Read on Twitter
1) So the @nytimes featured a 7,000-word profile of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. In several places it is factually incorrect while also being very misleading in its focus and what it chooses to leave out. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/25/magazine/gretchen-whitmer-coronavirus-michigan.html
2) Let's start with the headline: "A Governor on Her Own, With Everything At Stake" - the governor is "on her own" because she is arguing in court that she can extend her "emergency declaration" indefinitely and make unilateral decisions without input from lawmakers.
3) Moving on to the subhead: "Gov. Whitmer has led Michigan through...a dam collapse". I live in Midland - in what way are we being led through the dam collapse by the governor? I'm not trying to be overly snarky. She came, I liked it, but its locals doing virtually everything.
4) The article leaves out...a lot. No mention of lawsuits challenging overreach, nothing about nursing homes, no questions about arbitrary decisions, no mention of her or her husband violating the executive orders, etc. No criticisms at all, really.
5) The theme set up by the reporter is "Republicans ran government poorly allowing them to criticize government and Whitmer tried to save it until all these bad things happened." OK...fine...then it shouldn't be hard to use factual figures and examples. The article often doesn't.
6) For instance, the article says Whitmer came in to be "the governor who reversed Michigan's long history of underinvestment in the state and its citizens." Michigan's budget has increased for 10 years straight, $4.5 billion above inflation. https://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/new-york-times-says-whitmer-reversed-underinvestment-her-first-budget-had-decades-first-decline
7) The article says Michigan has "gradually hollowed out its public schools." State dollars for K-12 schools has increased every single year for a decade, nearly a billion dollars above inflation (despite fewer students). https://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/new-york-times-discounts-michigans-consistent-increase-in-school-funding
8) The article mentions the lawsuit from public school students in Detroit as a "crisis" stemming from "this long history of underfunding." The traditional public school district in Detroit gets 40% more per pupil than the state average and has long been among the highest funded.
9) Last point: The author goes to great pains to describe the governor as practical/methodical/no soaring rhetoric, etc. during these crises. The governor compared COVID-19 to Vietnam, WWII and the Civil War! https://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/glowing-new-york-times-portrait-of-whitmer-in-epidemic-paints-incomplete-picture
Thanks to @_TomGantert_ for the reporting. As always...follow and sign up to receive @MichCapCon!
10) Agh! I neglected something important (thanks @jasonthayes): In all the writing about the dam, no mention of the lawsuit about the state suing to force high water levels to save mussels, limiting repairs and helping lead to the breach. https://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/how-a-mid-michigan-dam-failed
