VP Harris Officially Our Nominee for President, Announces Her Pick for Running Mate

Michigan’s Primary is Today!

TODAY IS PRIMARY ELECTION DAY! 

Polls open at 7 AM and close at 8 PM.

Not sure where your polling place is? CLICK HERE! You’ll be redirected to the Michigan Voter Information Center. Enter your name, birth month & year and zip code to see your voting location and related info.

Potluck and Monthly Meeting Tomorrow

Our next Monthly Meeting will be tomorrow at 7 PM.

The potluck dinner begins at 6 PM.

POTLUCK AT 6PM

Bring a dish to share - whether homemade or store bought - and enjoy some quality time with your fellow Dems before we settle down to business at 7. And don’t worry, if you’re not a good cook and don’t have time to shop, we’d still love for you to stop in and enjoy some food and conversation.

MONTHLY MEETING AT 7PM

You do not need to be a member to attend our monthly meetings, and we would welcome your attendance. Monthly meetings are held on the first Wednesday of each month unless otherwise communicated.

IN PERSON: The meeting will be held in-person at the Super 8 Motel in Houghton.

REMOTE ATTENDANCE: Remote attendance is via Zoom. Email readers can click the button below at 7 PM on Wednesday to be connected to the Zoom session.

County Convention This Saturday

Pursuant to the Michigan Democratic Party’s Call to Convention on Saturday, August 24th, all County and District Conventions across Michigan shall occur on Saturday, August 10, 2024.

Our County Convention will convene at 10 AM this Saturday as announced in our local Call to Convention.

The purpose of our County Convention will be to elect Members and Alternates to the State Convention Committees and to consider resolutions to be forwarded to the State Party.

Remote attendance is via Zoom. Email readers can click the button below at 10 AM on Saturday to be connected to the Zoom session.

NOTE: Delegates with eligibility to vote at the County Convention shall be the members of the MDP residing in Houghton County whose membership was renewed at least thirty (30) days prior to the County Convention. (Precinct Delegates, Democratic elected officials and Democratic nominees to partisan offices residing in Houghton County may become members that day when they register at the County Convention.)

Meet MI Supreme Court Candidate Kimberly Ann Thomas Next Tuesday

JOIN US NEXT TUESDAY!

Stop in to the Houghton Super 8 next Tuesday morning at 8 AM for a Meet and Greet with Michigan Supreme Court Candidate Kimberly Ann Thomas.

Kimberly Ann Thomas is an experienced trial and appellate lawyer and law professor at the University of Michigan Law School. Kimberly directs the Juvenile Justice Clinic, where she teaches students the ethical practice of law and works to improve the lives of Michigan youth. Kimberly will bring a new voice of integrity and fairness, grounded in her knowledge applying the law and dedication to equal justice for all Michiganders.

Coming Events - Mark Your Calendars (and Volunteer!)

We still have summer activities and events coming up and we’d love to have you join us! Below is the list of our remaining annual summer activities. Mark your calendars and volunteer:

• August 16 and 17 - PASTY FEST: We’ll have a booth again this year at Pasty Fest in Calumet. Come join us as we talk to folks, hand out literature, and soak in the celebration of what the Fest producers call “the magical product of Cornish cookery, the pasty!”

• August 22 thru 25 - HOUGHTON COUNTY FAIR: We staff a table every year to engage with the public and distribute literature. We’ll have our button maker and materials ready for the kids to create their own button designs, while we chat with the adults.

• Labor Day Weekend - LABOR DAY PICNIC: Each year we gather over Labor Day Weekend to picnic and connect as we get ready for the fall campaign season.

If you’d like to volunteer for any of these activities let us know. Just leave a message at (906) 523-1233 or email us at [email protected]

Office Hours

WE’RE OPEN!

Stop in to the HCDP Office at 323 Quincy Street in Hancock. We’re open Mondays from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM, and Thursday from 3 PM to 6 PM.

VP Harris Officially Our Presidential Nominee, Announces Her Pick for Running Mate

HER CHOICE ANNOUNCED THIS MORNING…

Is Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a strong leader from among several high quality candidates.

The breathless “Veepstakes” press coverage leading up to this morning’s announcement has been an excellent opportunity for the Democratic Party to showcase the depth of our bench at the national level. It’s difficult to imagine such a deep bench full of energetic and inspiring faces on the Republican side.

