Travels with Natalie (Guest: Representative Debbie Dingell)

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On our radar this week…

Another bad week for the 80-year-old President as he gets roasted by Jon Ossoff with a riff that mentioned Natalie and infuriated Trump, setting off a social media frenzy with attacks on the Georgia senator along with CNN and the reporter who asked Trump about the mention of his constant companion.

Trump’s priority issue this week seems to be as construction boss for the White House. He’s ordered his Justice Department to appeal a halt to further construction of his gold-encrusted ballroom; gave the press a guided tour of his granite helicopter pad construction project; used the tour to promote campaign contributor Scotts Turf Builder; attacked still another female reporter for asking him a question; and saw more of his endorsed candidates lose in their primaries.

The Democratic Party’s statewide ticket is now complete, with Jocelyn Benson choosing state Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks as her running mate. It’s the first-ever two-woman top-of-the-ticket in Michigan history … running against an all-male Republican ticket.

John James choice of state House Oversight Committee chair Jay DeBoyer is drawing heat over his refusal to investigate alleged widespread sexual abuse of children at Interlochen. DeBoyer says it’s a criminal matter and he criticizes Attorney General Nessel for not launching an investigation, overlooking the fact that Nessel has told local law enforcement the resources of her department are available to assist them in any way useful.

Our friend Mark the Lawyer had two big wins this week. One could change the outcome of a city election, the other protects voter rights.

We know now that there will be two proposals on the November ballot. Proposal one is the constitutionally required vote on whether to rewrite Michigan’s constitution which we discussed last week. Proposal 2 would, if enacted, put tight limits on corporate campaign contributions from state utilities and companies doing $250,000 or more in contracts with the state.

The Democratic National Committee has made it official: Michigan will be in the first band of presidential primary elections, fifth on the list of primaries and the first large battleground state in the mix.

The parade of wannabe presidents has already begun with a high visibility visit from Gavin Newsom, and the announcement that
J.D. Pritzker will headline a major state party fundraiser in September. We can add to the mix the potential candidacy of two Michigan Democrats. (Neither Pete Buttigieg or Elissa Slotkin say they are running, but they are talking and acting like candidates.)

Joining the podcast this week is perhaps the best political analyst in the state: Congresswoman Debbie Dingell. She’s in her 5th term representing portions of southeast Michigan. She is a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Natural Resources Committee, where she leads on critical issues including affordable and accessible health care, clean energy and water, domestic manufacturing and supply chain resilience, and protecting our wildlife and natural resources.

Debbie Dingell is part of one of the most remarkable stories of a family’s public service in U.S. history. There has been a Dingell in the U.S. House of Representatives for 94 years: John Dingell Senior was first elected in the 1932 Roosevelt landslide and served for 22 years. His son John Jr. is a legend, serving a record 60 years. Upon his retirement in 2015 he was succeeded by his wife Debbie. A hallmark of their service has been a proposal for a national health insurance system, first introduced by John Sr. in 1933 and re-introduced since at every Congress by the father and then the son.