Heated debate
By Justin Jackson, Staff Writer
6/26/2006
On Thursday evening, all Boys Staters gathered in the multi-purpose room to listen to two very important guest speakers. Boys State was pleased to welcome the Michigan Democratic Committee Chairman Mark Brewer and Michigan Republican Committee Chairman Saul Anuzis. Mr. Anuzis won the “very scientific” coin toss, but elected to speak second.
Mr. Brewer took the podium and explained how President Bush was running the government and our nation into the ground. He also explained what the Democratic Party’s belief system is and what they stand for. He also said that republicans run a government that benefits the wealthy, whereas democrats give opportunities to everybody. They are in favor of a strong public education, a clean environment, and equal access to jobs for everybody.
Mr. Anuzis started off his speech by bashing the democrats and making some very smart-a** comments. He stated a fact that Michigan has lost one job for every twenty minutes that Governor Granholm has been office, and that 49 other states were gaining jobs. According to Mr. Anuzis, “(Granholm) is not making the necessary changes” and that the state needs “necessary leadership who is not a tool of the special interests.” After a few minutes of bashing the Democratic Party and the current state leadership, Anuzis expanded on the beliefs of the Republican Party. “A government that governs least governs best.” According to Mr. Anuzis, this is the party’s main philosophy.
After Mr. Anuzis had his turn, Mr. Brewer started off his rebuttal with facts on the Republican Party’s gubernatorial candidate, Dick DeVos. He said that DeVos is the biggest donor to President Bush, and one of the largest donors to the entire Republican Party. When DeVos was president of Amway, one of every four workers were laid off, health benefits were slashed, and jobs were shipped overseas to China.
For Mr. Anuzis’ rebuttal, he said that, “Our troops are doing a hell of a job” and discussed the War in Iraq. This topic fired up the audience and caused hatred with others. He also discussed the topic of jobs and said, “To compete in the world, you must beat the world.”
After the two speakers had their shot at rebuttals, the audience asked them some questions. One of the big topics throughout the evening was the equipment supplied to our troops in Iraq. The media and several politicians have stated several times that our soldiers are ill equipped to fight the type of warfare they are currently encountering. Mr. Brewer said that our equipment is worn out, while Mr. Anuzis stated that we have the best gear in the world.
After the session was over, I talked with both Mr. Brewer and Mr. Anuzis. Mr. Brewer said that students should get involved and, “Work for candidates and get out and vote.” Mr. Anuzis said that this year’s gubernatorial race is all about jobs. He hopes that with Mr. DeVos’ business background, that DeVos will run the state government like a business.