Munem’s comical commentary on GOP convention takes hold

Longtime GOP political strategist Joe Munem went to the state Republican Party convention in Lansing over the weekend armed with a selfie stick, a newly created blog, and lots of attitude.

The selfie stick, a rod that allowed him to shoot wide-angle smartphone photos, led to numerous pics of Munem with various convention-goers.

The new blog, “Alternate GOP Lifestyle,” was a play on words as Munem attended the convention as an alternate initially delegate relegated to the sidelines. A veteran of countless campaign battles in Macomb County, Munem turned the title into a running gag, claiming that he was “on a quest to defend worthy delegates from the threats posed by ISIS, Sharia law, immigrants, gay marriage, vaccines, chemtrails and smart meters.”

The snarky demeanor was on display throughout Friday and Saturday, with the blogger launching into parodies and satire aimed mostly at the tea partiers at the convention, including unsuccessful party chairman candidate Norm Hughes and controversial Republican National Committee member Dave Agema.

Among those who took notice was Susan Demas, editor and publisher of the Inside Michigan Politics newsletter. In a column written for today’s MLive website, Demas led off with a typically tasty quote from Munem:

"Make no mistake about it – (the) crazy racist, homophobic and xenophobic National Committeeman has tremendous power in the Michigan GOP. ... If Agema were to run for reelection to his post, he would win."

As he has on Facebook for nearly two years, Munem kept the heat on Agema throughout the weekend due to vile comments the RNC-man has repeatedly posted online.

Some national and state party leaders have called for the former state representative from West  Michigan to resign, and others insist procedures are already available to oust him.  But Ronna Romney McDaniel, the newly elected GOP chair, made it clear after the convention closed that no further efforts would be made to oust or ostracize Agema.

Demas took it from there:

"Munem used to be too far right for the party. …Now Munem has been lumped in with wild lefties for demanding party candidates take a stand on Agema's removal and advising they stay away from fringe issues, like vaccine denial.
“… Most revealing was Munem's frustration that many Republicans had "assured me that Ronna was going to do something about Dave Agema AFTER being elected (as chairwoman)."

“… It's time to face facts, however, that a not-insignificant number of Republicans are OK with Agema's views on gays, Muslims and/or African-Americans.

“But I suspect the reason why Agema remains isn't the hardcore bigots. It's because many Republicans will steadfastly defend one of their own no matter what. Any controversy has to be manufactured by Democrats and the ‘liberal media.’"

Another Munem target throughout the GOP festivities was Agema disciple Darwin Jiles – who has two felonies and one misdemeanor on his criminal record related to two separate shootings – yet was elected to a party vice chair position for “ethnics” (a category that oddly includes black people).

Munem joked that Jiles campaign song was “Happiness is a Warm Gun.”

“Everybody duck,” he blogged. “Darwin is in the house – ‘bang, bang, shoot, shoot.’”
Beatles fans will appreciate that reference. They might also relate to the convention’s apparent theme: “Helter Skelter.”

Or, if we choose to stick with the White Album, maybe a party harboring several activists with criminal records should adopt as their motto: "Everybody's Got Something to Hide, Except for Me and my Monkey."