The neighboring congressional districts Andy Levin and Paul Mitchell represent are separated by a boundary that slashes through the middle of Macomb County, somewhere near whatever they call that humongous…
The neighboring congressional districts Andy Levin and Paul Mitchell represent are separated by a boundary that slashes through the middle of Macomb County, somewhere near whatever they call that humongous gold ring on M-59 that welcomes motorists to the splendors of Sterling Heights.
The line between the two districts is imperceptible and seemingly arbitrary. In fact, the Republican apparatchiks who drew it there after the 2010 census were determined to make Mitchell’s congressional district impregnable to any Democratic challenger at least until the next Ice Age, and ideally long after that.
As a consequence, the difference between Levin’s mostly-Democratic 9th Congressional District, and Mitchell’s reliably red 10th, is as stark as the contrast between Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank. And perhaps that explains the sharply divergent assessments of the long-awaited Mueller report the two lawmakers provided to their respective constituencies last week.
The U. S. Justice Department submitted a redacted version of Robert Mueller’s 448-page report to Congress around 11 last Thursday morning, which makes it highly unlikely that Mitchell or anyone on his staff had actually read it before his office issue the following statement less than two hours later:
“Today’s release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report reinforces what I and many others have said all along — there was no collusion between members of the Trump Campaign or any American and Russia,» Mitchell said.
«. .. Now that [the investigation] has concluded, I hope Congress can return to working on policies that address the priorities of the American people including health care, infrastructure, and more. That being said, I still have concerns about, and believe we should have a thorough investigation of the way this investigation began — surveillance of American citizens and a political campaign predicated on political opposition research. No one in our nation should have their constitutional rights violated on political grounds.»
Levin’s reaction followed nearly four hours later, which gave him a chance to read some of the pages Mitchell seems to have skipped:
“The Mueller Report reveals that the President’s behaviors sundered the fabric of our democracy and subverted the rule of law,» Levin said in a statement released by his office late Thursday afternoon.
