By Rick Pluta, Michigan Public Radio Network
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-915656.mp3
Lansing, MI –
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Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard is running for governor by running against the Lansing and Washington political cultures. Bouchard has served in local elected offices and the state Legislature continuously since 1986. But he's hoping to ride a wave of voter discontent with incumbents to win the Republican nomination and the governor's office.
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Sheriff Mike Bouchard says his law enforcement experience will help keep Michigan safe, and his experience in the legislature will help him get things done in Lansing. At the same time, he portrays himself as a government outsider.
In this speech at a Tea Party rally, Bouchard is on the steps of the state Capitol telling people that he stands with them and against bureaucrats and elected officials who meddle too much in their lives and businesses.
"You are men and women who care about this state and care about this nation and you care enough to take time out of your life and your busy activities to try to make ends meet to change this town and to change Washington and they're afraid of you," Bouchard says. "And they should be."
Every slam on Lansing is coupled with a slam on Washington. He talks about immigration, gun rights, and federal health reforms as much as he does Michigan's economy and budget.
Bouchard says he can solve Michigan's budget troubles.
"We can save billions of dollars, we just have to do things differently," he says. "Lansing and Washington have this typical reaction. It's either raise taxes or slash services. There's a third route - do things better, cheaper, faster and pick real priorities."
But Bouchard's critics say he tries too often to be all things to all people, and that his positions shift over time. When he was the Republican U.S. Senate nominee four years ago, he opposed the ballot question to ban affirmative action in government hiring and university admissions. Now, he says he's for it. His campaign says Bouchard has always favored the concept of an affirmative action ban, but he had problems with how the 2006 ballot question was worded. Bouchard has embraced right-to-work as a central element of his economic recovery plan. Critics say he's been squishy on the topic in the past. His campaign says his position has evolved from preferring local right-to-work ordinances to favoring a statewide law that would allow workers to opt out of union membership.
Bill Ballenger is the editor of the newsletter, "Inside Michigan Politics." He says this year smart Republican candidates will drop more moderate positions they've held in the past.
"This is a rapid race to the right," says Ballenger. "All these Republican candidates for governor, they're all trying to show how conservative they can be and how much more conservative they are than their opponents."
Doug Till with the the Southwest Michigan Tea Party Patriots says his organization had a tough time deciding who to endorse in the Republican primary, but settled on Bouchard because he is such a vocal advocate for a right-to-work law. And Till says he doesn't care what Bouchard's earlier position on the question may have been.
"A lot of tough choices come to fruition after much soul-searching and evolution of positions over the years and we really don't mind that a person changes their mind and comes over to the right side as long as they stand by it after they've made that decision," Till says.
Bouchard says he'll put his conservative credentials up against any of the other Republicans in the race.
"We need less government on every level," Bouchard says. "This is about making our state competitive and attractive."
Most of the Republican candidates have been courting tea party support because every vote will count in what's expected to be a low-turnout GOP primary that will mostly draw out the most committed conservatives.
Election 2010 - WKAR
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