posted on October 19, 2004 10:05:32 AM new
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Decision 2004
By Charlie Cain / Detroit News Lansing Bureau
Milliken endorses Kerry
LANSING — Former Republican Gov. William Milliken — who served a record 14 years as Michigan’s chief executive — is endorsing Democrat John Kerry, saying President Bush “has pursued policies pandering to the extreme right wing.”
Milliken, Michigan’s moderate, pro-choice governor from 1969-82, said he could no longer remain silent in the face of what he perceives as harmful policies being pursued by the Bush administration. The 82-year-old said it was the first time he has ever publicly endorsed a Democratic presidential candidate.
“I have felt a growing sense of concern for some time and I don’t think that I couldn’t speak out as a Republican and as a citizen,” Milliken said in a Monday interview with The Detroit News from his Traverse City home. “To me, this transcends politics.”
Said Kerry: “I am honored to have the support of former Governor William Milliken. I know Governor Milliken is treasured throughout the state for his integrity, leadership and concerns for the needs of Michigan’s families. I hope that the citizens of Michigan will consider his thoughtful statement.”
The ex-governor released a scathing, three-page indictment of the Bush years as president, criticizing his handling of the nation’s economy, the war in Iraq and his stewardship of the nation’s natural resources.
“Women’s rights, civil liberties, the separation of church and state, the funding of family planning efforts worldwide — all have suffered grievously under this president and his administration,” Milliken wrote.
The surprise endorsement, coming just two weeks before the election, had partisans scrambling to assess its impact on the race in Michigan. Polls here have shown Kerry holding to a narrow lead.
John Truscott, spokesman for Bush’s Michigan campaign, downplayed its potential while acknowledging that Milliken is “very likeable” and served well as governor.
“He isn’t part of any organization, and people who are likely to follow him already have their minds made up one way or another,” Truscott said. “What Governor Milliken doesn’t realize is that times have changed and that we need is a very strong leader as president to keep us safe.
“We have people out there who want to destroy us and our way of life,” Truscott said. “It takes someone strong and consistent and resolute to deal with these issues.”
Gov. Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat, praised the former governor’s stand.
“Governor Milliken’s endorsement is a signal to moderate voters in both parties that the country is on the wrong track and needs immediately to change direction,” Granholm said. “I applaud this leadership and bipartisanship from one of Michigan’s most revered and respected governors.”
In his statement, Milliken wrote: “This president has pursued policies pandering to the extreme right wing across a wide variety of issues that has exacerbated the polarization and the strident, uncivil tone of much of what passes for political discourse in this country today.”
He chided the administration for losing 2.6 million jobs. “To make matters even worse, this president inherited a surplus, but squandered it with huge tax cuts structured primarily to benefit the wealthy and powerful,” Milliken wrote.
Milliken said the president “in a highly partisan, unilateral way rushed us into a tragic and unnecessary war that has cost the lives of more than 1,000 of our young men and women. In this arrogant rush to war, he has alienated this nation from much of the world.”
He said Kerry “has put forth a coherent, responsible platform of progressive initiatives that I believe would serve this country well. He wants to balance the budget, step up the environmental protection efforts, rebuild our international relationships, support stem-cell research, protect choice and pursue a number of other progressive initiatives that moderates from both parties can support.”
In his years since retirement, Milliken has been quick to criticize fellow Republicans for what he saw as blatant appeals to the party’s most conservative segment. He sat out and did not endorse Republican.
Ironically, it was Milliken who played a central role in getting George H.W. Bush on the 1980 ticket as Ronald Reagan’s vice presidential nominee. Milliken campaigned the state with Bush, helping him pull off an upset win in the Michigan primary when Reagan already had things wrapped up.
“But I considered him then, and to this date, to be a very fine and decent human being — but I don’t find that same attribute in his son,” Milliken told The News.
