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Rogers For Dad
Mr. Rogers will stay in his neighborhood.
For years the name Mike Rogers has been on everyone's list of potential candidates for governor and with an open seat for that job in 2010, his moniker was on the list again.
Not anymore.
Two months ago when it became clear that Rogers was "seriously considering" getting into the thing, he laid down two cards: One, he had to determine if he could raise the money, put together a team and broaden his political base from his home town of Livingston County.
The GOP congressman says he was surprised by how quickly that came together. Based on that element he was a go.
But then came the second element: Family. Rogers is a divorced dad with two young kids moving into those sometimes challenging teen years.
After they children gave an initial "go-for-it-dad" reaction, Rogers sat down and explained the political facts of life i.e. you won't see me for two years.
That sunk in and the decision was made. Rogers picked family over politics something that is rarely done these days.
There is no right or wrong reason on this front. Each family is different. Each must decide if the sacrifice of being on the campaign trail 24-7 is worth the risk and the potential reward of higher office.
Barack Obama and his wife tussled with it and the kids got on board with the promise of bringing a new dog to the White House.
Ironically Gov. Jennifer Granholm and First Hubby Dan Mulhern made the same deal with their three kids when they were uprooted from their comfortable home in Oakland County.
There was no dog issue with Rogers. It was about time together and time apart which is already part of his congressional life.
Rogers for Governor had appeal, but in the end Rogers for Dad carried the day.
posted by Tim Skubick at
5:39 AM
2 Comments:
Kudos to Mike Rogers for making the right decision. He can do more for us by building his seniority in Congress and more for his family by not jumping into the gubernatorial mosh pit.
Fortunately, Mr. Rogers made a rational decision for once. Speaking as one of the few "true blue" Democrats in Livingston County, I can tell you that Rogers has been a disaster as a congressman. All he does is repeat Republican talking points, including the disinformation campaign about the stimulus package. He continues to ride on his reputation as an "ex-marine", and his conservative bonafides to continue his stay in Congress. I would say he is little more than an empty suit taking up space in Congress who kowtows to the Rush Limbaughs of the world. I wonder how the rest of the state would react to his campaign trick of a few years ago of placing signs in the buildings of several local houses of worship (of the conservative variety) that they were "Mike Rogers Approved" churches - someone that unclear about the Constitution doesn't belong in any elected capacity - as the Bush memos being revealed demonstrate.
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