I have mentioned here a time or two that 2026 in Michigan is well underway, even if the majority of people in the Great Lakes State do not yet know. Thankfully I have no social life and I can follow this to let you, the fine folks of RedState, know this.

I do it for you.

With just 20 months until the November 2026 election, let's take a quick look at a story to set the mood to remind us of who the Michigan Democrats are and how they have acted in the past six years under Team Whitmer Remember When Gretchen Whitmer Issued All Her Misguided COVID Orders Five Years Ago? Some Michiganians Do

Here is a brief refresher of the Governor of the State and her actions during COVID-19 which reporter Charlie LeDuff reminded me of.

So yesterday, while I was scrolling X (formerly Twitter), I came across a post by somebody who I have followed for several years and who has done some excellent reporting, not only on what is going on in the state of Michigan but across the nation. Charlie LeDuff is his name, and during the governor's COVID escapades, he dove right into that whole story and was a true pain in the butt for an administration that didn't want to discuss the science and facts that they claimed they were following.

It was 5 years ago today that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued the first of her disastrous Covid-19 pandemic orders. 
"Science and data," she boasted. 
There was no science or data. Remember, I had to sue her to find out there was no accurate death count in the long-term care facilities. 
No other reporter joined me. 
Not one. 
Some, in fact, covered for her. 
The true death count in MI is may be as high as 14,000...close to that of NY. 
The stupidity of co-mingling the sick and the old. 
Even NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo stopped doing it after six weeks. 
Not Whitmer. 
I promised the families I would do my best to get them justice. 
Today, I reaffirm that commitment. 
Things are in motion.

So the Michigan GOP in the state House of Representatives just passed a bill to reduce the state income tax from  4.25 percent to 4.05 percent, which is ok but a bit lukewarm for my taste.

I read the story about this right HERE, and a thought occurred to me after reading about it.

The Michigan House on Tuesday voted 65-43 to lower the state's income tax rate from 4.25% to 4.05%, with seven Democratic lawmakers joining Republicans in support of the measure.

The tax relief legislation sponsored by state Rep. Kathy Schmaltz, R-Jackson, moves to the Senate next for consideration. Republicans framed the bill as continuing a short, one-year stint in 2023 when the income tax rate was lowered to 4.05% because a statutory formula triggered the decrease due to a post-pandemic surge in surplus tax revenue.

"That law was intended to be a permanent tax cut," Schmaltz said. "Unfortunately, our current administration said the tax cut was only temporary."

Smooth move, Gretch.

Who knows if the Democrat-controlled Michigan Senate will take up the bill and pass it? Whitmer has just under two more years as governor, and even if the Senate did pass it she would probably not sign it, seeing as she allowed it to expire back in 2023.

The legislation, if signed into law, would likely decrease state revenues by more than $700 million a year and lead to paltry savings for lower-income residents, said state Rep. Jasper Martus, D-Flushing.

Lower-income earners making about $27,000 a year would get about $11 a year in tax relief under the legislation, making the proposal a bit of a schtick for the majority of Michigan residents, Martus said.

So here is the really weird and interesting part of this: I agree with the Democrat here. Rep. Martus Is 100 percent right that the reduction is paltry not just for lower-income residents but across the board. 

How about if we just eliminate the state income tax and become the ninth state in the Union to do such a thing? 

I know that some people may be looking at that as saying you're lucky to get a small reduction. In a blue state like Michigan, to go to zero would be damn near impossible.

I would tend to agree.

Yet I think one of the ways to start to move the state to purple and/or competitive for Republicans would be to have an engaging debate about how much this state taxes people and how much it spends. Over the past month and a half, we've seen what Donald Trump and Elon Musk have started with the conversation about DOGE, and I think the same could happen here in Michigan.

Make the state Democrats defend the money taken from the citizens and how it's spent.

That would be a great way to lay the groundwork for whoever the Republicans eventually nominate to run for governor and United States Senate here and across the board with the state offices to serve in Lansing.

Michigan did not become a blue state overnight, and it will not change back to a red state that quickly either. The Michigan GOP needs to lay the groundwork so that conservatives can be competitive when someone named Trump is not at the top of the ticket. Michigan Is a BLUE State and Lying About It Won't Change That Fact.

I know it is bold but it is time to flip the script and make a solid move for the citizens of this state. Discussing eliminating the income tax here would be a great start to put the donkeys on their heels like Trump and Musk are doing on that national level.