Word is today there'll be a press conference in Lansing where members of Andy Dillon's causcus will try to answer questions about a proposal that's turned them into a national laughing stock with coverage lampooning them from tech publications to editorial boards to the overseas press and the Drudge Report.  

UPDATE!  More vulnerable House Dems are running as far away from this one as they can.

Marc Corriveau states on his own state-operated district website:

"Although I believe it is essential to upgrade the technology in our schools, now is not the time pitch a program that gives our kids iPods when our state is facing this severe budget crisis," Corriveau said. "I promised the residents of the 20th District that I would be their independent voice. When there is something going on that I do not agree with, I will speak out against it, and that is what I am doing now. This is the wrong thing for Michigan to be spending money on."

A plan announced last week proposed spending $38 million on technology in schools, including some funding for iPods for students. Corriveau feels that because Michigan is facing an unprecedented budget crisis that remains unresolved, the state should focus on meeting fundamental needs first.

And Terry Brown is quoted in the Huron Daily Tribune this morning echoing the same sentiment (even using the same verbage... talking points anyone?)

"I'm in favor of upgrading technology in our schools, but giving kids iPods is a pilot project not worth pursuing at this time," he stated in a press release.

"When something's right, I'll say so. And when something's wrong, I'll speak up. This is the wrong time for this idea."

So how do you fix a problem like that?  Kick the Dem spin machine into overdrive. They'll deny. They'll blame Republicans. They'll blame the media for blowing the story out of proportion. They'll do anything but say "it was a bad idea, we were wrong to suggest it, we're sorry." Well, all except for the vulnerables like Mike Simpson, Terry Brown and Marc Corriveau who use the same language and phrases to express the same opinion.   They have an election to win in tight districts and can't afford to call a spade anything but a spade.

There are so many better uses for $38 million, after all.  Like, I don't know, helping eliminate a $600+ million budget deficit?

And while this particular budgetary skirmish plays out in the House, the Detroit News is taking a moment on their editorial page this morning to encourage Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop and his GOP brethren throughout Lansing to fight the good fight against the myriad tax hikes being tossed willy nilly by Jennifer Granholm and her foot soldiers in the House.

The stakes, they point out, couldn't be greater.

Already, firms in Michigan are cancelling expansion plans and putting employee hires on hold because of uncertainty about the tax climate. Companies that might have considered Michigan are looking elsewhere and those that operate here now are rightly concerned that they'll be on the hook for bailing out the state because they're not headquartered here.

Those are the real costs of the Legislature's inaction and the Democrats' promise to increase taxes in a state that can ill afford such schemes. As we've noted, state residents' per capita personal income is below the national average; relative to the rest of the nation it's at Great Depression levels.

This comes hot on the heels of a report by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Census Bureau and Tax Foundation that ranks Michigan as the 36th most attractive (that's 14th worst) state when considering the overall tax burden as impacting the state's families.  (You can view the report on CNN here.)

Think a $3 billion tax hike would make us any more attractive?  And the left wonders why no one, well, why only 14% of the state backs the governor's plan to raise taxes to pay for her big-government pet-programs.  

And finally, in the land of Presidential politics, John McCain starts a two-day swing through Michigan today, making appearances down in Oakland County this afternoon followed by a swing over to Holland this evening and other stops in west Michigan tomorrow.

KBH has details in the Associated Press.

I'm going to swing by to see the Senator myself and will be back late this evening or early tomorrow with some observations and maybe a photo or two.