MGoPodcast 9.Supplemental: Abdul El-Sayed
42 minutes
Wherein we interview Michigan gubernatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed. This podcast is not and does not constitute an endorsement of the candidate. When a former Michigan athlete (lacrosse before it went varsity) is running for governor and reads the site and asks to come on the podcast we say "Okay, but we're not lobbing softballs".
Abdul did this whole interview without any notes and was very engaged in the toughest questions we could throw at him, so a lot of this interview went off anyone's idea of a script and got into some granular back-and-forth on complicated issues and events. That makes it hard to write up—what do you leave out?—so I'm going to present MGoBlog's questions below and you can get Abdul's answers by listening to the podcast.
Things discussed:
- Abdul's incredibly depressing Wikipedia page. How offering to serve got him thrown into a commission to run the Detroit Health Department after the emergency manager had shut it down. What did he do there?
- (at 7:30) Flint Water Crisis: What's the DEQ gotta do now? If the "money's there" where is it, how much will it cost? Could it have been faster? Will anyone believe them when they say the water's clean? What's Flint fatigue? How were the measurements made?
- (at 12:20) Lead Abatement Report: After Flint stuff his report on lead poisoning was changed? By whom? What level of lead is "safe"? How to operate a bureaucracy, setting culture of serving the public versus "closing the ticket."
- (at 18:20) Single-payer "MichCare" plan? How does it control costs, what's the upfront investment and transition costs, how does it compare to other plans? What are the incentives in the system and how do you change that?
- (at 23:20) Vis a vis recent Supreme Court decisions and a White House that would have substantially different views on, uh, civics: What is under the scope of a governor? Specifically would he as governor use state resources to support ICE and enforce federal immigration policy and political incarceration he doesn't agree with?
- (at 27:54) Brian's YIMBY hour: How do you address the relationship between housing and property assessments caught in an impossible Proposition A situation between rate of housing prices and rate of inflation? How do you decide the mils? How often do you do it? Note: on this question Abdul primarily addressed over-assessment that was leading to tax foreclosures in communities adjacent to gentrification, and education funding, while Brian was asking more about the Ann Arbor housing crisis (where nobody can sell their home). Brian recommends City Observatory dot org. Also SightLine.
- (at 35:31) Education: School of Choice effect on school districts in lower income communities. Promulgation of charter schools? Funding of charter schools?
- (at 37:30) Lightning Round: Regents for Michigan State: can we get two D's who didn't go to Michigan State? Ballot proposal to legalize marijuana? Ballot proposal against partisan redistricting? Plan to reduce the cost of a college education? Favorite Michigan athlete of the last 15 years?
MUSIC
"Across 110th Street"
"Where No Man Has Gone Before" Alexander Courage
THE USUAL LINKS
- Helpful iTunes subscribe link
- General podcast feed link
- Direct download link
- What's with the theme music?
Consider the gauntlet thrown down, sir.
Leaving the comments open for now. You can talk in this thread about policy, but if it veers into partisanism your comment will get deleted and if it gets too far the thread gets locked.
No Politics
No Collusion!
This very clearly violates the site’s own “no politics” rule, and is the opposite of what I (and I’d wager a good portion of other users) come here for. Regardless of the candidate interviewed or issues discussed, I have to say this is disappointing.
I don't come here for hockey coverage, because I'm not Canadian. Doesn't mean I complain about it when it gets published. That's because I'm not an asshole who thinks everyone needs to hear his negative opinion.
the no politics rule is for you
I can do what I want
I fear like this distinction has been lost long ago on this site, but godspeed with you yet again trying to make that very real distinction clear.
Also, expect to hear about how you're driving away droves of customers/clicks and how you'll need to make amends before your empire crumbles under hubris, or whatever people say when the free thing they enjoy isn't exactly how they want it to be all the time.
Just as a pure business decision please know that one of the best things about this website has been that it is an oasis from all the fucking anger. You are losing that.
You certainly can. Just giving customer feedback on a sentiment that I know will be shared by many other readers/contributors/financial backers.
Pretty sure everyone who cares knows Brian's political leanings, and he still just raised $81,512 for a preview magazine a year after the team was relatively disappointing.
Just keep concern trolling though, because it totally makes you look like the good guy.
Yeah, not trolling, not trying to look superior or like "the good guy". I couldn't give my money to the kickstarter fast enough. Just giving consumer feedback which is kind of important when running a business.
He literally just got his customer feedback in the form of money in an all-time high amount.
If you were really just concerned and didn't want to make sure everyone saw your opinion, you would have just emailed him. You've been around long enough to know that these guys read and respond to email.
I get your concern but one interview with a candidate for elected office, particularly one with ties to Michigan athletics, isn't going to sink mgoblog. I just started listening now and it doesn't really seem like blindly promotional partisan hackery. This is more policy than politics.
Full Disclosure: I know Abdul and I played with him and I am likely to contribute to his campaign in the near future. He is BRILLIANT and incredibly capable. And that's all anyone should look for in a candidate, party labels be damned. If I was still a Michigan resident I would vote for him and probably volunteer for his campaign. So, yes, I am a bit biased but I still think its not a big deal.
I know that will probably bother some people and I know a lot of mgoreaders would prefer no politics. But, in the interest of fairness, I would also be in favor of bringing in any and all other candidates for a similar discussion. I understand Abdul got a platform here that others did not. Let's hear from 'em all!
