Fred Johnson-- Taking It To The Republicans In Their Michigan Heartland

If you're looking for another petrie dish example of what's at stake in November, take a look at western Michigan's 2nd Congressional District. It's currently "represented" by the Cheney-esque Pete Hoekstra, but he's now engaged in the wingnut sweepstakes that will determine which of six raving lunatics will be the Republican gubernatorial candidate; Hoekstra's coming in second behind "unsure" (at least according to the rarely accurate Rasmussen).
 
The Republican congressional primary is a bell jar of right wing zealots. Two of the most conservative members of the Michigan legislature, Wayne Kuipers and Bill Huizenga (Bill was termed out in 2008), are laying claim to the "next in line" label. Both are actively courting the Tea Party and wave the Constitution around at every opportunity, with the usual exhortation to move policy backwards by decades, at minimum. Both of these candidates lay claim to the Dutch heritage and religious conservatism of the southern part of this Lake Michigan shoreline district, and have the connections to Lansing lobbyists to raise the money to be reasonably competitive. 
 
Bill Cooper, a serial entrepreneur from Muskegon, is the Phil Gramm clone in the race. He's never met a regulation or tax he doesn't want to kill, and can be counted on to oppose any financial reform, even the most tepid. His repeated buying and reselling of medium sized businesses on the lakeshore has produced a personal fortune which will keep him financially competitive throughout the race.
 
And then we come to Jay Riemersma, former tight end with the Buffalo Bills and Washington #%^**#'s. Running as the genial former football player, he is, in fact, the very recent former Midwest Regional Director of the Family Research Council. Writing in the Holland Sentinel on November 6, 2008, he asked Obama voters: "Did your choice honor the infallible truth found in God's word or help discredit it?" He further stated that "Too many Christians shroud their God-given light with misguided intentions and uninformed choices." Riemersma is the leading fundraiser in this race, as of the end of 2009, and has won GOP straw polls in the two biggest counties in the district, both by substantial margins. His Dutch/Christian Reformed credentials, and football player's popularity will make him hard to beat in the primary.
 
These are the "mainstream" choices for Republican primary voters. There are also a couple of Tea Party candidates on the ballot, in case voters want someone even more obviously off the rails and willing to lend himself to centerstage in a freakshow.
 
Fortunately, voters have a terrific choice on the Democratic side. Dr. Fred Johnson, a history professor at Hope College, is making a second run after taking on Twitter Pete Hoekstra in 2008. A genuine progressive, Fred is well positioned to take advantage of the rapidly changing demographics and political identifications in the district. 2008 saw a huge jump in the Democratic vote throughout the district. This was delivered primarily through the top-notch voter registration and GOTV efforts of the Campaign for Change. This district now has a whopping 45,000 first time voters, who can deliver this seat to Fred in November. Despite the fact that conventional wisdom calls this a safe Republican district-- and the most conservative part of Michigan-- it is very much worth noting that Senator Levin won here with 53% of the vote, and President Obama fell just short, at 48.5%. This district is turning purple rapidly, and 2010 can complete the process, something we should all consider helping along.
 
To give you a sense of Fred's priorities, here's a statement he gave me:

There are two interrelated issues that command the attention of any freshman progressive Representative: financial reform and campaign finance reform. The hard fact is that the two are so intertwined as to be inseperable. 
 
The mavens of Wall Street have proven both their incompetence, and their venality. Only the strongest possible financial reform package will stop another catastrophe from hitting our economy.  As a historian, I strongly reject the revisionism currently in vogue on the right, and feel that the reimposition of Glass-Steagall, and a whole host of strong reform measures is now demanded of Congress by the American people. This is one area where I diverge from the President. I believe we need stronger financial reform. Too big to fail is just plain too big.
 
But, how do we get there when the lobbyists and PACs of Wall Street have so much influence? My number one priority upon taking office will be the Fair Elections Now Act. This bill is a great first step in leveling the playing field at election time. But we need to do more. I strongly support the package of legislation being drafted by Rep. Frank and his colleagues in the Banking Committee. We need to take every avenue available to us to undo the destruction of the last vestiges of fairness in our campaign system wrought by the Citizens United decision. Whether it be through statutory restrictions on the political activities of corporations or, at minimum, much greater influence on the part of shareholders, we must strongly address campaign finance in order to have any chance at real reforms in other areas.