Schuette releases new book
Attorney General Bill Schuette, as AG’s before him, is a key Michigan player on major controversies of the day, ranging from same sex marriage to the oil pipeline under the Mackinac Straits.
He’s been prominent across the land among current state AG’s who pitch to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Regardless of how those on the right or left may view his positions as right or wrong, political observers of all leanings might get a kick, as I did, out of his just-released book, “Big Lessons from a Small Town.”
Schuette, a native of Midland, has held both federal and state offices; served in all three branches of Michigan government, and might well run to be Michigan’s next governor.
He has served as a U.S. Congressman (elected at age 29) and state Senator, state agriculture director, and as a judge on the Michigan Court of Appeals.
Schuette lost big time in 1990 against Democrat Carl Levin, Michigan’s longest-serving U.S. Senator who’s retired and is now replaced by fellow Democrat Gary Peters.
Among my memories of the days sharing some laughs with Schuette back when I was covering politicians daily was seeing Schuette fall off a stage Up North and riding with him when he drove to the wrong site for a downstate speech.
Schuette writes: “I’ve been fortunate to cross paths with presidents of the United States and their Cabinet members, as well as Fortune 500 chief executives. Yet I still firmly believe that everything I learned about public service and leadership, I picked up in my hometown of Midland. Everything I am goes back to being a small-town boy.”
Political blather? No.
Helping sell to me about the profound early hometown — small or large — influence on the politicians of today is reflected in Schuette’s longtime many-candidate “Schuette on Duty” political pitches on billboards and elsewhere that remains his rallying cry.
Turns out, the slogan went back to a fifth-grade pitch he made to the teachers and students of Carpenter School to be Secretary of the Student Council. He said: “Remember these words: ‘Vote for Bill Schuette. I’ll do my duty.’” His mother and sisters came up with the slogan.
His hand-written note on the slogan is reprinted in the book, which was published by Arbutus Press of Traverse City.
Arbutus in 2014 published another book by a prominent Michigan politician, Dennis O. Cawthorne, once top Republican in the Michigan House of Representatives and chairman of the Mackinac Island State Park Commission.
It’s titled, “Mackinac Island: Inside, Up Close, and Personal.”
Another recent notable political book is, “The People’s Lawyer, The Life and Times of Frank J. Kelley, the Nation’s Longest Serving Attorney General,” an autobiography written by Kelly and columnist and Wayne State University professor Jack Lessenberry. I have ordered a copy and will have comments.
Schuette opposes parole bill
Schuette has been a continued advocate on conservative legal issues. As a defender of Michigan’s ban on same-sex marriage, he was prominent among AGs who lost that issue before the U.S. Supreme Court. (He said last week on the Michigan Public TV Off the Record show that he had an obligation to defend the Michigan Constitution.)
Also last week, Schuette joined with other law enforcement officers at a gathering in Pontiac to oppose a proposed law what would allow inmates to be paroled once they have served their minimum prison sentences.
George Weeks, a member of the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame, for 22 years was political columnist for The Detroit News and was with UPI as Lansing bureau chief and foreign editor in Washington.