The one thing I have to say about the Michigan GOP is that it is never boring — and that is the only thing I can say on the family-friendly pages of RedState. On my show Duke Over America, which you can find right here on my RedState BIO, I might be a bit harsher.

Maybe a lot harsher.

Some of you might have caught my show this past Sunday on WAAM Radio 1600 A.M. & 92.7 F.M. in Ann Arbor, where I go over some of the damn lunacy of what people who call themselves “patriots” are spewing. If you want to get a more in-depth view of some of the crazy trying to act competently you can check the show out right here: PODCAST Duke Over America WAAM Radio Edition 191 Sunday, August 21-2022.

Since that show aired and the announcement by the Republican nominee Tudor Dixon of Shane Hernandez as her pick for Lieutenant Governor, let’s say that stuff has gotten a bit more interesting than it normally does in the Great Lake State.

So, let’s start with the basics.

From the Detroit News…

Michigan Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon has selected former state Rep. Shane Hernandez of Port Huron as her running mate, potentially placing someone with experience in Lansing at the top of the GOP ticket along with a group of political outsiders.

Hernandez, who was known as a conservative in the state Legislature, unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. House in 2020 and was the chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee for a term. The Appropriations Committee is responsible for crafting the state’s annual budget.

“Shane Hernandez as lieutenant governor will help to improve our schools, create safer communities and improve our economy,” Dixon said Friday in a statement. “Like me, Shane is concerned about the impact rising prices are having on our families.”

Seems like a pretty noneventful pick. I have to admit that I had heard of Hernandez possibly once, and there was never any indication of any controversy around him. Yet, the people who are still in fevered feelings of rage over their candidate not winning the August 2nd primary for Governor here are not going to go away quietly, it seems.

Since Hernandez was announced as the pick, there have been widespread rumors he would be replaced at the GOP state convention this Saturday in Lansing. In Michigan, the voters pick the top of the ticket and the candidate gets to pick who they want to be their running mate but the catch is it must be approved at the party convention after the primary.

Most of the whispering has been unfounded rumor-mongering from what I can tell, and here is the reason why.

When I ask for any of these wild, crazy stories to be proven or backed up by little things called EVIDENCE, I’m told to do my research and Google it. Generally, if you know something to be a fact, you are more than happy to show the people that you are claiming are ignorant exactly what they are lacking. You do it with a joy and zeal not unlike that of a child opening CHRISTmas presents on December 25th

Not with this feeling over facts crowd.

So, given that I readily admit I did not know a lot about the LG pick, I decided to talk to some people I trust and ask some questions about his selection. The four or five people that I talked to all came back with glowing remarks and dismissed the naysayers. Yet, I still wanted to make sure that my I’s are dotted and T’s are crossed and I came across a post from a former state representative that is about as solid as they come.

Former Michigan State Representative and current Michigan School Board member Tom McMillin is a CPA by trade and is exactly the type of person who does not give the thumbs up to anything Republican-related just because the GOP brass wants it. He has ticked off the party bosses once or twice, which is a really good thing in my opinion.

He posted this last Sunday.

Following up on that is a message on former Michigan State Senator Patrick Colbeck’s Facebook page where someone wondered if voting for a third-party candidate would teach the Michigan GOP a lesson. Here was Patrick’s response.

No. We need to vote for Tudor. 4 more years of Whitmer et al will bring Michigan to our knees. Take our stand by pushing for closed primaries.

Both of these gentlemen have taken crap politically for standing up against GOP, YOU DO WHAT WE SAY orders and are not afraid of speaking their minds. They are both low key and that they are offering any support to the ticket running against Big Gretch does not mean they think everything is peachy with how the Michigan GOP is being run. This simply means they understand what an awful job has been done over the past four years with the current governor and it would be great to have a shot at correcting some of the mess currently we are in.

Dashing the hopes and dreams of the Boot Hernandez Crew is the fact that some of those who ran hard against Dixon and came up short have decided to NOT seek the nomination at the convention. Garret Soldano, who played a big role in helping roll back some of the laws Gretch was using to penalize folks during COVID, tweeted this on Monday:

God, Family, Country 🇺🇸
Over the past 2 1/2 years, I have been absent from my two boys. It's time I put all of my energy into them.
I appreciate all the encouragement and support over the past 72 hours.
I have decided not to run for LT Governor.

— Garrett For Michigan (@GarrettForMI) August 22, 2022

God, Family, Country
Over the past 2 1/2 years, I have been absent from my two boys. It’s time I put all of my energy into them.
I appreciate all the encouragement and support over the past 72 hours.
I have decided not to run for LT Governor.

Could a challenge still occur on Saturday? You betcha it could and I expect that one will.

However, I hope that any challenges are based on things that Republicans have said in the past that they stood for — like facts and proof of the said facts. The days of acting like the Democrats and screaming RUSSIA RUSSIA RUSSIA on anything and acting ridiculous like them should be put to rest after this convention.

The object should be to beat the person who is governor now — not the person who is not the dream boat you voted for on August 2nd.

As the Rolling Stones once opined:

You Can’t Always Get What You Want, But If You Try Sometimes You’ll Get What You Need.

We need to beat Gretchen Whitmer.