Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer, who was well-trained in the clever and caustic ways of politics during his younger days in Macomb County, will be hosting “Oakland County Jeopardy” on Twitter throughout this week.
The so-called game is a response to attempts by the Oakland County Republicans, with the backing of County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, to manipulate the partisan powerbrokers in Lansing to haphazardly redraw the county commissioner district lines.
To play along, follow @michigandems.
Brewer said the game is simple. Each day, the Dems will tweet a category and an answer. In traditional “Jeopardy” fashion, you can tweet what you think the question is, and the party will reveal it later in the day. One obvious warning: Expect a highly partisan, sarcastic tone.
“This game has a serious purpose – educate the public about what’s really going on in Oakland County,” Brewer said. “This is the game Brooks Patterson doesn’t want you to play. Brooks is desperately trying to hold onto power in Oakland County – even manipulating the system to retroactively change the county’s redistricting plan to ensure his GOP keeps the majority.”
Patterson’s “power grab” has faced condemnation in newspaper editorials across Michigan, including the Oakland Press, which said “Republicans are now using House Bill 5187 as an attempt to change the rules after the game has been played. It’s a sore-loser measure that appears to be written only for Oakland County since it applies only to counties with more than 1 million population and cites the statute that the county’s charter is based on” (Oakland Press, 12/12/11). The Spinal Column called the plot, “selfish and disturbing” (12/14/11).
“How well do you know Oakland County? How well do you know Brooks Patterson?” Brewer said. “Find out how far he’ll go to hold onto power this week as we play ‘Oakland County Jeopardy.’”
