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Feiger forces Democratic defections in Michigan governor's raceDETROIT, Michigan (AllPolitics, October 27) -- Some life-long Democrats in Michigan are jumping their party's ship to join the bandwagon for Republican Gov. John Engler. Engler received more than prayers when he joined Black ministers at the Second Chapel Hill Missionary Baptist church in Detroit. "I am proud to accept your endorsements and I pray to God that I may live up to your expectations," Engler told the enthusiastic clergy. "You have my word that I will do my very, very best." Normally loyal Democrats are defecting because their party's own nominee is the angry, abrasive Geoffrey Fieger, an attorney most famous for his infamous client, Dr. Jack Kevorkian. "I thought I had seen every dirty trick in the world pulled on me in a courtroom," Fieger complained. "But man, these politicians make lawyers look like saints."
Fieger is also angry about Republican campaign ads. The GOP spent $750,000 on a September ad calling Fieger a bigot for statements he made about religious leaders. One quoted Fieger comparing the Detroit Council of Orthodox Rabbis to Nazis. It also had Fieger calling the leader of the Catholic church in Michigan "a nut." "I liked Geoffrey Fieger because he's full of fire and stuff," said Hilda Mauricio, 54, a Detroit mother of five and an employee of Mexican Industries. "But I lost my faith in him when he began to speak out against the church and Jesus." Fieger said those quotes were old and taken out of context. "They're all from years and years ago when I was a private citizen defending clients and making, perhaps, politically incorrect statements during radio talk shows where I frequently appeared," Fieger explained. But his current words haven't helped him either. He called Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer a "slow learner" when Archer refused to meet with him. And Fieger said Democratic Attorney General candidate Jennifer Granholm "seems almost hysterical" when she took issue with key planks of his anti-crime agenda. And then there is Fieger's description of Michigan potholes: "as big as Engler's butt." "We'll actually have a plan to repair roads and not a list to paint over the roads," Fieger promised. "So come next November 4, we'll be falling into potholes bigger than his gluteus maximus." "He hasn't really reined it in very much, except he's made an effort not to alienate groups of people," said Detroit Free Press columnist, Hugh McDiarmid "But he hasn't changed a lot." While Fieger has caused a split in the Michigan Democratic party, he did appear at two private events with Hillary Rodham Clinton during her visit to the state. But her only public event was for congressional candidates. "I have not heard her endorse him," firmly stated Clinton's spokeswoman about Fieger. And Detroit's Democratic mayor never mentions him while some state candidates are running independently. All that makes Fieger angry. "Some in our party and to some of those, I pray you understand how hurtful and destructive some of your unkind and divisive comments have been," Fieger said.
The GOP is also trying to hang Fieger around the neck of other Democrats, including Rep. David Bonior. "Fieger, Bonior -- dangerous and wrong on crime," said one GOP ad. "Tell Fieger and Bonior to keep criminals where they belong: in jail," the ad continued. "I don't frankly think the Democrats are as concerned about losing their hold on the congressional delegation as they are the State House and the Attorney Generalship," said McDiarmid. That state House majority matters, with redistricting coming up, according to Democratic State Chairman Mark Brewer. "Of course I'm worried. I'd be foolish to tell you I'm not worried," said Brewer. "But I think we've got enough strength in the party, strength in individual candidates, so that we hang on to that majority." A recent poll shows Engler leading Fieger 59-27, but the Democratic candidate for attorney general led her Republican opponent 41-32. Fieger spokeswoman June West said Fieger will draw voters who aren't accurately measured by polling. "Polls are tricky," West said. "I think we're going to have a higher turnout come November 3, and the gap will narrow. We're moving in the right direction." Fieger is trying to capitalize on the fact he is not the usual political type voters hear from. "I'm appealing to the rest of the people of the state of Michigan who have been turned off by the status quo, turned off with professional politicians lying to us every four years," Fieger proclaimed. "I'm not that guy." And Fieger, who has poured more than $3.6 million into his own campaign, is asking voters to overlook some things he's said in the past. "Sometimes I may seem a little harsh, or a little too loud. And frankly, sometimes I know I've said some things that I wish I could take back," Fieger announced. "But please let me explain something to you: I care about the people I represent." Meanwhile, Fieger's opponent Engler has used a strategy of non-engagement. He's avoided debates and barely even mentioned his opponent's name during his business-as-usual campaign tours and at official ceremonies such as the dedication of the new Motor Sports Hall of Fame. "Fieger needed to become credible and then run a campaign to beat Engler," said Democratic consultant Ken Bock. "Engler kept the focus on the credibility issue and Fieger never got to the next step." And then there's the economy. Michigan's unemployment rate is 3.6 percent and has been below the national average for the past five years. With Michiganders doing well economically, there's even less reason for them to worry about the election or show up at the polls.
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