AND THEN THERE ARE THE COURAGEOUS DEMOCRATS-- MEET GARY PETERS OF MICHIGAN

I took an extra shower today after writing about Hoyer and Carney and all those reactionary Blue Dog candidates. I feel like celebrating a really good Democrat after that. A couple weeks ago I spent an hour or so on the phone with Gary Peters, a former Michigan state senator and state lottery commissioner. Gary is running against a garden variety, 8-term Bush rubber stamp, Joe Knollenberg. The suburban Detroit 9th district (Pontiac, Birmingham, Royal Oak and Farmington Hills, Auburn Hills) is Michigan's wealthiest CD and pretty evenly split between Democrats and Republicans. Knollenberg scraped by in 2006 with 52% of the vote against a grassroots Democrat with exactly zero help from the DCCC. (She spent $400,000 against his $3,100,000). Gary impressed me mightily on the phone as a guy who would rather do what's right than pander to win.

The last time he ran-- for Attorney General-- he lost by a small handful of votes after being viciously gay-baited by the GOP because of his support of equality in marriage. He's still for equality in marriage. Most Michigan voters aren't falling for that hypocritical claptrap from the Republicans anymore though, not with the economy falling in on their heads. The Bush Recession may just be getting rolling in much of the country-- but not in Michigan. It's been in full swing there for a long time-- and it's why Gary is likely to beat Knollenberg this year. Bush rubber stamps are not what Michigan voters are looking for in 2008.

Yesterday Gary came out strongly in favor renegotiating the NAFTA agreement, which has cost Michigan more jobs than almost any other state.

Peters, in a speech to AFL-CIO members in Detroit, outlined a series of economic proposals, including the repeal of tax subsidies for oil companies, the promotion of alternative energy industries and the targeting of currency manipulation by China.

...Peters said trade deals such as NAFTA and the Central American Free Trade Agreement need to be revisited to include improved labor standards and environmental protections.

"We just need to have fair rules," he said.

Earlier today we talked about Mississippi quasi-Democrat Travis Childers upon whom we wasted no enthusiasm. That way we can double up on enthusiasm for real Democrats like Gary Peters. He is a man of character and a real leader, someone who will be part of the solution for all the right reasons, not a drag on finding solutions for all the wrong ones.