A look at civility right now in Michigan politics

Gov. Rick Snyder is criticizing the Trump White House for contributing to a less than civil political discourse in our state which has trickled down to the current race for governor.

The mayor of Detroit is called a creep, a Hollywood star links a black female to the Planet of the Apes, and in the GOP primary for governor, Brian Calley calls his opponent "Shady Schuette" and the Bill Schuette camp contends the Calley campaign is the "Calley Clown Car."

Governor Rick Snyder is watching all this and it hardly reflects his mantra of not saying anything negative about anyone. He says while he respects the president, the governor does objects to some of the president's rhetoric.

"I think that’s been a challenge out of the White House in terms of the tweets and things like that. I don't agree with that style," he said.

"The language that he uses I think is just simply inappropriate for the President of the United States," said U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI). "I think you are seeing that there are rougher edges now to campaigns."

Democratic candidate for governor Gretchen Whitmer is being shown on mailers that compare her to former Gov. Jennifer Granholm, complete with pictures of the two.

"This is just games," she said. "I think it's incredibly tone deaf in the era of #MeToo and #TimesUp and Nassar victims holding a Big Ten university accountable to think that those types of games resonate with people."

The governor says he has tried to bring more civility to politics and contends that some politicians have followed his example but to be sure, most have not.