Flint Journal says Rogers' colorful challengers are former Peace Corps volunteer Democrat Bob Alexander, Libertarian Will Tyler White, who owns a tuba museum and restaurant, and U.S. Taxpayer Party candidate John Mangopoulos, who said his extreme views regularly prompt death threats.
Redistricting has made 8th District safer for GOP incumbent Rogers
GENESEE COUNTY
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Friday, October 29, 2004
By Sally York
syork@flintjournal.com • 810.766.6322
U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Brighton, won his congressional seat in the 8th District four years ago by 111 votes after a nail-biting recount in one of the state's closest elections.
On Tuesday, Rogers stands a good chance of being re-elected by a larger margin. The 8th District in 2000 was about evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats. Today, Republicans hold a 54-percent majority due to redistricting two years ago.
The 8th District includes Ingham, Clinton and Livingston counties, and northern Oakland and southern Shiawassee counties.
Rogers' colorful challengers are former Peace Corps volunteer Democrat Bob Alexander, Libertarian Will Tyler White, who owns a tuba museum and restaurant, and U.S. Taxpayer Party candidate John Mangopoulos, who said his extreme views regularly prompt death threats.
Alexander accused Rogers of running a virtually non-existent campaign while Alexander spends hours every day knocking on doors and appearing at events to get out his message.
Rogers "thought he had this election in the bag," he said. "He has become arrogant."
Alexander said that despite having far fewer campaign dollars to spend, he is holding his own against the incumbent, citing "hundreds" of volunteers and radio ads. But does he have a chance to win?
"I hope so," was all Alexander would say.
Meanwhile, Rogers sidestepped questions about the campaign to delve into what he and his opponents believe are the most important issues: Iraq and the economy.
"This is a war we have to win," Rogers said. "A free, independent Iraq will put pressure on the rest of the Middle East. Is it a tough fight? Absolutely. But we can't afford to lose."
He said the economy "is not as strong as I would like it to be. We need to get the weight of taxation, litigation and regulation off the backs of American workers."
Alexander said he has opposed the U.S.-led invasion from the beginning. He accused Rogers of waffling on the issue.
"We had no reason to invade Iraq, and Mike Rogers knew that," he said. The administration "wanted a stable bastion in the Middle East to control the oil. It's an American tragedy that could have been avoided."
To boost the country's flagging economy, Alexander proposes rolling back tax cuts on high-income earners to Clinton-era tax rates, and dividing the money among the states for such public works projects as rebuilding roads and bridges.
White said he was against the invasion but now that it's happened, "it's too late to do anything different from what Bush is doing. We're caught between Iraq and a hard place."
On the economy: "It's lousy. A lot of people don't show up on the unemployment list because they've given up looking for work."
White, whose party opposes undue government interference with citizens' lives, said the economy would benefit from "getting rid of those useless departments - the Department of Commerce, which gives millions to Coca-Cola and McDonald's, and the Department of Education because education is better controlled by state and local governments."
A strict isolationist, Mangopoulos opposes the war in Iraq, believing Vietnam, Korea and both world wars were also mistakes because U.S. interests were not directly threatened.
Redistribution of wealth through taxation is a violation of the biblical commandment against stealing, said Mangopoulos, who believes laws ought to reflect the Ten Commandments and the Constitution.
For years he has aired these and other controversial views on his Lansing-area cable-access television show, which has made him a well-known figure, reviled by some.
Perhaps his most provocative opinion is that women who have abortions should be punished with the death penalty.
"I don't have any illusions that I could be elected in this culture," said Mangopoulos, who home-schools his five children. "But the truth cannot be stopped."
