Lance Enderle Shocks GOP Hack Mike Rogers In Raucous Cleary University Debate

Michigan's 8th congressional district gave Obama a hefty victory over McCain in 2008, 53-46%. It was slightly altered in the new redistricting, but just slightly and Obama would have won it under the new boundaries 52-46%, a healthy 6 point lead. It's likely he'll beat Romney by an even greater margin in November. The heart of the district is the same: Lansing and East Lansing (Ingham County) and Livingston County east of that, a white flight county that accounts for Rogers' long tenure despite his pathetic record of achievement. (For example, in 2008, his Democratic opponent won 53% of the Ingham County vote but Rogers took 67% of Livingston, 63% of the part of Oakland County in the district and all the smaller counties.) MI-08 would be a natural target for the DCCC. Democrats can win there. But Rogers is a senior Republican and head of the Intelligence Committee, so Steve Israel issued the "free pass" he has given to all GOP leaders. The same way Israel refuses to take on Budget chairman Paul Ryan and Armed Services Committee chairman Buck McKeon, he has made it clear that Lance Enderle can expect no help-- ZERO-- from the DCCC. These are the guys who are making the policies that are so detrimental to the country but the reptilian Mr. Israel would rather spend millions of dollars on clowns like Allen West and unknown backbenchers no one has ever heard of.

Tuesday evening progressive Democrat Lance Enderle-- the kind of reform-minded scrapper Democrats need in Congress-- took the battle directly to Rogers and having forced him into a debate, pulverized him in front of voters and the media. The biggest newspaper in Livingston County, the district's GOP heartland couldn't make Rogers look good. The video above comes from their website. Rogers tried a deceitful approach that made him sound reasonable instead of like the far right hack he is. He seemed shocked when Lance wouldn't like him get away with it and accused him being a corporate whore:

In a tense, often harsh, 60-minute exchange, Democratic underdog Lance Enderle accused 12-year Republican Congressman Mike Rogers of selling out to large contributors, including an accusation that Rogers had taken "blood money" from a contributor whose safety violations led to the death of 29 coal miners in West Virginia.

"You were sent to Washington to represent us," Enderle said to Rogers. "You haven't been doing a very good job."

An obviously irritated Rogers said he found it disgusting that Enderle would suggest he could be bought for any price.

"Maybe you can be bought," Rogers said. "You can't buy me. Apparently, you go cheap."

Rogers and Enderle found no common ground in the third and most contentious of three candidate forums Tuesday night at Cleary University's Johnson Center in Genoa Township.

...For most of the forum, Enderle-- a former schoolteacher-- lashed out at Rogers for using "scare tactics" on subjects ranging from the debt cliff to the demise of Medicare due to the Affordable Care Act.

Rogers referred to Enderle's verbal attacks as "arm-flailing and finger-pointing that does not fix one problem in Washington, D.C."

...Responding to questions from Daily Press & Argus Metro Editor Mike Malott, the two staked out mostly disparate positions on all major topics:

Social Security/Medicare: Rogers supports the Ryan plan for Medicare reform, saying a failure to act will bankrupt Medicare in 2024 and Social Security by 2050. He stressed that the Ryan plan will not cost current senior citizens a dime and will give future generations a choice in health-care coverage.

Enderle defended the president's plan, citing projected savings for senior citizens.

In a shot at Rogers' campaign funders, he asked, "Are we working for the pharmaceutical companies or are we working for our constituents?"

Affordable Care Act: Rogers said that Obamacare could be repealed while still providing popular features such as coverage for young adults, coverage for those with pre-existing conditions and eliminating coverage caps.

Obama's plan, he said, has already escalated into a cost of $2.6 trillion. "We have no idea how to pay for that," he said.

He said "you don't want your federal government running your health care."

Enderle said the Affordable Care Act would bring down costs by producing healthier citizens.

He also stressed that access to health care should be a basic right.

"I want to see Medicare for every citizen of the United States."

Tax increases and the national debt: Rogers said he is a flat-tax advocate and that he would favor tax reform that might eliminate loopholes.

Enderle said the tax system should be "equitable" and is in favor of a progressive tax structure that will tax the so-called 1 percent at a higher rate.

...At the close of the debate, Enderle asked Rogers to schedule two more debates, one in Oakland and one in Ingham. Afterward, Rogers said his schedule would determine if he would comply.

Mike Rogers freely admits to being an advocate for Paul Ryan's highly toxic Austerity Agenda that has failed so miserably across Europe. Lance Enderle is a proponent of Prosperity Economics and you can help him on the Americans For Real Prosperity page.