GOP governor hopefuls address taxes, health care

By Chad Selweski, Macomb Daily Staff Writer

Crowd, dominated by Tea Party members, hears from 4 candidates

A huge crowd of 1,000 people, mostly Tea Party members, turned out in St. Clair Shores on Thursday to hear each of four Republican candidates deliver their best sales pitch.

Those on hand were Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard, state Sen. Tom George, U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra and also Attorney General Mike Cox, who arrived nearly two hours late after attending a Tea Party rally in Port Huron.

Hoekstra told the crowd that his surprise 1992 win over a congressional incumbent, and Michigan Rep. Bart Stupak's recent decision to retire, show that a citizen movement can impact Washington. The Holland lawmaker said that reducing pay and benefits for state workers would be one of his priorities.

"Working for the state of Michigan can be a good job, but it can't be a better job than everybody else's," said the 18-year veteran lawmaker.

Hoekstra drew the only negative response of the night from the crowd when he defended his House vote in favor of the bank bailouts. His remarks were greeted with boos. FULL STORY