Another disclaimer: I eat, sleep, drink and breathe politics and its my field so I get excited about stuff like this.
American politics reached its singularity event a couple years ago when we were actually told to choose between a criminal and a clown. My epiphany at that time was that there is little if anything I can do about our politics and that I would like to live the rest of my remaining years without the rage it all engenders within me. I don't follow the news either. I am so much happier and I realized that when you no longer care politics is actually really fucking boring.
Criminal and clown - and a net of three down votes.
This is exactly the issue - our process generated a sort of Hobson’s choice - vote for a poor president or vote for nothing at all.
A blog owner may do as he wishes, and so may the consimers of his content.
yes I made a typo therefore my comment is invalid
You have absolutey no clue what concern trolling is.
Daaaaaaaaamn Brian just bodied 'em.
It is your website indeed, but just like I don’t watch De Niro movies for his family values, I don’t come to your blog for your political views.
I get that these days people are so overcome by passion that they can’t separate the two, however the great thing about Mgoblog is it has been a safe place where we all bleed maize and blue and where, “Michigan football is a religion, and Saturday is the holy day of obligation.”
I would recommend that we keep this website pure from politics. It may help us to remember that we aren’t as divided as we thought and that good men and women exist on both sides of any argument.
Not *any* argument.
Please don't be so naive. The whole "we're not as divided as we thought" rhetoric went out the window once social media became prominent and really showed us how divided this country really is.
Now that a seat on the Supreme Court is vacant again, we're really going to stretch the limits on how civil this country can remain on politics.
As for Michigan Governor, I expect Thanedar or Whitmer to win unless MI voters are dumb enough to re-elect the party, looking at the Republicans, that, at best, looked the other way with regards to the Flint water crisis.
Sayed is an afterthought.
Thanedar is a fraud. Exactly the kind of person who should not be allowed anywhere near elected office.
Thanedar sounds like an elf from the LotR trilogy
social media made things worse, not revealed what was.
people say/type things on a screen they'd never do face to face.
Good people don't exist on both sides of every argument. There are some really, really bad arguments out there.
Yes there are - but the triviality of modern discourse keeps people safe in their ideological cocoons.
It's not hard to not listen to the podcast if you're not interested in it or feel it will offend your sensibilities.
I don’t understand your last sentence. Having political discussions on a Michigan blog where we all respect each other on a basic level because of our shared interest and love of Michigan sports and the University of Michigan.
Refusing to allow political discussions on this blog is a tacit admission that we are too divided to have overcome that.
Whoops, to finish the first paragraph that...having that, it shows that we aren’t too divided and that there are good people on both sides.
So why is there a "No Politics" rule on the site then?
'Ol Sassy. Don't ever change, man.
Brian, you can sometimes be an insufferably pompous douchebag. But on this point, I agree completely with you and laughed my ass off when I read this! You've done a fairly good job of keeping politics out of here, and we all appreciate it.
And yet, when a candidate for state governor asks for air time, such consideration should be allowed. It doesn't sound like any punches were pulled (just reading the questions), so I want to listen to it just to hear - and I don't even live in Michigan for a vote on the issues!
One caution (not that you care) - if the other candidates ask for the same consideration, I hope you indulge them in the very same manner you indulged el-Sayed. It would be easy to say you only support one political bent, or that you supported an alum. But make the stand - allow all voices. Your readers make up all voices, give them the same consideration. (Same questions, too...)
(bongo and tambourine)
My gawd that's Brian Cook's music!
I think it's a bit different when it's in podcast form. You have to download it and then press play, and no one's making you do either. I suppose the same is true for reading an article, but it's another level removed from the actual blog when it's in podcast form.
I've docked Abdul's account 200 MGoPoints.
It's a Michigan Alum running for Governor. I think at worst, it's an edge case, and since Brian is the one who runs the site, he should have say on the edge cases. I mean discussing whether MSU should remove Enger is also an edge case, but we seem to have an Engler thread pop up every week.
You can't even read the responses to the questions because they aren't posted on the site. The only way to access this content is by affirmatively clicking on and listening through the podcast. The notion that you're "disappointed" in the presentation of something that you automatically avoid unless you actively choose not to is ridiculous.
Yeah, pass.
And yet...you commented on passing. So you didn't really pass fully.
Glanced.
Hanging out the side of the car while throwing eggs, if you will.
Fine, I'll click a few banner ads to atone.
Speaking of... the Man Ass ad finally disappeared today! It's a summer miracle!
my cheeky whitey tighty ads have been replaced with what appears to be very breathable briefs.
Looks like I upvoted too soon. Now I’m getting a swimwear ad with a dude wearing a speedo.
I recently purchased several pairs of those crazy $15/pair boxer briefs, an expense I would normally never endorse, and I can tell you they have changed my life. I just walk around the house in my drawers all day.
no thanks
"Im cool with Abdul"
That will be $300,000 for the campaign consultation. How will you be paying?
The political machinations of Michigan really don't affect me beyond my family still living there, but I find this pretty interesting. It's always interesting to hear what candidates believe, and it feels pretty even-handed. He also seems to have come to politics in a more organic way than, say, the more traditional law school/policy shop one.
Oh man you should really pay attention this year to Michigan politics. It's a circus because of Thanedar. Dude is causing mayhem on the Democratic side.
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