The $6.5 million men

How would you spend $6.5 million?

According to Crain’s Detroit Business, that’s the amount that Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum (along with their respective super PACs) have spent on TV ads here in Michigan.

And it’s not just the tv ads.  Our phone was ringing off the hook with robocalls this weekend — eight of them on Sunday alone.

There’s no question that robocalling is cheap, both in terms of price and sliminess. For as little as 2 cents a call, you can blanket people’s phones with indignant factoids and ominous pronouncements about your opponent.

You have to wonder, though: does anyone pay attention? Other than the NBA and RuPaul’s Drag Race, I can’t think of a situation where trash-talking makes much of a difference.

The Wall Street Journal reports that 10% of likely Republican voters in Michigan are still undecided.  If you’re a Michigan Republican, you may be forgiven for feeling like “none of the above” at this point. But don’t skip the polls on Tuesday – you have an opportunity to make some electoral history and vote for Fred Karger.

Fred Karger is an old-school Republican* who worked for Reagan, both Bushes and a host of California Republican candidates. He’s a fiscal conservative. He’s not independently wealthy; you can confirm this on his website, since he voluntarily posted his 2011 federal income tax return. Fred is also the only openly gay presidential candidate of a major political party. He’s made it onto the ballot in five states (Michigan, California, North Carolina, New Hampshire and Maryland, plus Puerto Rico), but he’s been consistently shut out of the GOP’s national debates.

The GOP front-runners spend a lot of time talking about “traditional American values” and “business experience.” But what kind of American says that the Founding Fathers didn’t really mean to separate church and state? What kind of experienced businessman sneers at a solidly successful industrial comeback? And how many Americans do you know who own 5 homes or make millions as a lobbyist?

Fred Karger isn’t trying to buy your vote or scare you with robocalls. He’s offering a positive alternative:

“I’m concerned that the partisan rancor is only going to continue and get in the way of America’s future.  I learned from my mentor, Ronald Reagan, the importance of getting along.  And I’ve spent my lifetime working with and supporting Republicans and Democrats.”

Sounds like leadership to me.

Exercise your right to vote, and help make some history right here in Michigan.

* Remember those moderate Republicans? Now nearly extinct, this rare breed thinks that the government should stay out of your pocketbook AND out of your bedroom…

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The Livingston Post is the only locally owned, all-digital information and opinion site in Livingston County, Mich. It was launched by award-winning journalists who were laid off from the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus by Gannett Co. Inc. in 2009.