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Freep Endorsement: Leyton For Ag‏

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Marijuana Ranch Advanced Member

Marijuana Ranch

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David Leyton for Michigan Attorney General

 

The price-fixing charges leveled by Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan are classic fodder for that office. Consumer advocacy has been a cornerstone of the attorney general's work for decades, with the legendary Frank Kelley leading the way.Cox has expanded the office's footprint and made a significant mark in criminal law. He prosecuted deadbeat parents and child pornographers. He has intervened in criminal cases where local prosecutors begged off.Both men seeking to replace Cox would continue his emphasis on the attorney general's crime-fighting duties. Michigan voters have to hope that neither goes too far and diminishes the office's important work in areas such as environmental regulation.Republican Bill Schuette, a former state legislator, state agriculture director, congressman and judge, says public safety is his top priority. Schuette would bring years of experience to a capital that will have lots of fresh faces.Democratic Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton emphasizes that the attorney general should be a tough prosecutor willing to take on special interests. He styles himself as a bare-knuckled courtroom pugilist, and features pictures of himself during trials on his Web site.Schuette has focused his campaign on many things that would be attorney general extracurriculars -- using the office's bully pulpit to rail against on-time parole and prison closings; tilting after national health reform and in support of the Arizona immigration bill.Schuette seems to believe the attorney general should spend considerable time exercising his office's meager policy-making influence. His explicit priorities and scarcely concealed ambitions to higher political office suggest he'd have trouble staying in his lane and would compete with the new governor and Legislature to shape policy in areas historically outside the AG's purview. Schuette is also awash in corporate campaign contributions, including several from industries the attorney general might need to take on to protect consumers. It's especially disturbing that Schuette has taken $34,000 from the Blue Cross Blue Shield PAC, in light of that company's dominant position in the state's health care market. Schuette's acceptance of their money shows that, at minimum, he has a blind spot when it comes to conflicts of interestLeyton has a much more realistic view of the attorney general's duties and has experience dealing with the kinds of public corruption cases that are the proper criminal focus of the attorney general. He emphasizes consumer protection and enforcement of environmental regulations, and has experience -- both professional and in civic organizations -- pursuing both.Leyton, who boasts that as county prosecutor he has tried many cases, will need to adjust to the all-managerial role of the attorney general.But on balance, DAVID LEYTON is the better choice for Michigan attorney general in 2010.

 

Read more: David Leyton for Michigan attorney general | freep.com | Detroit Free Press http://www.freep.com/article/20101022/OPINION01/10220316/1322/David-Leyton-for-Michigan-attorney-general#ixzz136wG55vt

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bobandtorey Advanced Member

bobandtorey

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David Leyton for Michigan Attorney General

 

The price-fixing charges leveled by Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan are classic fodder for that office. Consumer advocacy has been a cornerstone of the attorney general's work for decades, with the legendary Frank Kelley leading the way.Cox has expanded the office's footprint and made a significant mark in criminal law. He prosecuted deadbeat parents and child pornographers. He has intervened in criminal cases where local prosecutors begged off.Both men seeking to replace Cox would continue his emphasis on the attorney general's crime-fighting duties. Michigan voters have to hope that neither goes too far and diminishes the office's important work in areas such as environmental regulation.Republican Bill Schuette, a former state legislator, state agriculture director, congressman and judge, says public safety is his top priority. Schuette would bring years of experience to a capital that will have lots of fresh faces.Democratic Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton emphasizes that the attorney general should be a tough prosecutor willing to take on special interests. He styles himself as a bare-knuckled courtroom pugilist, and features pictures of himself during trials on his Web site.Schuette has focused his campaign on many things that would be attorney general extracurriculars -- using the office's bully pulpit to rail against on-time parole and prison closings; tilting after national health reform and in support of the Arizona immigration bill.Schuette seems to believe the attorney general should spend considerable time exercising his office's meager policy-making influence. His explicit priorities and scarcely concealed ambitions to higher political office suggest he'd have trouble staying in his lane and would compete with the new governor and Legislature to shape policy in areas historically outside the AG's purview. Schuette is also awash in corporate campaign contributions, including several from industries the attorney general might need to take on to protect consumers. It's especially disturbing that Schuette has taken $34,000 from the Blue Cross Blue Shield PAC, in light of that company's dominant position in the state's health care market. Schuette's acceptance of their money shows that, at minimum, he has a blind spot when it comes to conflicts of interestLeyton has a much more realistic view of the attorney general's duties and has experience dealing with the kinds of public corruption cases that are the proper criminal focus of the attorney general. He emphasizes consumer protection and enforcement of environmental regulations, and has experience -- both professional and in civic organizations -- pursuing both.Leyton, who boasts that as county prosecutor he has tried many cases, will need to adjust to the all-managerial role of the attorney general.But on balance, DAVID LEYTON is the better choice for Michigan attorney general in 2010.

 

Read more: David Leyton for Michigan attorney general | freep.com | Detroit Free Press http://www.freep.com...l#ixzz136wG55vt

 

Now this is good news

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Marijuana Ranch Advanced Member

Marijuana Ranch

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These are some quotes I've discovered regarding Schuette and his favorite subject, medical marijuana dispensaries. Note the change in tone from his pre-Proposal One days of fear-mongering to his current pre-election day attitude of fear-mongering. Use these to greatest effect.

Rick Thompson

_____________________________________________________

In a recent news article in the Petosky news-Register, Bill Schuette is quoted as saying the following:

Would you support medical marijuana in a commercial setting or compassion clubs?

 

"No. We can not have dispensaries in a commercial setting. The law does not allow for commercial dispensaries," Schuette said.

 

"Communities will have to make that decision and the legislature will eventually have to review it."

http://www.petoskeynews.com/news/pnr-news-election-schuette-100410,0,3204549.story

________________________________________

 

In October of 2008, when it was convenient to portray Proposal 1 as the enabler of dispensaries and pot shops, Schuette said,

“There’s nothing in this statute that would restrict, nothing that would prohibit and nothing that would prevent these pot shops and pot clubs and smoking co-ops that have erupted in California from coming to Michigan,” Schuette said.

http://www.michigandaily.com/content/2008-10-08/ballot-initiative-proposes-new-medical-marijuana-laws

Tuesday, October 28th

Appellate Judge Bill SCHUETTE, the public face behind the anti-medical marijuana campaign, has acknowledged that he used marijuana in college and the pro-Proposal 1 folks say that's proof that pot isn't a "gateway drug."The subject came up Thursday on the Frank BECKMANN show on WJR-760 and Schuette reiterated today that any exploitation of his youthful transgressions is "a low blow."But Dianne BYRUM, spokeswoman for the pro-medical marijuana campaign, noted that Beckmann asked the question about who used marijuana, and she said the question was relevant because Schuette was making the argument that marijuana was a "gateway" drug into harder substances."It wasn't a gateway drug for you," Byrum said.In 1987, then-U.S. Rep. Schuette acknowledged he smoked marijuana in his youth as part of a congressional-wide shakedown on the subject. To bring up the issue again is "old news."

http://www.michiganliberal.com/diary/13847/

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