Reading between the lines on Calley's new website
(WJBK) - There it was in big, bold, and black letters: Lt. Gov. Brian Calley launches new bid for governor ... oops ... new official website.
The news release was hardly breathtaking as the Snyder administration announced a new Calley port-hole including "an expanded personal biography, a video biography, as well as a newsroom." Ho-hum.
But what are the optics of all that including "groups also can request Calley's attendance at events ... ?"
You'd have to be blind not to pick up the back story behind this grand announcement which will also include "highlights (of) some of the statewide initiatives Calley has taken a lead on during the past five years … " Boast. Boast.
Most in this town will see this as the first toe in the water toward a possible bid by the "youngest lieutenant governor" in the country for Mr. Snyder's job in 2018.
For the past six months, the capitol scribes have tried to pin him down on his would-be plans, but Mr. Calley demurred suggesting he had more important things to do than worry about running for governor.
That's why this news release sends the signal that he may be getting just a tad more interested. The Snyder political machine - is there really one? - obviously thinks it's time to make some head-fake in that direction just in case Mr. C. decides to make a go of it. Those hits on the website could be voters some day.
Or put another way, for an administration that has had periodic challenges on the transparency front, think Nerd Fund, this is all very transparent.
If there are critics, and you can bet the Democrats are loading their anti-Calley artillery, they will start with this new super-duper web location being paid for with taxpayer's money. Since he is not an official candidate you won't see any "paid for by Brian Calley" stuff at the bottom and there is no box to click to send in a donation.
So it's all very legal but the timing is notable which means within the next couple of weeks you can probably look for a new and improved web site for Attorney General Bill Schuette. After all he, like Mr. Calley, has a story to tell, too.