How did Peters survive the tsunami? (TheMichiganView.con 11.4.10)

Posted by hpayne on November 4, 2010

On Tuesday night Michigan Republicans were celebrating in the streets, smashing the Obama agenda, overturning Priuses, and cheering a state government sweep and big U.S. House wins. But one Pelosi poodle managed to escape the carnage.

How did Gary Peters – a first-term, 2008 Obama coattail Democrat in Republican Oakland County – survive?

Peters’ triumph was a lone bright spot for Democrats thanks to Big Money and the changing demographics of the 9th congressional district. But, warns Michigan political guru Bill Ballenger, Editor of Inside Michigan Politics, the party should drink its bubbly fast because redistricting under a Republican state capitol may spell doom for Peters’ district soon.

“If it was Bouchard or Bishop, the Republicans would have won,” says Ballenger matter-of-factly – getting the “what-if?” question off the table first. The question as to why the GOPers didn’t field their first string of Sheriff Mike Bouchard (who stubbornly ran for governor in a crowded field) or Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop (who lost the AG primary to Bill Schuette) dogged Republicans all campaign.

Instead, Army Reservist Rocky Raczkowski (why isn’t a guy who drops his day job to put on a uniform and serve his country in hellhole Somalia considered “A Team?”), a hard-working, former state House minority leader got the nomination, riding a wave of Tea Party anger to upset Establishment Republican Paul Welday in the primary. A military man in a conservative district – a shoo-in, yes?

No, insists Ballenger, pointing out that the 9th is hardly a Republican cinch given its strong Democratic Jewish vote on its west side, youth vote in Royal Oak, and black urban vote in Pontiac. Meanwhile, the district’s core, Bloomfield Hills, has been hemorrhaging population with the decline of the auto industry.

Never a dynamic campaigner, Peters also benefited from incumbency in a rich district where buying congressmen is a necessary part of the business model. Strategically positioned on the House Finance Committee and the elite “New Democrat” fundraising club, Peters raked in money as gatekeeper for House financial reform legislation — most importantly, carving out regulatory exceptions for auto dealers. Incumbency has its privileges.

“Peters has always presented himself as a reasonable business candidate,” says Ballenger, “even as he votes Left. It’s a total sham.”

A 3:1 fundraising advantage allowed the Wall Street lackey to hammer the Rock with personal attack ads on the national Pelosi party model. With Rocky incapable of answering every volley, Peters maintained the offensive until election day — even running a false tax ad that most Democratic Party candidates pulled after watchdog groups called it a fib.

As the returns came in late Wednesday Morning, one Rocky insider called Campaign HQ “the saddest group of Republicans in Michigan.” But, says Ballenger, the Rocky setback is a speed bump.

The important event on Tuesday night was the Elephant Party’s sweep of Lansing, meaning that they will be in the driver’s seat come redistricting. That means when Peters pulls out the big bucks to defend his seat in 2012, or 2014, or. . . he may not have a district left to defend.

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