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AG Bill Schuette using his office as a right wing political tool
Wisconsin Democrats submit more than 1,000,000 signatures to recall Gov Walker
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‘Choose Life’ plates would fund Right to Life through the Secretary of StateI just left a comment over on this post at Right Michigan. Nick at RM is upset that Dick Ball opposes the recall of Andy Dillon, and suggests that Dick Ball has “switched teams.”
To which I replied, “we don’t want him.”
Well it’s no big deal, except for one person who sent me the equivalent of “Oh yeah??? Say that to our faces!!” Apparently this person questions whether I have the “intestinal fortitude” to face what must be an awful backlash, if I dare to say that I do not respect Dick Ball.
*sigh* Ok, here it is.
Dick Ball does whatever the last voice in his head tells him to do. Usually that voice is Craig DeRoche or some other member of the GOP caucus. As such, I don’t know why he introduced this bill.
Ball spent all of 2007 telling Shiawassee that we needed to raise taxes, but at the last minute, he voted against them. Why? Because DeRoche didn’t let him vote for revenues. (according to DeRoche, via MIRS) If I recall correctly, Ball also voted in favor of the MESSA-busting bill, which was contrary to his oft-stated opinion on it.
Most of your readers here would appreciate those votes, and even though I do not, it’s not those two votes that disgust me. It’s the practice of saying one thing but then doing another that disgusts me. Not to mention, the fact that he doesn’t have the courage of what he claims are his convictions. This is why I have no respect at all for him.
People who are really trying to make up their minds about Dick Ball should look at his voting record in its entirety. He usually votes along GOP lines. People think he’s a moderate .. that’s why he gets so many crossover Dem votes. However, the fact is, he just can’t pick a position. He just parrots what is being said around him. I’m sure he is good-hearted and means well, but if he ever had an independent thought he would probably spontaneously combust.
My 2 cents. Thanks.
~Christine(ps Have a good weekend, hope you are well)
Hey, it’s nothing I haven’t said before. I watched him in the 2004 debates, I watched him all through his tenure as a Rep. I don’t respect the guy at all. However I am on record as saying that I would fight his recall, if Drolet had come after him.
(By the way, I am also on record in June of 2007 as predicting that despite what he said in public, he would vote with the GOP. He did exactly as I predicted.)
Is he evil? No.
Is he an independent thinker with the courage of what he claims to be his convictions? No. He proved that last fall, when he voted AGAINST what he SAID he believed in.
Period.
However, I didn’t think it was worth a post. It was just a comment on a story. But I guess if I have to repeat it here in order to prove something … well, there ya go.
Christine:
You stated cavalierly, “Well it’s no big deal, except for one person who sent me the equivalent of “Oh yeah??? Say that to our faces!!” Apparently this person questions whether I have the “intestinal fortitude” to face what must be an awful backlash, if I dare to say that I do not respect Dick Ball.”
Interesting response. The exact words that appeared on Nick’s blog were: “Christine, that was a shot below the belt directed at Rep. Ball. It is evident that you have no personal insight into his character. I urge you to go back to your own blog and post those comments for consumption in Shiawassee County…if you have the intestinal fortitude to confront the response.” Indeed, you have done so. And indeed, you have proven something, but perhaps not what you intended. Your statements today contradict much of what you expressed to me in our previous dialogue regarding Rep. Ball’s voting record. Okay, now it’s your turn…
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Well, it does seem to me to be the equivalent of saying, “oh yeah, say that to our faces!!”
“Say it to Shiawassee, if you have the guts …” It’s all the same sentiment. I did as I was “urged,” since it was put forward as a question of whether I would stand by what I said.
I was looking for our previous conversations regarding your dad’s voting record .. I couldn’t remember if we had swapped emails about it, or if it was all online. I didn’t find any emails, but I found this – http://christinebarry.com/2007/09/30/ball-votes-no-on-messa-reforms/ – and I don’t see how my position here contradicts that.
You’re dad’s a really nice guy and almost everyone who (I know) who knows him, likes him. But I can’t respect him as a Representative. And it’s worse now that he introduced that resolution opposing the recall of Andy Dillon. If he doesn’t have the courage to put himself at risk of a recall (or of making his caucus leader angry), then he shouldn’t be using someone else’s recall as a political tool to make himself look more courageous or bi-partisan.
I can appreciate that you need to respond when people speak out against your father, and you are certainly welcome to do so at any time on this site. But last time this came up, we could only agree to disagree. I don’t think we’ll get any further this time.
Like I said, people who are truly trying to make up their minds about Rep Ball should look at his voting record. (I don’t think he’ll be considered a RINO then)
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By the way, if Rep Ball does the right thing on this issue here – http://christinebarry.com/2008/05/07/shiawassee-profits-from-hungry-people/ – and expedites the rollback of these fees on our churches & NPOs, then I will be the first to sing his praises.
Not something that all my friends would appreciate in an election year. But, it’s only fair.
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Christine, I doubt this debate is going to yield any further value, so I’ll take the initiative to disengage. As a Christian, I offer you my apologies if I have said (or implied) anything that is offensive to you. Truth is my favorite commodity. I am offended by your comments about Rep. Ball in this blog and on RightMichigan.com, but I recognize that my father is fair game as an elected official. My appeal to you is that you stick to the facts (e.g., Rep. Ball’s voting record) and refrain from assumptions or unsubstantiated inferences about his motives, such as “he shouldn’t be using someone else’s recall as a political tool to make himself look more courageous or bi-partisan.” You are free to disrespect and disagree with Rep. Ball, but I know my father to be a man of integrity and principles, and he didn’t seek election to the State House for self-aggrandizement.
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My appeal to you is that you stick to the facts (e.g., Rep. Ball’s voting record) and refrain from assumptions or unsubstantiated inferences about his motives..
Well, we can’t rely on Dick Ball to tell us truthfully what his motives are, because he has a record of saying one thing, but doing another. So we have to guess.
But I agree, the debate will yield no further value.
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Touche, Christine. I guess you get the last word.
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[...] is the wife of our former GOP state Rep, Dick Ball. If you need a primer on Dick Ball, check this and [...]
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