Oakland Co. GOP meltdown continues:

[Lefty48197]

If you've been paying attention to the recent infighting among Oakland Co. Republicans, then you have witnessed the hilarious self-dismantling of a once solid GOP county machine.
It was just a few years ago that Oakland Co. was considered the epicenter of GOP politics in southeastern Michigan.
For the right wing extremists who have taken over GOP politics nationwide, Oakland County's brand of politics just wasn't good enough.
Enter AMWAY funded billionaire Betsy DeVos, who led the ultra right wing's attempted coup de etat, on the Oakland Co. GOP. When Billionaire Betsy became head of the state Republican party, she decided it would be important to have people who thought like her running Oakland Co. GOP politics, so she decided to try and oust established GOP county officeholders, and replace them with "Grand Rapids thinkers".
In doing so, Betsy demonstrated just how out of touch she is with Oakland Co. voters. She's lived in her Grand Rapids bubble for so long, that she thinks the whole world thinks like her. What a shock it will be, when she finally learns otherwise.
Unfortunately for us Democrats, Betsy has resigned as state GOP head. Hopefully, she will find another position that allows her to continue promoting the destruction of the Oakland Co. Republican party.
Chuck Yob (of, you guessed it - Grand Rapids!) is running to succeed Betsy as state GOP leader, and chief destroyer of the Oakland Co. GOP. He recently fired off an email to Oakland Co. GOP leaders hinting that Co. Executive L. Brooks Patterson was to blame for the GOP's recent rash of defeats in local elections.
Patterson disagreed:

"It's no secret that Oakland County's demographics have been changing," Patterson said. "

Patterson cited his Republican credentials dating back more than 30 years. He said the religious right, in his view, has become so intolerant of opposing points of view that "they have literally driven thousands of votes out of the Republican Party in Oakland County. Hence, Oakland County has gone to Clinton, Clinton, Gore, Granholm and Kerry over the last 12 years," Patterson wrote.

Patterson said he has given long, serious thought to "the radical right's" impact on the party and insisted he wasn't shooting from the hip.

Political analyst William Ballenger says while there is a democratic shift and the Oakland County Republicans have lost some local races to Democrats, the friction between Yob and Patterson might be more about jockeying for the control of the state GOP. "What's going on here is there's a lot of positioning to try to succeed Betsy DeVos as state chairman," said Ballenger. "Chuck Yob has not yet said definitely he wants to be state party chairman, but most people think he wants to be."


http://www.detnews.com/2004/politics/0411/09/c01-329157...

[MichiganVote]

1. Patterson is an asshole. A first rate power radical.

[New Dem Dan]

2. sit back and watch

dont interfere when your enemies are destroying themselves.

[MichiganVote]

3. I am watching. And so far I like what I see.

[MichiganVote]

4. And welcome to DU, Dem

[maddogesq]

5. As an OC resident and Dem hellraiser, I have to say...

I love the smell of Repub self-mutilation in the morning. This county ranked 3rd or 4th in the level of imporantance on both sides of the presidential race, and methinks we will see the Goopers yell "I'm melting...oh, I'm melting." snicker