The governor will need a ton of his RPA elixir to turn this puppy around.

    In fact he will need more than Relentless Positive Action to convince Republicans in the state senate to support that second span between Detroit and Windsor.

    The numbers inside the GOP senate caucus are Ugly with a capitol "U."

     Hold up one finger and you have the number of current "yes" votes he has out of 26 potential "yes" votes from members of his OWN party.

     During a closed door meeting this week they conducted what they call a whip count i.e. everybody discloses how they will vote.  17 Republicans are no votes. Another 8 claim to be undecided, but it's a ruse.  They are really self-confessed no votes but don't want that on the record because they "don't want to embarrass the governor."

     Aren't they sweet?

     This is not music to the governor's ears who has been patiently waiting five months to get this bridge thing off dead center.  He wanted to push it after he endorsed it last January.  But legislative leaders informed him they had other things to do and the bridge would go on hold.  He went along with the delay.  He really had no choice.

     So now with the budget out of the way, the administration finally gets a hearing where the committee chair Sen. Mike Kowall (R-Oakland County) confesses there aren't enough votes to move the thing from the panel.

     Can you say "bleak?"

     The gov's guy can not.

      His point man on all this is Lt. Gov. Brian Calley who was given the score the other day:  The Moroun family, owners of the Ambassador Bridge have one and the governor has a goose egg.

      "This is just starting," reflects the optimistic Mr. Calley who drinks the same rosy kool-aide that his boss consumes in mass quantities.

       One vote and counting but the good news is, there is only way for the governor to go…up. Maybe.