As if the winter of 2008-09 wasn't harsh enough (despite all that global warming we were promised when Bush was elected) an additional chill ran through the state of Michigan when we saw our Governor, Jennifer Granholm, in the background of nearly every camera shot as . Barack Obama assembled his economic team.
It's not news, that in the liberal mindset, failure gets you attention, and being the biggest failure makes you an expert, as long as you are doctrinaire. This merits fawing statements from MSM reporters like, "Nobody knows better than you…" blah blah blah.
Case in point, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, a train-wreck of an administrator whose main talent is emoting on camera.
No state in the nation has lost jobs at the rate Michigan has, and only California edges us out as a state government fiscal disaster. But state government keeps growing in Michigan, creating jobs for government unions.
And therein lies Obama's fascination with Granholm. Jenny is at the "Jobs Summit," SEIU is there, the Chamber and the NFIB are not. Barack Obama has something he desperately wants to learn from Jennifer Granholm:
How do you raise taxes in a recession, add government union jobs while destroying the private sector economy—and still win elections for your Party?
And Andrea Mitchell of NBC News (for video click the link above) is a more than willing accomplice; asking not one tough or pointed question of the governor of the state with the nation's worst-performing economy. You'd never know Granholm is at the end of a disastrous 8 year two term tenure. Mitchell gives not one indication that Granholm has ANYTHING to do with Michigan's problems.
Mitchell Indentifies Michigan as "Ground Zero in the unemployment crisis" as Granholm's qualification for appearing at the Summit and on her show.
At probably the puff-piece interview's low moment, Granholm identifies tax incentives for business as something that should come out of the summit.
Tax incentives for investment? This is the woman who not only insisted– at the threat of closing down the government– that Michigan's unique tax on business be resurrected just as it was about to be phased out, she slapped a 22% "temporary premium" on that job killing tax to boot.
Then after putting the accelerator to the floor and setting the cruise control in driving jobs to neighboring states, she made the grand statement that Michigan was now "open for business."
Michigan now has 20% more government employees than manufacturing jobs—approximately 500,000 vs. 600,000. Government is far bigger than when Granholm took office, and every "cut" has been in the increase in school funding, or state jobs.
Ground Zero in the unemployment crisis, indeed. But if you're going to use this analogy, then Jennifer Granholm is not one of the firefighters…
Granholm emphasizes to an empathetic Mitchell that under her watch, "Michigan has lost ONE MILLION JOBS," as though she's reporting bad weather beyond her control. No, wait, she thinks she can control the weather, too. Michigan is going to lead the way in combating global warming—no matter how much we could use some.
Granholm's regulatory agencies have delayed high tech mining efforts in the Upper Peninsula. In one case the nickel mining company (a necessary ingredient for the battery operated cars she supposedly wants) opened with 100 jobs instead of the original plan of 400, and the thousands of spin-off jobs that could have been created during the 3 years of delay are now still in the theoretical future.
Two clean coal plants that would have generated $1 BILLION each in private sector construction and 250 very good paying permanent jobs each, have been regulated out of existence because a few over the hill hippies showed up with protest signs. The company just announced they aren't going to fight the Granholm Administration anymore and have given up their efforts here.
So, if manufacturing DID come back to Michigan, very soon we won't have the energy requirements in a state where a warm summer is already leading to rolling brownouts in some areas when air conditioning use is at its peak.
In other venues, Granholm brags that the new "green economy" she is pushing for Michigan will produce 50,000 jobs over the next 10 years. 10 YEARS? Under the liberal policies of Jennifer Granholm, Michigan has lost 50,000 jobs every 5 months!
In a world where Jennifer Granholm has a voice at a "Jobs Summit," I suppose Matt Millen should cover the NFL draft for ESPN, Tiger Woods can start a marriage counseling show, Barney Frank and Chris Dodd can be put in charge of financial regulation, Tim Geitner in charge of collecting taxes—oh wait…