of like “mistakes were made.” Funny that the letter didn’t say “Governor Granholm, with the bipartisan support of the legislature raised the income tax rate.” Isn’t she proud of this accomplishment if says so much about who we are and what our vision is for Michigan?

The other bit was an email from do-not-reply@jennifergranholm.com. I guess that’s the governor’s email address, but it sounds kind of forbidding. Anyway, this note is all about her husband’s column on leadership, Reading for Leading. I have no idea why the governor would think I might be interested in signing up to receive the First Gentleman’s missive “free of charge” each week, but to my surprise a few lines did catch my attention. Mr. Mulhern talks about the importance of having an inspiring personal vision statement and that you really need to understand the context in order to truly appreciate it. Mulhern cites the example of two young women he recently had on his radio show whose personal vision statements inspired him and concludes with these words:

With vision and purpose of their own, they don’t have to wait for others, blame others, or even follow others. They have a direction of their own and can lead.

Obviously, Governor Granholm is proud of her husband’s work as a leadership coach, but by the standard he sets above, she doesn’t measure up. Look at the ongoing budget mess in which she waited and waited and waited and blamed and blamed and blamed. Michigan still doesn’t have a solution. This is leadership? Not in Mulhern’s book, and certainly not in mine.

You can sign it here. 3,100+ of your friends already have.

UPDATE: 1:00 AM Monday, Oct. 1…With Democrat Lt. Governor John Cherry casting the tie-breaking vote (19-19) to pass the Granholm Tax Increase. It now goes to the governor for signature.

Taxes are going up. The Michigan House, which is Democrat controlled, just passed the largest tax increase in a quarter century. Here, you can take a look at vote tally as the vote was finalized late Sunday evening.

HB 5194 passed 57-53. Republicans Rep. Gaffney and Ward joined Democrats in voting ‘Yes.’ Senate is now considering the bill. The word is that the Democrats Dennis Olshove (Warren), Jim Barcia (Bay City) and Glenn Anderson (Westland) will be voting NO.

Anderson represents a vulnerable state senate district that is nominally Republican. Barcia was a state senator (before term limits) in 1983 and Olshove a staffer when the senate passed Gov. Jim Blanchard’s “temporary” personal income tax increase. These two saw first hand the bloodletting that occurred in the aftermath of the vote. For those of you who don’t remember, two senators were recalled over that vote and it resulted in Republicans gaining control of that chamber, which they’ve held held ever since.

Highest unemployment rate since 1993.

PLUS

Highest home foreclosure rate in the nation.

PLUS

Single-state recession.
_____________________________________

EQUALS: One big fat tax increase????

Who came up with that? I mean, just about any poll out today shows there is less the 25 percent support for a tax increase. Heck, the comment board on the Freep.com bears this out (and it’s a liberal rag). Yet, Governor Granholm keeps insisting on a tax increase. She’s even threatening to shut down government to get her way.

Michigan cannot afford Granholm’s government shutdown, and Republicans in legislature have sent her legislation she could approve today that would keep government from shutting down. Why hasn’t she acted? Because she wants tax increase.

“I won’t sign a budget continuation because it only continues spending money the state doesn’t have,” Granholm said live today on statewide TV.

And you know who’s money the state doesn’t have to spend, don’t you? Yep, ours.

Did you listen carefully to her remarks, geared to interrupt the 6 o’clock news? She never mentioned taxes once. That had to send a shiver down the spines of the Michigan House Majority Democrats, who have tried raise taxes four times in the last 10 days — four failed times I might add.

House Democrats, who hold a 58-52-seat majority, cannot even muster the 56 votes they need to pass their governor’s proposal. That she went on statewide TV threatening a government shutdown and didn’t even make the case for her tax increase has got to have Michigan House Democrats in knots.

So, here’s what we are left with:

1) Granholm can’t get her Democrats to pass her tax increase (Last time I checked, Democrats out-numbered Republicans in Lansing.)

2) Granholm couldn’t make the case for her own tax proposal on live, statewide TV.

3) Granholm is threatening to shutdown government to get her way. What a tantrum. She wants a tax increase in the worse way and she willing to pull cops off the streets to get one. Jenny, I am not blown away. I am blown over.

Don’t blame me, I voted for DeVos.

The battle of attrition to raise our taxes continues at the Michigan Capitol and Republicans are standing tall in their most reasonable demand that the Democrat majority take up the numerous reforms and and spending cuts that have been offered by Republicans. The rally cry is apropos: Reform First!

Here’s the insanity of it all…the Democrats have the votes to pass their tax increase…Democrat Speaker Andy Dillon even said as much last night but said he wouldn’t pass the measure without Republican support. The real reason, I wager, is that Dillon is protecting his vulnerable members who represent politically competitive districts. Talk about political gamesmanship.

