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NEW POLL OVERVIEW:<br />
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Dave Agema has never been known to be one to not tell you where he stands on an issue, and now some of those remarks have caused high ranking GOP officials at both the national and state levels to ask for his firing or resignation.<br />
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RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, in a statement to the Free Press, said </span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'</span></span>people should be treated with grace and respect and these comments don&rsquo;t reflect that.</span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'</span></span> In some cases, the remarks are </span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'</span></span>patently wrong, lack merit and are devoid of any meaningful value,</span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'</span></span> he added.<br />
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Governor Rick Snyder in his State of the State message never mentioned Dave Agema by name but talked about showing more civility to people with </span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'</span></span>different backgrounds and views,</span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'</span></span> comments that many considered a rebuke. <br />
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Betsy DeVos, the ultimate establishment Republican, is calling out the GOP</span><span><span>'</span>s national leadership for failing to stand up to </span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'</span></span>intolerance and insensitivity</span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'</span></span> within the party.<br />
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DeVos, in lodging her complaints this week, joins a growing number of traditional Republicans dismayed that the party is being jerked to the extreme by a small-but-noisy element obsessed with divisive issues.<br />
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DeVos says she left messages with Agema this week </span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'</span></span>to encourage him to do the right thing. He should resign his position as national committeeman.</span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'<br />
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When he didn</span><span><span>'</span>t respond, she called Reince Priebus, chairman of the national party, asking him to either figure out a way to dump Agema or marginalize him to make it clear the party does not support his positions.<br />
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</span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'</span></span>He has a right to express his ideas and opinions, but he also has a responsibility to the party</span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'</span></span> DeVos says. </span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'</span></span>He has damaged his position and his party. He reflects badly on Republicans and on Michigan.</span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'<br />
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She describes herself as </span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'</span></span>disillusioned and disgusted</span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'</span></span> that Republicans like Agema have been allowed to help guide the party.<br />
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</span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'</span></span>Leaders have a responsibility to create an inclusive, welcoming party, not to exclude,</span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'</span></span> she says. </span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'</span></span>What&rsquo;s going on is cause for concern about our future prospects as a party and our ability to bring people around to our point of view and long-term agenda. We are driving people away who might otherwise support what we stand for.</span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'<br />
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That DeVos is voicing her distress is significant. The DeVos family not only has been among the most generous and reliable GOP funders, both at the state and national levels, but its members have also sat at the party</span><span><span>'</span>s leadership table for decades. The party</span><span><span>'</span>s national headquarters includes an Amway Communications Center, named for the company her father-in-law co-founded.<br />
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Although no overt threat was made to withdraw financial support, the risk to the GOP is certainly implicit.<br />
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</span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'</span></span>The expectation of leaders in a party is to stand up in situations like this,</span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'</span></span> she says. </span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'</span></span>Failing to do so will have consequences.</span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'<br />
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DeVos is convinced a majority of Republicans feel as she does about the pull to the extremes on issues such as gay rights. But that tiny faction is gaining disproportionate influence.<br />
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</span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'</span></span>There is a fear, untested and unfounded, that standing up to a small minority in the party will have a tremendous backlash,</span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'</span></span> she says. </span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'</span></span>Instead, I believe they are going to continue to drive more and more people away from our party and our viewpoints.</span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'<br />
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There is no mechanism in Michigan party rules to remove Agema, unless he fails to support the Republican presidential nominee. Still, DeVos believes pressure can be applied, and says state party leaders have been </span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'</span></span>distressingly quiet</span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'</span></span> about Agema. <br />
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The stand Betsy DeVos is taking will surprise some. She is a classic conservative, and fairly or not has sometimes been linked to the religious right.<br />
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But she recognizes that intolerance and exclusion are bad for Republicans and bad for America.<br />
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If more of the people who write the checks that keep the GOP in business stand beside her, the Republican Party will have to change course or dwindle away.<br />
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Additionally Muslim groups have complained that Agema has promoted religious intolerance, and a group for gay Republicans are asking for his resignation as Michigan</span><span><span>'</span>s National Committeeman.<br />
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Agema has indicated he has no intention of quitting. When the RNC meets Wednesday, he is expected to be one of the most-watched participants.<br />
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NEW POLL QUESTION:<br />
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Should Michigan</span><span><span>'</span>s Republican National Committeeman resign from that position?<br />
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Yes<br />
No<br />
Undecided<br />
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TO VOTE IN THIS POLL CLICK ON THIS LINK<br />
<a href="http://www.clinton-countygop.com/content/should-michigan%E2%80%99s-republican-national-committeeman-resign-position">http://www.clinton-countygop.com/content/should-michigan%E2%80%99s-republican-national-committeeman-resign-position</a><br />
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(To enter your comments click on </span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'</span></span>Add new comment</span><span><span>'</span></span><span><span><span>'</span></span> after you vote.)<br />
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PREVIOUS POLL QUESTION:<br />
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Should the legislature pass a $350 Million dollar bailout for Detroit the Governor mentioned in his State of the State message?<br />
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Yes - 11%<br />
No - 89%<br />
Undecided - 0% <br />
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THREE COMMENTS WAS MADE ON THIS POLL QUESTION:<br />
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COMMENT #1<br />
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350 Million Bailout for Detroit<br />
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Absolutely no bailout. Furthermore, the art should not be a protected asset.<br />
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Until the culture changes in that town, even 100% bailout will not save them. The &quot;give me&quot; mentality is most of what has caused this situation to develop. Large cities in the United States who are facing possible bankruptcy have had Democrats in control for years. Its not moral to take from the productive population and give to the unproductive.<br />
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COMMENT #2<br />
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Detroit<br />
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Let them solve their own problems. It's not the responsibility of the rest of Michigan. They can sell their art collections-they obviously do not deserve to own them.<br />
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COMMENT #3<br />
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Anonymous wrote 1 day 20 hours ago<br />
$350M Detroit Bailout<br />
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There is little doubt that the State will be finding ways to help Detroit, whether they will all be in plain sight remains to be seen. I think there are some things that we will probably have to do. However, the time is not now. This week, I learned from a creditable source that the DIA assets have been valued in excess of $4B!! Thats a &quot;B&quot; for &quot;Billion&quot;. The reports of $500M in assets are only the ones they have appraised to date. I think they would still have a nice collection if it was sold down to $500M in total.<br />
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