Knollenberg, Republicans, want lightweight Palin back in state

Republicans, stunned by John McCain pulling out of Michigan, held a press conference yesterday in Pontiac trying to rally the troops. Joe Knollenberg, has written a letter to the McCain campaign, asking them to let Sarah Failin campaign here, but they haven't received a response to Joe's letter. They seem to be going through the grief process. First they were in denial, then they were angry and on November 4 they will be forced to get to acceptance of the huge losses they are facing in the state of Michigan.

Joe Knollenberg, an environmentalist?

I just found this video that tells the truth about Joe Knollenberg and his environmental record. Joe Knollenberg is no environmentalist.

Knollenberg Invites Sarah Palin back to Michigan

I'm sorry, but this is just pathetic. John McCain has said he's pulling out of Michigan and leaving poor Joe Knollenberg all on his own, without the Presidential ticket campaigningin Michigan. Joe must be really scared he's going to get whooped by Gary Peters. Knollenberg actually thinks lightweight VP candidate and hockey mom, Sarah Palin, who shoots wolves from helicopters, can help him win back his seat in Congress. Joe must be really desperate to think Palin is important to him keeping his seat.

Knollenberg invites Palin to come back to Michigan

Gordon Trowbridge / Detroit News Washington Bureau

Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin has questioned for a second straight day the McCain campaign's decision to abandon its Michigan operation.

By late Saturday afternoon, Congressman Joe Knollenberg's office released a letter that he had sent to Palin. In a letter, dated Oct. 4, 2008, Knollenberg (R-MI) invites Palin to return to Michigan and campaign in Oakland County.

"My disappointment over Senator McCain's decision to not campaign in Michigan was immediately overwhelmed by my excitement upon hearing of your desire to come back to our state," he wrote. "Consider this a formal invitation to join me on the trail in Oakland County. With hard work, you and John can win my pivotal county and then likely win Michigan as well."

Click here for the rest of the story.

Vote Yes for Gary Peters

Colleen Peters on why her husband, Gary, deserves to be your next Congressman. I think she makes a pretty convincing case.

Gary Peters interviewed on WXYZ

Gary Peters was recently interiewed on WXYZ about what he'll do when he gets to Congress, standing up for the middle class in America and helping the auto industry.
Click here to watch the interview. You can also visit Gary's web site at PetersforCongress.com.

CQ Politics changes Peters/Knollenberg to tossup

CQ Politics, one of the political magazines that rates Congressional race, changed the Peters/Knollenberg race from lean Republican to tossup, apparently on news that Peters took a 4 point lead in the latest polling by the DCCC.

Races for Michigan GOP Reps. Walberg, Knollenberg Now Rated Tossups

By Marie Horrigan, CQ Staff

A tossup race this year seemed like a strong possibility for eight-term Michigan Republican Rep. Joe Knollenberg . He survived a close 2006 contest in suburban Detroit’s 9th District, which is closely divided between the two major parties. The Democrats’ challenge to freshman Republican Tim Walberg looked like more of a long-shot, if only because GOP voting habits are generally strong in the south-central 7th District he represents.

But as both contests head into the home stretch, the outcomes appear highly uncertain, prompting CQ Politics to change its rating on each to No Clear Favorite from Leans Republican.

There are two common threads between these races, the only two in Michigan’s 15 districts that are rated as competitive. Both Republicans survived unexpectedly close races in 2006 over little-known Democratic opponents, with Knollenberg winning by a career-low 5 percentage-point margin and Walberg winning by just 4 points. And these close shaves drew top-tier Democratic recruits in this year’s contests, with Walberg facing Mark Schauer, the minority leader in the state Senate, and Knollenberg battling Gary Peters, a former state senator who is a familiar figure in the 9th District.

Click here for the rest of the story.

Poll shows Peters in the lead

Gary Peters is in the lead in the latest poll. Joe doesn't want to believe it, but his seat is at risk. Gary Peters will be our next Congressman from the 9th Congressional District of Michigan. But he could use all our support. Please donate to Gary's campaign. Click here to donate to Gary's campaign.

