YouTube gives glimpse of Republican attack ads

The first official campaign ads aren't out yet, but the Republicans are wasting no time using YouTube to offer a hint of where they'll hit Democratic candidates this season.

But they're not finding universal acceptance, even in their party (although one comparing Gov. Jennifer Granholm to Democratic secretary of state nominee Jocelyn Benson is clever).

An ad poking Democratic gubernatorial candidate Virg Bernero is a parody of the Pure Michigan travel ads and features clips of abandoned Lansing factories, foreclosed homes and a crying child.

"Capital City residents know what family is and why it's important," the syrupy-voiced announcer says as statistics on job losses and home foreclosures flash by. "That's why they spend their quality time together at their new homes in Indiana and Illinois."

The ad riled former Senate Republican spokesman Ari Adler , who blogged he found it "offensive."

"The Lansing I live in is nothing at all like what the Michigan Republican Party has portrayed it as in their video," Adler wrote this week.

Bernero spokesman Cullen Schwarz said Republicans are "making negative videos that make light of out-of-work peoples' problems."

Another video asks "Is Jocelyn Benson the next Jennifer Granholm?" Photo cutout heads are perched atop cartoon bodies of the governor and the Wayne State University law professor.

The clip shows the two tooling down a road in a cartoon car while an announcer notes similarities: Granholm appeared on "The Dating Game," while Benson appeared in Glamour magazine; both attended "liberal colleges that warped their ideology," and neither was born in Michigan.

"A liberal Harvard elitist got us into this mess," the announcer says. "Now the Dems are relying on another to get us out."

Wednesday, the GOP dropped a serious ad that criticizes David Leyton, the Dem nominee for attorney general, saying crimes soared under his watch, making him soft on crime.

GOP theme song may not mirror conservative ethic

When Rick Snyder and his team of GOP candidates left the party convention at the Breslin Center this past weekend and boarded a bus for three-day statewide tour, they did it to the blaring beat of "Taking Care of Business" by the Canadian band Bachman-Turner Overdrive .

The song title sounds like a great theme and slate and the Michigan Republicans are not the first group of politicians to latch onto it.

But a close examination of Randy Bachman 's lyrics show the character he wrote about is not a shining example of the conservative work ethic. He sings: "If you ever get annoyed, Look at me, I'm self-employed, I love to work at nothing all day," and "People see you having fun, just a-lying in the sun, Tell them that you like it this way. It's the work that we avoid, And we're all self-employed, We love to work at nothing all day."

Garage sale chic

Republicans seek savings with used office furniture

Care to spare that old stained velvet sofa? The Oakland County Republican Party needs you to furnish some support.

In an e-mail to local party faithful from Chairman David Law , the Oakland County Republican Party hit up its membership for used furniture. The state GOP is opening new "Fix Michigan" campaign centers in the county, and to save money, leadership is asking supporters to scour basements and attics for the typical office necessities.

"In an effort to reduce expenses and ensure every dollar is spent on defeating democrats, we are asking that you donate any furniture for use at the centers," Law wrote. "Tables, chairs, refrigerators, microwaves, etc. are all in need."

We already have a good line on a used sofa: retiring Rep. Pete Hoekstra , R-Holland, told Insider he's done with the couch in his D.C. office that served as sleeping space for more than a decade. Maybe he can be convinced to bring it back to Michigan at the end of his term?

Heating up

Miles-Amash U.S. House clash called a 'race to watch'

Democratic U.S. House hopeful Patrick Miles is feeling better about his chances to take the seat of retiring Rep. Vern Ehlers , R-Grand Rapids, after CNN named Michigan's 3rd District U.S. House contest as one of the 50 "Races to Watch."

The attorney's Republican challenger, state Rep. Justin Amash , should be the easy favorite in the district, traditionally one of the state's most consistently conservative. But since 2002, Ehlers' popularity has waned. In that year's mid-term election, he took 70 percent of the vote, support that declined to 61 percent by 2008.

Whether that decline continues depends on Amash's campaign skills, as Miles' war chest is much beefier: according to Federal Election Commission reports, Miles had $226,605 to spend as of July 14, while Amash had just $111,514, the result of his campaign spending big to try and defeat Ehlers in the GOP primary before his retirement.

Pocketbook issue

Upton moves up on Washington wealth list

Last year may have been a tough one for many Michiganians, but not Rep. Fred Upton , R-St. Joseph. He moved up on The Hill's annual 50 Wealthiest list to No. 36 from No. 39 in 2009.

Upton, one of the heirs to the Whirlpool Corp. fortune -- his grandfather founded the Benton Harbor-based company -- clocked in with a $7.7 million net worth this year, The Hill reported, most of it in a family trust fund worth about $5 million. That's despite losing $500,000 on one investment.

Upton's the only Michigan member on the list. No. 1 is former presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry , D-Mass., who has a recession-defying net worth of $188.6 million.

Contributors: Nathan Hurst, Karen Bouffard and Paul Egan. Story tips? nassendelft@detnews.com">nassendelft@detnews.com