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| Peters tries to fire up frozen crowd/ POLITICO photo |
Politico sent one of its reporters to Marquette (which
has resembled Siberia of late) to report on the Michigan Senate campaign, and
they revealed a side of Gary Peters that suburban Detroit voters have never
seen.
has resembled Siberia of late) to report on the Michigan Senate campaign, and
they revealed a side of Gary Peters that suburban Detroit voters have never
seen.
Here’s the opening of
writer Manu
Raju’s report:
writer Manu
Raju’s report:
“Braving sub-zero temperatures at the annual dog sled
race here, Democratic Senate candidate Gary Peters happily indulged when a
prospective voter offered him a swig from her flask of whiskey. And as some
Upper Peninsula locals (known as “Yoopers”) were sledding down a giant snowbank
the next day in nearby Houghton, the three-term congressman borrowed a sled and
barreled down the hill himself, even though his attire was more suited for a
boardroom than the playground.
race here, Democratic Senate candidate Gary Peters happily indulged when a
prospective voter offered him a swig from her flask of whiskey. And as some
Upper Peninsula locals (known as “Yoopers”) were sledding down a giant snowbank
the next day in nearby Houghton, the three-term congressman borrowed a sled and
barreled down the hill himself, even though his attire was more suited for a
boardroom than the playground.
“‘I’ll admit, I haven’t done that in a while,’ said
Peters, 55, a bespectacled former college professor and onetime state senator
who worked in the financial sector for two decades.
Peters, 55, a bespectacled former college professor and onetime state senator
who worked in the financial sector for two decades.
“Peters is campaigning like a man with nothing — or
perhaps, everything — to lose.”
perhaps, everything — to lose.”
In
contrast, Politico arranged a rare interview with Peter’s Republican opponent,
Terri Lynn Land, at the Detroit Boat Show at Cobo. Raju informs us that Land dodged
questions about her position on the minimum wage, immigration reform, Medicare changes
and Michigan’s new abortion insurance law. Democrats hope that the former
secretary of state will implode once the spotlight intensifies and her record
as secretary of state is picked apart.
Meanwhile,
Land benefits from a $1.6 million TV ad campaign, aired by American For
Prosperity and financed by the billionaire Koch Brothers, to chip away at
Peters for supporting Obamacare.
Land benefits from a $1.6 million TV ad campaign, aired by American For
Prosperity and financed by the billionaire Koch Brothers, to chip away at
Peters for supporting Obamacare.
Politico
didn’t mention that one of the Koch-funded ads recently received two Pinocchios
from the Washington Post fact-checker, Glenn Kessler.
didn’t mention that one of the Koch-funded ads recently received two Pinocchios
from the Washington Post fact-checker, Glenn Kessler.
The
ad packs an emotional punch, featuring a Michigan woman who is battling
leukemia and lost her old insurance due to Obamacare regulations. She switched
to a Blue Cross plan on the healthcare.gov exchange, but the ad misleadingly
implies that she lost the services of her doctor.
ad packs an emotional punch, featuring a Michigan woman who is battling
leukemia and lost her old insurance due to Obamacare regulations. She switched
to a Blue Cross plan on the healthcare.gov exchange, but the ad misleadingly
implies that she lost the services of her doctor.
More
importantly, in the ad the woman says her new plan requires out-of-pocket costs
that “are so high, it’s unaffordable.”
importantly, in the ad the woman says her new plan requires out-of-pocket costs
that “are so high, it’s unaffordable.”
But
the Post found that her
monthly premiums were cut in half, from $1,100 a month to $571, which offset
the additional deductibles.
the Post found that her
monthly premiums were cut in half, from $1,100 a month to $571, which offset
the additional deductibles.
“It
is one thing to say there are higher out-of-pocket costs, as she did at the RNC
news conference, but another to assume that those higher costs are not offset
in some way by the significantly lower premium,” Kessler wrote. “The reality is
that eventually (she) will hit the maximum and no longer pay anything. So over
the course of the year, the difference in the costs could well even out.”
is one thing to say there are higher out-of-pocket costs, as she did at the RNC
news conference, but another to assume that those higher costs are not offset
in some way by the significantly lower premium,” Kessler wrote. “The reality is
that eventually (she) will hit the maximum and no longer pay anything. So over
the course of the year, the difference in the costs could well even out.”
As
for Peters, he needs a dentist, not a doctor, these days.
for Peters, he needs a dentist, not a doctor, these days.
Raju’s Politco story offers
this humorous tidbit:
“‘We have to get to be known,’ Peters said in a dinner interview over a
bowl of soup, which he was forced to eat after losing a crown in his tooth
during the grueling campaign swing. (Earlier in the day, the Dodge Journey he
was riding in slid off the road and got stuck in a snowbank; Peters emerged
unscathed.) ‘Obviously, my name ID is low — people know me in the Detroit metro
area, but if you get outside of metro Detroit, folks don’t know me.’
this humorous tidbit:
“‘We have to get to be known,’ Peters said in a dinner interview over a
bowl of soup, which he was forced to eat after losing a crown in his tooth
during the grueling campaign swing. (Earlier in the day, the Dodge Journey he
was riding in slid off the road and got stuck in a snowbank; Peters emerged
unscathed.) ‘Obviously, my name ID is low — people know me in the Detroit metro
area, but if you get outside of metro Detroit, folks don’t know me.’
“He added: ‘That’s why I’m here at 9:30 at night, in the Upper
Peninsula in February after driving through a freaking snowstorm. We stopped to
do a radio interview in a guy’s house upstairs in his studio. … In Detroit, you
don’t have radio interviews in someone’s attic.’”
Peninsula in February after driving through a freaking snowstorm. We stopped to
do a radio interview in a guy’s house upstairs in his studio. … In Detroit, you
don’t have radio interviews in someone’s attic.’”
