A modest proposal: The first Michigan Cold Butt U.S. Senate Debate

  Political campaigns, especially for statewide offices, are largely scripted affairs.
  Candidates from either party announce they’re running. Sabers being out of date, they then rattle their checkbooks to scare off competition within their own parties, and start making the rounds solidifying the loyal and raising money.
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See Also:
  14 issues in Michigan U.S. Senate campaign
  Michigan U.S. Senate race by the numbers_
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  Then follows nearly a year of public appearances, manufactured news events and, if the race appears close enough, a debate or two aimed at wooing Michigan’s large independent and ticket-splitting population.

Issue advertising: A new push for disclosure

  After outside spending in Michigan judicial races in 2012, Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson is proposing new administrative rules that would require disclosure of who pays for controversial issue ads.
  Issue ads are gaining national scrutiny because of their increasing use and because those who buy them are exempt from disclosing their identities.
  In Michigan, so-called dark money spending even reached down to the local level in Pontiac's mayoral race Nov. 5.

Municipal elections over, next election cycle begins

Farm photo before website

The election is over. Long live the election.

Farm photo after website

U.S. Rep. Gary Peters, a candidate for U.S. Senate against Republican Terri Lynn Land in 2014, launched a new website Wednesday, promising an aggressive online campaign in his bid to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Carl Levin next year, even as voters were still digesting the results of Tuesday’s municipal elections.

The jazzed up website shows Peters, a 54-year-old Bloomfield Township Democrat, in front of a pastoral picture of a farm. The website rotates through other background photos.

In Michigan, being in the top 10 isn't always a good thing

  Except for the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list, being in the top 10 is usually a good thing. But not when you're singled out as among the 10 most vulnerable politicians in an election.