Michigan Matters: Tea Party Debate
By Carol Cain
CBS 62
Michigan Republican Party Chair Bobby Schostak and Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer exchanged heated words over the role of the Tea Party in Tuesday's 2012 elections, which Brewer said was wreaking havoc in the GOP.
"They have continued to push the GOP further and further to the right and out of reach of most people ," said
Brewer during taping of CBS62's "Michigan Matters."
Schostak defended the Tea Party, saying they were good Americans who only wanted to the best for the country and he resented Brewer's sweeping portrayal.
Congressman Gary Peters, who won the newly redrawn 14th Congressional District on Tuesday, also appeared on the show and talked about the nuances of juggling his new constituency, which includes portions of Detroit and suburbia.
Peters gained 82 percent of the vote on Tuesday -- making him one of the most popular candidates in the state.
Brewer said the reason former Mass Gov. Mitt Romney lost in Michigan to Barack Obama by eight points was his "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt" headlined opinion piece for the New York Times.
Schostak said there was less enthusiam and fewer votes for Obama in this election in Michigan from four years ago when Obama prevailed over GOP Sen. John McCain.
Watch "Michigan Matters" at 11:30 am Sunday on CBS62.
Carol Cain is the Emmy winning Senior Producer and host of CBS62's "Michigan Matters" She can be reached at clcain@cbs.com. She also writes a colum on business and politics in Sunday's Detroit Free Press.