UPDATE: A PAC known as Up Right Michigan has put out a warning to its members about a piece of literature that is trying to round up support for establishment candidates for precinct delegate. Here’s what they said in their newsletter:

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“Many voters are receiving another glossy full-color card, this one from Michigan Advocacy Trust (MAT), endorsing “TRUE CONSERVATIVES” for precinct delegate. The mailings call its candidates ‘Freedom Fighting Conservatives’ and cite their support for Freedom To Work, Education Choice, Second Amendment Rights… Reducing the Size of Government. The truth is, their candidates are running AGAINST conservative leaders who have worked for years on those issues. People like the former 1st District Vice Chair and candidate for Congress; Antrim County GOP Chair, Vice Chair (that’s “Trucker Randy” Bishop); and the Republican Women’s group Chair and Secretary; the head of the Lakes Area Tea Party – all of which are successful incumbent delegates with distinguished service to the GOP and the conservative movement.”

Calley was first nominated at
 the 2010 GOP state convention
While election battles over Republican precinct delegates
are nothing new in Macomb County, party activists know that the GOP delegates
elected across the state in Tuesday’s primary election could play a major role –
deciding the fate of Lt. Gov. Brian Calley.
Though Calley is essentially Gov. Rick Snyder’s running
mate, he must secure the party’s nomination for lieutenant governor at the GOP
state convention later this month. The precinct delegates will make the
decision, and those delegates aligned with the tea party are hoping to oust
Calley from the ticket.
Here’s how Dennis Lennox, a columnist for our sister
paper, The (Mount Pleasant) Morning Sun, assesses the situation:

“A small gang of malcontents, aligned with the likes of
Dave Agema, the unabashed bigot and disgraced member of the GOP’s national committee, has set their sights on Calley, the affable former legislator from Ionia County who is the very epitome of a main street conservative.
“While Calley should prevail over a self-proclaimed tea party leader named Wes Nakagiri — not least because of heavy outside organizing by traditional Republicans — one never knows what could happen during a late-summer convention with an incredibly small electorate of approximately 1,800 or so voting delegates.

“Everything changes if the malcontents manage to best precinct delegate hopefuls supportive of Calley in enough counties, or the primary election is plagued with low turnout, as is often the case. Heck, even the absence of a few delegates from far-flung corners of the state’s Upper Peninsula could end up making the difference, if they determine the drive all the way to the Detroit suburbs isn’t worth it.”

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