Joe F Spaulding 🦉

The first mayor in the US to be elected using Ranked Choice Voting was Ann Arbor's Al Wheeler, the first Black tenured professor at University of Michigan. Dr. Wheeler formed the NAACP Ann Arbor Chapter and wrote the bill that became MI's Civil Rights Department. He helped create some of the first housing protection ordinances in the country. In a racist backlash against his victory, Ann Arbor repealed Ranked Choice Voting in a low turnout election that happened to have record Republican turnout. Now, election deniers in Michigan tied to Cleta Mitchell (a woman who once chased a garbage truck down the street to try to prove the 2020 election was stolen from Trump), are once again pushing to suppress Ranked Choice Voting, but that's not all. They are also trying to purge the voter rolls of any ethnic sounding names. We know this because "Pure Integrity Michigan Elections" outed themselves to oppose @RankMIVote's petition to bring Ranked Choice Voting to Michigan Elections. *All* of their plans for voter suppression in Michigan in 2026 are in their rumble videos. These moves are so transparently racist, MI Election Deniers like Patrice Johnson are openly *celebrating* what took place in Ann Arbor in the 1970s. Mayor Wheeler's story is just a moment in the history of Ranked Choice Voting and, unfortunately, racist voter suppression in this country, but it still a powerful reminder of what's at stake in our politics *today*. You can help get the word out about Dr. Al Wheeler and help Rank MI Vote bring Ranked Choice Voting back to not just Ann Arbor, but all of Michigan. You can find all original sources for this video at AnnArborRCV dot com.

With Chuck Norris gone, who's going to tell little kids in Texas when they have AIDS? Really though, I hope he rests in peace. I very much respected his friendship with Bruce Lee.

As natural gas and octane prices surge, Democrats need to be spiking footballs about being champions of renewable energy and electric vehicles even as the Republicans were shouting big oil talking points with their entire chest cavities.

@Phil_Lewis_ @theeevillain MSU is where the dealers used to live that the pushers from Ann Arbor would buy from in the '90s. The rivalry is as false as who gets the credit for the weed.

@theeevillain that sounds like a fake school. Michigan State on the other hand...

she reheated your nachos @Phil_Lewis_

@mcbyrne I really have grown to like Tim Miller over the last two years, and I appreciate how The Bulwark's attitude and messaging fits in politics today. Talarico could have said something very close to this and been fine. He could have acknowledged existent racism. He didn't. Sh*tty.

The Bench is a group. The Bulwark is a group. Pandering to center right billionaires is a choice.

@jasonwsnead Why keep posting on this platform, which is drastically biased in your ideological direction? Despite that bias you can't get traction. *No one* cares what an out-of-touch DC consultant thinks about these things. Not even the people on your side. The electeds barely like you.

We’ve seen this game before. Democrats “support” photo ID as long as: - You aren’t required to show ID to vote - IDs don’t list citizenship - Anything with your name and address counts as ID - Anybody can vouch for anybody if they don’t have ID - Ds are never used for mail voting - And they get a deal for widespread mail voting, automatic registration, decriminalize ballot harvesting, etc. x.com/steventdennis/…

@StevenTDennis Why would they do that? Their entire point is to suppressing the vote of women who voted against them in the last election. It's not in the cards.

Would be interesting if Rs simply forced a vote on requiring photo ID and nothing else.

Schumer tells press Democrats are *not* opposed to photo voter ID.

@MhmmitsG @Press4BC I think the intersection of race and gender is a difficult area of discussion that even people with PhDs fail to successfully navigate. I also think if I want young people to find a better way, it has to be shown to them and shown to work. Smart ones will get it.

@beyond_process @Press4BC Eh, I think Mason is clearly 19. Supportive of his candidate, but denigrating to the opposition in a way the wreaks of misogyny. We need leftists that aren’t allergic to actually wielding power/constantly firing at allies when they don’t get their way.

Again I like Platner but endorsing him and not Abdul is just racist garbage. They’re identical on policy, both in targeted races, both endorsed by Bernie, and both men running against women. There is no reason to support Platner but not Abdul unless you’re just racist.

@matthewmaddock @gretchenwhitmer x.com/i/status/20347…

Since @gretchenwhitmer has been Governor, just over 409,000 people have been added to our welfare roles. Before her, we had as low as 1 out of 12.21 people on welfare and today it’s 1 in 4.35 on welfare. This has cost working ppl billions more in taxes.

@matthewmaddock @gretchenwhitmer You're a dümbäss

@JezowskiStef @LilyCGuiney You are not an independent, and your insight is narrow

@beyond_process @LilyCGuiney Maybe because they recognize taxing the rich more doesn't actually help anyone. As an Independent, I can see it so I bet they can too.

Public ed advocates are in the Romney Building right now requesting a meeting w/ Gov. Whitmer to get her stance on Michigan opting into the federal govt’s new education tax credit, which can be used for private school. Critics say it’s a voucher program that may be illegal in MI.

@TheOnlyEsta Toe fungus

Fill in the blanks John Fetterman is a _________

@MhmmitsG @Press4BC I think Mason's pretty smart. This is one that we reasonably should have all (including Abdul's team) been able to anticipate because of how prior endorsements happened. Just like when Jesse Jackson endorsed Bernie Sanders long after Bernie endorsed Jesse.

@beyond_process @Press4BC There absolutely is. Folks like Mason just can’t resist the urge to use identity as a cudgel (similar to BlueMAGA attacking Talarico) when his preferred candidate doesn’t get an endorsement.

@MIForward_Net Donald Trump lost in 2020.

Ever stop to think the people of Downriver fired you for a reason?

DeVos lapdog circlejerk

@Th_Midwesterner No, she voted against giving this incompetent administration excuses to beat up more of our neighbors. Tudor Dixon is a 🗑️🔥.

U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten votes against deporting fraudster illegal aliens themidwesterner.news/2026/03/u-s-re…

@FrankLuntz Are they self-identifying as Republicans, unbelievably toxic label at this point before they are asked the other question? If so, there is a bit of selection bias going on

83% of likely Republican voters “strongly” or “somewhat” support strikes against Iran, while just 9% say they “strongly” or “somewhat” oppose military action against Iran.

@stevegrubershow For the guy being a huge public piece of s*** in front of the entire world?

We live for moments like this.

@MISenate @SenAricNesbitt Did you ask @RepLisaMcClain? She and her husband are making a fortune on insider trading

Senate Republican Leader @SenAricNesbitt: "Over the last eight years, state government's grown by nearly 50%. I don't know anybody else's income or household income that's going up by that much."

@jenelaina Yes. Exactly. And the weirdest food here is muskrat

WTF is a dessert nacho