Public education in Michigan is better funded than ever before, and you can thank… Republicans, of course!

Democrats and their union allies make headlines every week complaining about education funding, but when you crunch the numbers and examine the budget figures, it turns out it’s the other side of the aisle delivering in a big way for Michigan students.

This article originally appeared in The Detroit News.

The crack of the bat in Detroit. Tulips blooming in Holland. Democrats and union bosses complaining about non-existent K-12 public school funding problems in Lansing. Ah, the rituals of Spring.

While the rest of the state prepares for Easter, starts planning getaways and family vacations, or daydreams of summer while shopping for Tigers tickets, Lansing politicians are working out the details that’ll make up the year’s public spending budget.

Politicians talk a good game about government transparency, but too often they fail to walk the walk. This week, as government watchdogs and reporters observe Sunshine Week – an annual observance promoting greater transparency from your elected employees – there are signs that’s changing in Michigan.

The Michigan Education Association has spent decades misusing public education dollars to fund their union business. If that weren’t enough, they’ve used loopholes to spike their one-percenter union bosses’ pensions, leaving taxpayers holding the bag. Enough is enough.

This article originally appeared in The Detroit News.

The field is set: Bill Schuette. Brian Calley. Patrick Colbeck. Jim Hines. Gretchen Whitmer. Shri Thanedar. Even Abdul El-Sayed, though whether or not his name will be able to appear on the ballot remains to be seen. Michigan governor candidates are introducing themselves, they’re pulling stunts, they’re maneuvering with their activist bases, and they’re hoping to catch their groove heading into the spring.

A word of advice to voters and political observers; the stunts, the phony town halls, and the early digital ad wars are a mildly titillating sideshow, but they won’t make much difference come August — or November.

It’s Valentine’s Day and Michigan Democrats just aren’t feeling the love as Michiganders continuously “swipe left” on their candidates. 

The headlines have been harsh. While Brandon Dillon and the rest of the Michigan Democratic Party establishment seeks to coronate Gretchen Whitmer through dirty tricks and legal challenges to progressive darling Abdul El-Sayed – apparently they didn’t learn their lesson from the Clinton v. Sanders fiasco at the DNC - as their presumptive gubernatorial nominee, other prominent Democrats – led by Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan – were actively trying to recruit a Whitmer alternative over concerns about her ability to actually win outside of a leftist enclave like East Lansing.