Governor Walz has a record of winning among conservative, rural voters. He is known as a “happy warrior”, a reputation that has also been tagged to VP Harris since her announcement as candidate. Walz is a second-term governor and is chair of the Democratic Governors Association.

He is a military veteran and gun owner who previously represented a Republican-leaning, rural part of Minnesota in Congress. He has strong support among unions, and last week was identified as one of the top two picks of UAW leader Shawn Fain.

The Governor has not been well-known around the country, but did earn a reputation as a perceptive fighter for the Harris campaign when he popularized the “weird” label for the Republican ticket over the last two weeks.

The Vice President and Governor Walz now embark on a tour of swing states ahead of the National Convention. The pair are slated to appear tomorrow in Detroit.

Harris’ choice for running mate comes after the delegates to the National Convention formally endorsed her as the Party’s nominee in the virtual roll call vote held over the weekend and concluding yesterday evening. A Party statement released last night said that 99% of the delegate votes went to VP Harris.

HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT THE DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL TICKET:

• DONATE: Visit the Harris for President Donation Page.

• VOLUNTEER: Fill out the Harris for President Volunteer Form.

Project 2025 Director Resigns But the Extremist Effort Continues

The Director of Project 2025 resigned last week amid pressure from the Trump campaign, and in an effort by the former president to try to stem the negative reaction to the Project among voters. Kevin Roberts, the president of the Heritage Foundation and the self proclaimed “head” of Project 2025 is still in place, however, and he says that he plans to lead the effort going forward.

Roberts, you may recall from our item last week, is the author of an upcoming book about Project 2025 that JD Vance, the Republican nominee for VP, wrote a forward to, praising the effort.

Project 2025 is a 900-page-long set of goals for what Republicans would like to see happen should Trump win back the White House. As President Biden declares on his web page about the right wing plan - “Project 2025 is a plan to give MAGA extremists control over your life.”

If you haven’t seen President Biden & VP Harris’ summary of Project 2025 you can find it here.

Another good resource that we’ve highlighted before is the People’s Guide to Project 2025 from Democracy Forward. Below is their “snapshot” of Project 2025. This is what a Trump administration would do - take us back to the failed policies of the past:

Project 2025 Snapshot

Proposals from Project 2025, discussed in detail throughout this guide, that they claim could be implemented through executive branch action alone — so without new legislation — include:

• Cut overtime protections for 4.3 million workers

• Stop efforts to lower prescription drug prices

• Limit access to food assistance, which an average of more than 40 million people in 21.6 million households rely on monthly

• Eliminate the Head Start early education program, which serves over 1 million children annually

• Cut American Rescue Plan (ARP) programs that have created or saved 220,000 jobs

• Restrict access to medication abortion

• Push more of the 33 million people enrolled in Medicare towards Medicare Advantage and other worse, private options

• Expose the 368,000 children in foster care to risk of increased discrimination

• Deny students in 25 states and Washington, D.C. access to student loans because their state provides in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants

• Roll back civil rights protections across multiple fronts, including cutting diversity, equity, and inclusion-related (DEI) programs and LGBTQ+ rights in health care, education, and workplaces

The Northlander

The August edition of The Northlander, the newsletter for Democrats in Michigan’s 1st Congressional District, is now available. This edition includes the complete text of President Biden’s announcement two Sundays ago, and final words from several candidates for offices throughout the District. Click the image below to view.

Our Next Monthly Meeting

HCDP Monthly Meetings: Unless otherwise communicated our monthly meetings are held the first Wednesday of each month. Potluck at 6 PM, Meeting at 7 PM. In the conference room at the Houghton Super 8, and by Zoom (starting at 7 PM).

NEXT MEETING: August 7th

Governmental & Community Meetings

There are no City or Village Council nor County Board meetings of note this week.

Governmental meetings are scheduled throughout the month by bodies from the County Commission to City, Village and Township boards, committees and commissions; as well as local School Boards and the Copper Country Intermediate School District.

Check by phone or on the particular governmental website for meeting notices in your community. Your participation in local government meetings lets your elected and appointed officials know you are interested in their work, and can provide you with the opportunity to speak about your concerns during public comment periods