Tagged: Thaddeus McCotter

Reports are swirling this morning that Republican Congressman Thaddeus McCotter of Michigan will make a bid for the GOP nomination for president.

From the Detroit Free Press:

Livonia congressman and rock 'n' roll guitarist Thaddeus McCotter is taking his act to a bigger stage today: He's filing paperwork to run for the presidency.

The 45-year-old McCotter, now in his fifth term representing northwestern Wayne and southeastern Oakland counties in Congress, will talk up his bid for the Republican nomination Saturday night at Freedom Fest at Whitmore Lake after appearing today on Sean Hannity's radio show.

"He's in it to win it," said a senior campaign adviser who spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement hadn't been made public.

From the Detroit News:

Rep. Thaddeus McCotter will officially kick off his bid for the White House on Saturday, three people briefed on the matter said late Thursday…

McCotter plans to file paperwork today with the Federal Election Commission, and his website, www.mccottter2012.com, is planned to be up and running today.

He has secured office space in western Wayne County for his campaign and has hired a former speaker of the Iowa House, Chris Rants, as a campaign adviser and is working to hire advisers in New Hampshire.

He becomes the third conservative member of the U.S. House to throw his hat into the 2012 GOP ring: Reps. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and Ron Paul of Texas also are running.

A McCotter run is making headlines across the U.S. this morning:

• Politico: Thad McCotter to join W.H. race Friday
• USA Today: Rep. McCotter to launch presidential bid on July 2
• TheHill.com: McCotter to enter presidential race
  

Michigan Congressman Thaddeus McCotter offered fellow Republican Mitt Romney a not-so-friendly welcome ahead of a pair of campaign stops Romney has scheduled in metro Detroit tomorrow.

Romney plans a campaign stop at a diner in Livonia diner – right in the heart of Congressman Thaddeus McCotter’s district. That prompted McCotter to call a press conference to criticize Romney’s opposition to the auto bailout, and his one-time support for a healthcare overhaul in Massachusetts that created a system of subsidies and mandates, among other issues:

There was a fair amount of attention paid yesterday to the news that Thaddeus McCotter, a 45-year-old Congressman from Livonia, is seriously considering running for president. There are certain problems with this. First, outside his district, almost nobody has ever heard of him, even in Michigan.

He hasn’t been a very effective fundraiser, for himself or others, and he has a quirky sense of humor.

He does play a mean guitar - President George W. Bush, who had trouble remembering his name, used to call him, “the rock n’roll dude.” McCotter’s played before the troops in Iraq with a pickup Congressional band called the Second Amendments.

All of which is very nice. But… President? The last House member to be elected President was James Garfield, back in 1880, an era when party bosses picked the nominee.

Several congressmen and women have tried in recent years, and pretty much either sunk without a trace, or hastily pulled out in time to get renominated for Congress.

Just a few days ago, McCotter declined to take on U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow next year, something that would be a much more logical step for a congressman. So - where did this presidential boomlet come from? When I first asked this, people told me there was this great column by S.E. Cupp, touting McCotter for president.

That was even more puzzling, because I had never heard of Cupp. Turns out she is a conservative columnist for the New York Daily News, who saw McCotter in Iowa last month autographing copies of his book, “Seize Freedom! American Truths and Renewal in a Chaotic Age.” Cupp was impressed by a sign McCotter had put up, saying: “Unsigned, twenty dollars. Signed ,fifteen dollars.  No haggling.“  Now you’ve got to admit, that’s cute.

But Presidential?

The man President George W. Bush once dubbed "that rock and roll dude" is considering a run for the White House.

In a interview with POLITICO, McCotter said he thinks the Republican electorate is not happy with the choices they have "and want to take a look at new people."

McCotter said his party must address four big issues:

• "the challenge of globalization
• the war for freedom against terrorists
• the rise of Communist China
• and whether moral relativism erodes a nation built on self-evident truth"

When asked how he thinks he can become a viable candidate for the Republican nomination, McCotter said it's easier for candidates to get their word out these days. From POLITICO: 

McCotter said the revolution in communication and media has made it easier for aspiring politicians who don’t have the sort of name identification or personal wealth that traditionally determined who could mount a national campaign.

“It’s easier to get your message out today, and people will take a look at it — and if they like it, maybe they vote for you,” he said.

Pressed further, the Michigander quipped: “I’m from Detroit — we live to prove the doubters wrong.”

McCotter plays lead guitar in the Second Amendments, a rock and country band made up of members of Congress. He was in the national spotlight recently when he had a little "Led in the Head" during the government shutdown debate: 

McCotter says he'll decide within the next two weeks whether he'll make a run for the White House.

Republican Congressman Thaddeus McCotter of Livonia says he isn’t planning on challenging Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow for her Senate seat in 2012.

McCotter’s name had been talked about as a possible GOP candidate to run against Stabenow. The Detroit News reports:

McCotter, the fifth-term congressman who signaled last week he was considering a Senate run, said he's stepping aside for other GOP hopefuls.

"I did not wish to be a distraction for the stellar candidates now stepping forward to consider seeking the GOP U.S. Senate nomination," McCotter, of Livonia, said in statement that did not mention specific candidates.

Representative McCotter is just one more Michigan Republican who has decided not to jump into the race. Former West Michigan Congressman Pete Hoekstra and former Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land have both announced recently that they wouldn’t seek the GOP nomination.

Only one Republican candidate has entered the race so far. Former Kent County Judge Randy Heckman announced he would run for the seat earlier this year.

Stabenow has held the U.S. Senate seat since 2000.