March Madness (Guest: Saul Anuzis)



Yes, it’s the “March Madness” edition of “A Republic, If You Can Keep It”. This year, the orgy of college basketball is joined by the madness that is Tucker Carlson and Fox News, along with the incredible productivity of the Michigan’s new legislative majority in Lansing.

That new Democratic majority is moving major legislation at a record-setting pace. Several huge bills have cleared the Legislature in the last few days. Among them: a nearly one-billion-dollar tax cut, mandatory background checks for all gun purchases, an expansion of the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act providing basic protections for LGBTQ+ Michiganders, and a $630-million incentive package for the Ford battery plant in Marshall. Other bills moving quickly through the legislature repeal the Snyder-era attacks on unions, repeal Michigan’s 1931 abortion law and enact new gun safety laws.

Joining the podcast this week: longtime Republican activist Saul Anuzis. Anuzis served as Chairman of the Michigan Republican Party from 2005-2009 and was a candidate for Chairman of the Republican National Committee in 2009 and 2011.  Previous positions included working with Newt Gingrich at American Solutions, Jack Kemp’s 1988 Presidential campaign, Chief of Staff to MI Senate Majority Leader Dick Posthumus, Chairman of the MI Senate Republican Campaign Committee and serving on the MI House Republican Campaign Committee and most recently as a Senior Advisor to the Ted Cruz for President Campaign in the 2016 cycle.

Today, Anuzis is one of the leaders in a bipartisan effort to reform the presidential election process. The United States is the only democracy in the world that makes it possible to finish second in an election… and still win. Two of the last four Presidents lost the popular vote but were elected thanks to the Electoral College. The National Popular Vote initiative would end that giant-sized quirk in our elections.

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This week’s podcast is underwritten in part by EPIC-MRA
EPIC ▪ MRA is a full service survey research firm with expertise in:
• Public Opinion Surveys
• Market Research Studies
• Live Telephone Surveys
• On-Line and Automated Surveys
• Focus Group Research
• Bond Proposals – Millage Campaigns
Political Campaigns & Consulting
Ballot Proposals – Issue Advocacy Research
Community – Media Relations
Issue – Image Management
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