Headlines the GOP Hates On Road to Michigan

Photo: Jeff Kowalsky/Bloomberg

The next major Republican primary contest is scheduled for Michigan in less than two weeks.

As Santorum and Romney battle it out in the state that should have easily been Romney's, it may not matter who wins the primary - or even the GOP nomination.

 Republicans woke up to these three headlines today:

• Jobless Claims Drop to Near 4-Year Low
• GM Reports Big Profit
• Bailout Politics: Even Michigan's Economy Is Improving

The economic news is once again very good for America, but horrible for the GOP. The number of Americans who filed new unemployment claims last week is the lowest it has been since March 2008, almost a full year before George Bush left office. General Motors, whose Obama-backed bailout was opposed by both Romney and Santorum, has reported its eighth consecutive profitable quarter. This will result in profit-sharing bonuses of up to $7,500 for nearly 50,000 eligible hourly workers at GM. The impact of the auto industry resurgence is lifting the entire Michigan economy, and tax revenues in the state have risen so dramatically that the state now has a $450 million budget surplus.

Romney and Santorum can argue all they want over who can best put things back the way they were in the first eight years of this decade, but no one wants to revert to a proven failed way of doing business, when the new way works.  

It doesn't matter which Republican wins the GOP primary on February 28. With headlines like these, Michigan will vote blue in 2012.