Tale of Two Press Releases

            In politics sometimes, it's not so much what you say, but how you say it and when it comes to Oakland County's two legislative leaders, they continue to say it differently.

            The governor issued her new budget last week and Senate GOP Leader Mike Bishop intoned that this year's process, unlike last year, has "started on a bi-partisan tone."

             House GOP Leader Craig DeRoche came at her with, "This is just more rhetoric from the governor…long on style, short on substance.  It's a short-sighted budget."

             Maybe the water in Rochester Hills is different than the stuff DeRoche is drinking over in Novi? But whatever the reason, it is painfully clear that the two GOP guys are marching to different drummers as they have been for weeks.

             Bishop is playing nice with the governor saying she is making an effort to "communicate priorities in face to face meetings, rather than through the media."

             DeRoche won't be getting much face time with the governor as he continues to whack her at every turn.  ""She has again chosen to tell the world we are sticking our heads in the sand."

             DeRoche does make a good point that the Granholm bunch has not solved the state's agonizing and continuing structural budget deficit problem.  But that gets lost in his all- negative-all-the-time attacks.  Reporters simply stop reading his tirades because it's nothing new.

            Bishop has critical comments too such as, "We should not spend money on new programs and experimental initiatives" but that he couples that with, "I'm confident we can make a turn toward responsible fiscal governance, but only if we continue along a bi-partisan track."

            It's pretty clear that the typical citizen is tired of the partisan bickering and demands cooperation. But DeRoche is more worried about winning back control of the house and has concluded working with the governor won't get him there.

            Bishop's gang has done the math and is on a track to leave fellow republican DeRoche out of the equation. 

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