Raising personal taxes is never popular and Republicans AND Democrats are right to be extremely reticent to do so. The last time personal income taxes were increases — in 1982 — it sparked a taxpayer revolt resulting in a number of members being recalled and partisan control of the Michigan changed to the Republican column, where it has remained since.

So far, only 42 of 56 Democrats have voted in favor of HB 5194, which would raise the state’s personal income tax from 3.9 percent to 4.9 percent. Such an increase would suck up a the money used to buy a month’s groceries for an average family. That’s a huge hit for people living paycheck to paycheck, which many families are in Michigan’s single-state recession.

Here are the Dems who are not supporting their own party’s tax increase proposal:

Rep. Lamar LEMMONS Jr. (D-Detroit) was up as a no vote. The 14 Democrats not voting were, for the most part, represented vulnerable districts. They included Reps. Barb BYRUM (D-Onondaga), Terry BROWN (D-Pigeon), Ed CLEMENTE (D-Lincoln Park), Marc CORRIVEAU (D-Northville), Robert DEAN (D-Grand Rapids), Kate EBLI (D-Frenchtown Twp.), Marty GRIFFIN (D-Jackson), Richard LeBLANC (D-Westland), Gary McDOWELL (D-Rudyard), Gino POLIDORI (D-Dearborn), Mike SIMPSON (D-Jackson), Dudley SPADE (D-Tipton), Mary VALENTINE (D-Muskegon) and Lisa WOJNO (D-Warren). (This list is courtesy of the subscription-only MIRS Capitol Capsule, which offers a free tiral membership here.)

Rumors are running rampant as to what Democrat Governor Jennifer Granholm is offering a handful of Republican representatives for their ‘yes’ vote on tax increase. Some are even saying the administration is promising judicial appointments to some GOP members. Such a deal, if it is even true, would be a fool’s errand. No member could be appointed to a judicial seat while currently serving in the Legislature. And, once a member leaves his or her legislative post, what incentive is there for the governor to honor such a deal? Absolutely none.

So the arm twisting continues but Republicans continue to stand strong for Michigan taxpayers…and that’s what ultimately matters.

UPDATE:

David Freddoso over at the National Review Online has taken note of the tax-hike showdown occurring here in Lansing:

House Democratic leaders were counting on help from as many as 12 Republicans who had shown signs of weakness. But when the vote came, every Republican held firm against a tax increase and one Democrat unexpectedly voted with them. Democrats could only get 43 of their own to vote yes. [SNIP]

The House is the last line of defense for taxpayers, as the Republican-majority Senate appears certain to cave.

Technorati Tags: Michigan, Politics, Republican, Democratic, Budget+Crisis, Taxes

Reports from the floor of the Michigan House of Representatives are that Democrat Speaker Andy Dillon has ordered in “50 sleeping bags and TV and food” for the Speaker’s library in anticipation of a long night.

Democrats are currently trying to get 56 votes to raise the Michigan personal income tax from 3.9 to 4.6 percent. Dems have a 58-52 majority in the House. Republicans have all voted against the tax increase and the Dems currently only have 40 of their members who have put up ‘yes’ votes on the measure. The rest of the Dem caucus is staring across the canyon at one another to see who will get thrown under the bus and be forced by leadership to vote for the increase.

Looks like Speaker Dillion is pulling a “Harry Reid” except the MI Dem’s message of “we are going to say here until we raise taxes” falls far short of the “we’re going to stay here until we bring the troops home” we heard from the US Senate a couple months ago.

Technorati Tags: Michigan, Budget+Crisis, Democrats, Republicans

No editorial comment needed…

Here’s a snap-shot of the Michigan House of Representatives’ voting board. It was taken today, seconds before House Democrats cleared the board (a procedural move). Names in Green indicate support of a resolution that would have asked Michigan voters to approve a 1-cent increase in the Michigan sales tax; a name in red indicates opposition to the resolution. Names in yellow are either absent or not voting.

Because the Democrats “cleared the board” the vote is not recorded and does not count. But, clearly, you can see who supports a tax increase and who doesn’t. “Clearing the Board” is a procedural move that usually invoked when a bill is heading toward failure. By so doing, it keeps the bill from being killed or the vote from being recorded.

Technorati Tags: Michigan, Budget, Tax+Increase,

It would appear so. Seems, the governor’s staff made calls to Democrat members of the state’s public university boards over the weekend requesting they participate on a conference call with the governor. Republican board members were not contacted.

This call with board members is scheduled to take place at 12:30 pm today and is to follow a related call with the presidents of Michigan’s 15 public universities. Probably something to do with tuition/budget issues. But you can rest assured that this clearly partisan move by the governor has something to do with a a Democrat scheme to use public universities to amplify Granholm’s public pulpit.

Technorati Tags: Granholm, Michigan, Politics, Democratic, Republican, Budget