James wants to have it both ways but his record makes clear he’s out-of-touch with Michigan
After spending the first year of his campaign hiding, failed politician John James is stumbling into the general election getting caught repeatedly trying to mislead voters. But despite James’ attempts to rewrite his out-of-touch record, the fact is his positions – including his “2,000%” support for Trump and promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act – are too extreme for Michigan.
Here’s what Michiganders need to know about James’ record:
Hiding from Michigan, Talking out of Both Sides of His Mouth
After hiding for most of the primary, James has been hypocritically saying one thing and doing another on everything from Trump to China.
- John James entered the race facing questions about why he deleted hundreds of social media posts including videos expressing “2,000%” support for Trump and his support for repealing the ACA.
- Even before the coronavirus pandemic, James hid from Michigan TV for the first 335 days of his campaign and refused to do an interview with Michigan print media for 231 days to avoid being transparent on his rigid and uncompromising positions.
- James can’t get his story straight and continues to flip flop on his support for Trump. After saying for years he’s “2,000%” with the President, James is now trying to create distance and strike a new nonpartisan tone when it’s convenient, as Trump’s polling slips in Michigan. But his refusal to break with Trump on policy makes clear he’s “all for” the Trump agenda.
- And James has also hypocritically stood in “lockstep” with the Washington Republican playbook of using anti-China rhetoric, even as his business quietly benefitted from a “lucrative business relationship between one of its largest clients and a state-controlled Chinese automaker.”
Toxic On Health Care
James has vowed to repeal the health care law which protects 1.7 million Michiganders with pre-existing conditions and he has no plan to protect coverage for people with pre-existing conditions.
- James has called the ACA a “monstrosity” and promised to “work [his] tail off” to remove it if elected, while having no plan to protect people with pre-existing conditions.
- James has refused to break with Trump to oppose the Republican-led lawsuit to overturn the ACA in the courts, a lawsuit made possible by the GOP tax scam that James supported.
- He’s also been endorsed by far right groups like the Senate Conservatives Fund and the Koch-funded FreedomWorks who only endorse candidates that support full repeal of the ACA.
Out-of-Touch, Wrong for Michigan Agenda
John James has a record of supporting toxic policies that are bad for Michigan, and has said that bipartisanship makes him “want to throw up.”
- Wouldn’t Protect the Great Lakes: In addition to his “2,000%” support for Trump’s anti-environment agenda, James said he would have voted against a bipartisan budget that provided full funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. He’s also been propped up by anti-environment donors including climate deniers and the fossil fuel industry, indicating that he’d be in the pocket of special interests, not focused on protecting Michigan’s environment and Great Lakes.
- Supported GOP Tax Scam for the Rich: John James fully supported the Republican tax giveaway to billionaires and giant corporations at the expense of the middle class. The bill gave a trillion-dollar tax cut to drug companies, big oil companies, and the wealthy, while adding over $1.9 trillion to our nation’s debt that could force cuts to Social Security and Medicare. The GOP tax scam James called a “massive Christmas present” also paved the way for the Trump-GOP lawsuit to overturn the entire ACA, jeopardizing Michiganders’ health care.
- Anti-Choice: He opposes abortion even in cases of rape and incest and believes Roe v. Wade should be overturned. He has vowed to oppose any judge who did not openly call for abortion to be outlawed and thinks states should be free to restrict reproductive rights as much as they want, even as the Michigan House considers a bill effectively banning abortion.
Propped up by DeVos family, Out of State Billionaires, and Special Interests
As James continues to mislead voters, he’s being propped up by GOP mega-donors, including the DeVos family and out-of-state billionaire Dick Uihlein, who have pumped in millions to prop up his campaign on the airwaves.
- James has said he believes Betsy DeVos is doing a “very, very good” job as Education Secretary and he supports her anti-public education agenda.
- The DeVos family and their top executives have rewarded James for his support by pumping more than $84,000 into his campaign and nearly $1 million into a super PAC set up by James’ shadow campaign manager, which has now raised over $2 million to prop up James’ campaign.
- Out-of-state billionaire Dick Uihlein, who is known for bolstering extreme candidates and supporting a far-right agenda, has funneled in over $2 million to boost John James – making James one of his favorite candidates this cycle.
- James has now taken donations from at least 23 billionaires, many of whom are Trump mega-donors, who know James will be “all for” the Trump agenda if elected.
The bottom line: Michiganders can’t trust John James to be an independent voice.
The Michigan Democratic Party launched JohnJamesRevealed.com to hold the failed U.S. Senate candidate accountable for his positions – including those made over the course of the 2018 campaign that he then tried to delete after losing that campaign. For the first year of his campaign, James was largely in hiding from Michigan press and voters to try to paper over his out-of-touch record, and has only come out of hiding after facing scrutiny from Michiganders.
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