Delivering for Michigan, Dems distinguish themselves from the GOP in the ways that matter

A conversation with Lavora Barnes, Chairwoman of the Michigan Democratic Party

The difference between the Democratic and Republican Parties is on full display in states like Michigan. To dig into those differences, I caught up with Lavor Barnes, Chairwoman of the Michigan Democratic Party.

What follows is a transcript of my show on WCPT820. It has been edited for length and clarity. The full interview, recorded on January 29, 2022, can be heard here: The Big Picture

Eisendrath

Let's talk today about both Republicans and Democrats because the contrast in Michigan could not be greater.

Barnes

You spend a few minutes on Twitter, looking at what's coming out of the mouths of the Republicans you get a good example of what we deal with every day, what members of our staff deal with every day, what our elected officials deal with every day. Then look at the high-minded policy and exciting work that the Democrats who've been elected to office in Michigan are doing. We have a governor rolling up her sleeves, putting on her vest, putting on our hard hat, and getting jobs in here. While folks on the Republican side are busy tweeting things “like scary masked man” about the Black man who is the Lieutenant Governor of this state- the contrast is there and it's easy to see.

Eisendrath 

Sometimes people look at politics like sports. But it has real life impact. If you think about the world that the folks like your state’s GOP co-chair Mashawn Maddock would create, it's one that is mean spirited and bigoted. It's also one that just doesn't function very well. They're not competent in running a government. Meanwhile, up against nothing but vitriol, your governor has had a remarkable run.

Barnes

Amazing, amazing run despite a Republican controlled legislature that attempts to stop her every step of the way. This governor had done remarkable work in the state of Michigan. And here's the thing that you see the difference between putting Democrats in position of power, say Governor Whitmer, and Republicans in position of power is that work gets done.

ON THE USES OF POLITICAL POWER

Barnes

Republicans want to use the halls of power to keep people down, to push people out to push people away, and to lift up themselves and their cronies. Democrats use the halls of power to make life better for all folks-- not just dem folks, not just folks who live in the red counties, or the blue counties, but everywhere in Michigan and in the state. The difference is vast, and you watch the Republicans use their power where they have it to make sure that folks can't vote, or to do things like [falsely certifying] fraudulent electors.

You know, I was in the capitol that day, of course, as the Democratic electors were casting their votes. And we knew they were at the door. We knew they were trying to get in. The terrific members of law enforcement who stood at that door and told them they couldn't come in will forever have my heart because the drama could have been much different had they actually gotten into the chamber. They were out there, the woman who's the co-chair of the Republican party was part of it, and it was supported by elected members of the Michigan Legislature. This is a problem with the way the Republicans have chosen to lead and to govern. They have to be stopped and we stopped them by organizing. We stopped them by knocking doors. We stopped them by doing the work we all know how to do, and we never stop doing that work.

ON GETTING THE JOB DONE

Barnes

Just consider what she’s done to boost to the economy. She has allocated money to provide relief for small businesses, something that people don't think of Democrats doing, but she cares about small businesses. She's made sure that they have relief to help them through the pandemic. She's expanded access to job training program. She's brought in about 15,000 new auto jobs into Michigan. You know, we put the world on wheels, but as the auto industry has changed, so has the auto job market here in Michigan. We needed this governor to step up and make sure that we can get those new jobs so we can make those chips, so that we can make those electric vehicles. She's growing the economy. She built bipartisan success around auto industry changes so that we can get refund checks- everybody's going to get a refund check here in Michigan for their auto insurance this spring, which is unheard of. They call them Whitmer refund checks. And she expanded access to childcare for individuals. It keeps on going- payments early childhood education, it is nonstop the list is so long I couldn't even do it all

Eisendrath 

Even before the federal infrastructure dollars, she's focused some of the state budget on roads and bridges and the nitty gritty stuff that makes a difference every day.

Barnes

Exactly. The roads the bridges the water lines are the lead water lines that need to be replaced. They have been digging those trenches and replacing those water lines even before the Biden infrastructure came in to help. All of that while the Republican legislature tries to block her every step of the way.

Eisendrath 

Michigan has a surplus. And that's being invested to attract new businesses and investment like the fabulous announcement from General Motors this week.

Barnes

Huge announcement from General Motors. We should be celebrating the work that the governor and the legislature did to make that happen. And yes, there were some Republicans who supported it, but it was mostly Democrats. This was carried on the back of Democrats just like in the federal legislature. The Democrats did the hard work to make this happen. The Democrats took the vote and took the lead here,

Eisendrath 

No one is going to accuse Mary Barra, the CEO of GM, or their board of being Democratic partisans.  It's in the interest of that company and its shareholders to build in Michigan because Michigan is doing some things right.

Barnes

Exactly. That's exactly right. And those jobs right here, they will be good union jobs.

Eisendrath 

Things that surplus is being used for, to help attract businesses investment, rebates for electric vehicles, and expanded Earned Income Tax Credit… if you look at the totality of things Governor Whitmer and the Democrats have invested in, they focused on having an efficient government, investing in business growth, investing in environmental protection, and with the earned income tax credit in social justice and economic justice. That's a very strong record to run on.

Barnes

Exactly invested in making individual Michiganders lives better and making our state as a whole better. Absolutely.

Eisendrath

After their win in Virginia, Republicans everywhere figured they could campaign on education. Their claim, of course, is that they're fighting to get parents more say in their kids’ education. But in reality, they have never seen a school budget they didn't want to cut. They ban books, they issue gag orders to teachers, they're meddling with sound curriculum. Meanwhile, in Michigan, Governor Whitmer Whitmer is closing the funding gap between rich and poor districts.

Barnes

And right, a funding gap that had existed for a long time while Republicans just let it grow. Yeah, rather than doing anything to help close it, absolutely.

Eisendrath 

She helped close that gap. And I think this budget includes the biggest increase in education and 20 years without new taxes.

Barnes

That's exactly right. Not a single penny of taxes being raised to do it, but an emphasis on making sure that money gets into classrooms, to help make education better for our kids and to help our educators have the tools they need to do their job.

ON VISION FOR THE COUNTRY

Barnes

As a party and as candidates and elected officials, we have to remember to get back to telling people the facts of what happens when you get Democrats in elected office, and the difference that Democrats have made and will make when you elect them, and we have to get off of their message track and get on our message tech, and I know it's hard to do because you hear them out there. And they're saying all that ridiculous stupid stuff and you want to fight with them on each and every one of those points, but when you do that, you're wasting time that we don't have and what we need to be doing is talking to the voters about the good work that we have done and we will do so that we can get these elections one in November.

Eisendrath

We have to tell people what winning means, what kind of country we are building together. When you train candidates, and when you talk with voters in between elections, when you're out talking to people about the Michigan that they want to create- What's the message?

Barnes

It really harkens back to Joe Biden's line which was the talking about battle for the soul of this nation. And this is a conversation that you can have on a doorstep, which is what does the nation that you want to build for your children and grandchildren look like?

For us? It is a nation that is rooted in fairness. And that means fairness when it comes to the job market. It needs fairness when it comes to race and equality. It means fairness when it comes to labor unions, and it means fairness when it comes to protecting the environment so that it is here for our children when they come behind us. The overarching theme of all of that is fairness and equality. And if we don't believe in those things, which I think is very much rooted in who we are, who we were as a nation, who we should be as a nation, then you probably aren't a Democrat. But if you do believe those things if you do want a nation that your children will grow up in where they will feel safe and secure and know that they have every opportunity available to them to whatever their race, their gender, their disability, then you're a Democrat.