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Whitmer owes some of her win to Thanedar and Gov. Snyder

Democratic candidate for governor Gretchen Whitmer, after running the table in the primary election by winning 83 of 83 counites in the state, moves on to bigger fish to fry in November, namely sending GOP candidate Bill Schuette to the showers.

But before she gets too knee deep in that assignment, perhaps she should consider a note of thanks to two fellow politicans, namely Shri Thanedar and Gov. Rick Snyder.

Spolier alert. What follows is totally made up by this writer and may or may not reflect the feelings of the Democratic candidate for governor.

Dear Shri:

I meant what I said on election night about being honored to appear on the same stage with you and our mutual friend, Abdul El Sayed. We ran a spirited campaign and we were the most diverse ticket in state history. So thank you for your dedication to the party and for creating the most entertaining commercials of the season. That little girl shreaking out “Shri, Shri, Shri” was classic.

However, I would be remiss if I did not also thank you for staying in the race and not dropping out. I realize you had to dive into your personal bank account to the tune of $11 million to stay in, but, in the end, that helped me win the race.

The pundits have already figured this out, but, had you bailed out, I would have had a real dog fight on my hand as all of your supporters would have gone over to Abdul and instead of beating him by 20 points, the race could have been four points and — perish the thought — I could have lost.

So thanks for hanging around and I’ll be in touch to see how we can work together in the fall campaign.

Dear Gov. Snyder:

Needless to say, this note is for your eyes only and I promise never to reveal the content. First of all, thank you for working with me on the Healthy Michigan program. We showed that bipartisan cooperation is not a thing of the past and that, when both parties decide to set our differences aside, we can do what’s best for 680,000 of our citizens who have health care for the first time.

But the real purpose of this note is to thank you for how you are handling the Bill Schuette endorsement issue. I noticed that you missed the unity event with the vice president over in G.R. the day after the election. I’ll bet you were glad you had a scheduling conflict that prevented you from attending. You did, didn’t you?

By not being there, in crass political terms, I think it will give some of your more moderate supporters a chance to wonder, “if the governor does not back Schuette, maybe there is something wrong with him?”

Then, two days later, when you knew those pesky capitol reporters would follow you all the way to St. John to grill you on the Schuette non-endorsement, you stood your ground and did not cave. Thank you. I thought it was a good line about being focused on doing your job and not getting drawn into the political crossfire. Mr. Schuete probably didn’t like it, but I was overjoyed.

By dodging, bobbing, and weaving, you are prolonging this story and that certainly does not help Mr. Schuette unify his fractured party. And, with each day this goes on, the more it helps me with independent and less conservative members of your party.

We both agree that the attorney general is known for making decisions on what is best for his political future, with the citizens coming second. I realize you can’t say any of that in public, but, by not endorsing, it’s the next best thing, not to mention some major funders who may pare back some of their contriubtions to his campaign. Thanks a million.

If you want some Whitmer for Governor signs for your condo down in Ann Arbor, just let me know.

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