Joe Knollenberg, foot soldier for George W. Bush

The first DCCC ad went up against Joe Knollenberg.

Poll Shows Peters with 4 Point Lead Over Knollenberg

A Grove Insight poll conducted August 17-19 of 400 likely voters with a 4.9 percent margin of error shows that Gary Peters leads Congressman Joe Knollenberg 41-37 percent in an initial head-to-head matchup. Eight percent voted for Jack Kevorkian and 14 percent were undecided. After voters are informed with each candidates’ message and bio, Gary Peters comes out ahead 50 percent -35 percent, with six percent going for Kevorkian and with nine percent undecided.

At the presidential level, Illinois Senator Barack Obama led in the district 52 percent -35 percent over Senator John McCain with only 3 percent undecided. Only 25 percent of the district approves of Joe Knollenberg’s job performance, while President Bush’s approval rating stands at 18 percent.

“As a fifth generation Oakland County native and accomplished businessman, Gary Peters is a strong, principled leader who will take action to create good-paying jobs, restore fiscal discipline and get Michigan’s economy back on track,” said DCCC Midwest Regional Press Secretary Ryan Rudominer. “Congressman Knollenberg will pay a heavy price at the polls this November for blindly following President Bush’s failed economic agenda that got us into our current economic crisis that has squeezed families with soaring energy and health care costs, and skyrocketing unemployment.”

ENOUGH!!!!

National Association of Realtors Lies About Knollenberg's Record

This is really unbelievable. I got a mailer from the National Association of Realtors supporting Joe Knollenberg, of all people. the piece says Joe is finding bi-partisan solutions to today's toughest problems. And, get this, "More affordable health insurance." Are they kidding? Joe has consistently fought universal health care and his health care plan is a joke, a $200 credit for employers that offer "wellness programs." How does that help 47 million people who have no health insurance?

The piece also praises Joe for supporting "More mortgage options." Isn't that how we got in this financial crisis we find ourselves in today? The mortgage industry was offering loans to people that couldn't qualify for standard mortages and mortgage brokers defrauding customers and putting them in subprime mortgages when they could qualify for standard mortgages. Shame on the NAR for supporting Joe Knollenberg. Joe Knollenberg is a big part of the problem in Washington, not a part of the solution. If I were a realtor, and a member of the NAR, I'd be writing a letter and asking for a refund of my dues.

Joe Knollenberg is too Extreme for Oakland County

Vote No on Joe has been discovered by NARAL. They have come to the same conclusion I have, Joe Knollenberg is too extreme for Oakland County. Joe doesn't really want to reduce the number of abortions in this country. The Republicans need to keep abortion as an issue. It's one of the only things they have left to keep their base on their side. On almost every other issue their base is swinging to the Democrats in terms of which party they trust on economics and health care.

From the NARAL blog:

Off to the Races: Knollenberg watch and Vote NO on JOE

By

Molly

on September 25, 2008 3:20 PM

So I was surfing around, checking out various blog posts on Knollenberg and Peters, and I came across this: Vote NO on JOE (h/t Chris Estes). (Sometimes I really love that this is my job.)

Anyway, as you can imagine, this blog is rife with reasons why a vote for Joe Knollenberg is a vote for more the same old Bush/McCain-Palin policies we've seen and dislike. Take this post from June of 2007:

Joe Knollenberg voted to restrict contraception and increase the number of abortions in the world. The legislation would also have reduced the spread of AIDS in Africa and other poor countries.

Knollenberg voted against HR2764 today even though the bill was described by Rep. Nita Lowey, who chairs the committee responsible for the legislation, as legislation to "reduce unintended and high-risk pregnancies and abortions ... and save the lives of mothers." But Joe Knollenberg voted NO.

The legislation passed the House, but Bush has threatened to veto it. This is just another in the litany of examples of Joe Knollenberg blindly obeying the will of George Bush.

Why does Joe Knollenberg hate women so much?

Joe Knollenberg is too Extreme for Oakland County.

Ok, so I may have put it a teensy bit differently (here's what NARAL Pro-Choice America had to say about this issue), but the point remains: Knollenberg is too extreme for Oakland County, Michigan.

So you know what you have to do, people of MI-09... visit the Gary Peters website to find out how you can help, and make sure to vote for Peters (and Obama!) on November 4!

Bush/Knollenberg Legacy Bus Tour to Stop in Royal Oak

On Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. the Bush Legacy Tour bus will stop in Royal Oak.

The Bush Legacy is a 45-foot, 28-ton clean bio-diesel powered museum on wheels that features several exhibits on how disastrous the Bush/conservative policies have been, and how they have weakened America's security abroad while neglecting and undermining important priorities here at home.

On Tuesday it will be in Bush enabler Joe Knollenberg's district from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Royal Oak Farmers Market at 11 Mile Road and Troy Street in Royal Oak. Gary Peters is neck and neck against Knollenberg.

Peters Addresses Financial Crisis

Given the severity of the recent financial collapse in the housing industry and now the commercial banking industry, some sanity is returning to our philosophy about regulating industry. Gary Peters has the experience and leadership to address these problems in Congress. Joe Knollenberg has been a leading advocate of the hands off approach to regulation. I hope with Gary Peters in Congress we can address these serious financial failures.

Free Press Reports Peters to Attend Forum, Knollenberg Hasn't Accepted Invitation Yet

I found this at the end of an article today in the Detroit Free Press about the Lawrence/Patterson debate. Apparently Joe Knollenberg can't be bothered with pesky debates. You know, where he might actually get asked a hard question about his record and reconciling his record with those syrupy web commercials he's put on his web site. Like say maybe a question about his 0 rating from the National Breast Cancer Coalition and his horrible ranking from veterans groups, his vote against equal pay for women. I can see why Joe would rather not show up, but I think he owes it to us as a public servant to appear on stage with Gary Peters and defend his record.

Also at the forum will be Gary Peters, the Democratic challenger taking on U.S. Rep. Joe Knollenberg, R-Bloomfield, in the 9th Congressional District. Knollenberg has been invited but hasn’t committed to attending, said Michele Hodges, president of the Troy Chamber of Commerce. Click here for the rest of the story.

Joe and Big Oil

Joe Knollenberg Cares About People? Really?

Joe Knollenberg has a new commercial out featuring a Democratic woman and her daughter who has special needs. In the commercial the mother says, "Congressman Knollenberg cares about people." (I did a little editing) Really? then why did he vote against expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program? Joe Knollenberg voted to uphold President Bush's veto of the SCHIP. If passed it would have covered an additional 100,000 in Michigan and 10 million children nationwide. Why did he vote against the new GI Bill that expanded benefits for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. Click here for a prior post on Knollenberg's veterans' record. Exactly which people does Joe Knollenberg care about?

League of Women Voters Peters/Knollenberg Debate 10/16

On Thursday, October 16 at 7:30 at Oakland University in the Oakland Center Gold room, there will be a debate between Gary Peters, Joe Knollenberg. There will be a moderator panel asking questions of the candidates. I confirmed with the League that Joe Knollenberg will be in attendance. See you there. It's not official in that no letters have gone out and there's been no official acceptance by anyone.

Gary Peters: More Change We Can Believe In

Gary Peters goes right to the heart of the matter affecting most voters in the 9th District. I can see why Joe Knollenberg doesn't want to debate him live where more people can see the stark contrasts between the two.

Voters deserve to see the two candidates answering real questions from voters, then decide.

Joe NOllenberg at Arts and Apples in Rochester

Over 100 people signed my petition demanding that Joe Knollenberg debate Gary Peters in a little over an hour. Don't you think it's only fair that in a representative democracy Joe Knollenberg should debate his opponent?

Call Joe Knollenberg. Demand he debate Gary Peters. Call Joe at 248-723-1477

Many of the candidates running for office in Oakland County are now scheduling debates. You know, those encounters with your competitor for the same elected office. But not Joe Knollenberg. There are still no debates scheduled between Democrat Gary Peters and Republican Joe Knollenberg. One might ask why not. Could it be that Knollenberg knows he doesn't have a leg to stand on?