Michigan governor Whitmer caught red-handed politically exploiting pandemic to gather voter data and enrich lefty campaign operatives
Gretchen Whitmer tried to pull a fast one on voters by using taxpayers' money to hire a hard-left political consulting firm to operate a public health project that would generate valuable political data. Unfortunately for her, she got caught, and when the operation was exposed to sunlight, she hastily canceled the contract. Collin Anderson and Brent Scher explain in the Free Beacon:
Democratic governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan announced late Tuesday that the state was rescinding a contract to track the spread of the coronavirus that she had awarded to a Democratic consulting firm, according to Crain's Detroit.
The organization, Great Lakes Community Engagement, is run by Democratic political consultant Mike Kolehouse, who planned to use a software vendor affiliated with a Democratic data firm that is working for the governor's reelection campaign. Whitmer's decision to hire Democratic political operatives to run a public health project sparked immediate backlash, the Washington Free Beacon reported just hours before Whitmer's office said she had terminated the contract.
Kolehouse is the owner of K2K Consulting, an umbrella organization tied to both Great Lakes Community Engagement and Kolehouse Strategies. Both have done extensive field work for Democratic causes. Kolehouse in turn retained as a partner in the contract-tracing operation an arm of the Democratic consulting firm NGP VAN, which is currently working with Whitmer's reelection campaign. NGP VAN said it had not been contracted by the state but declined further comment.
NEWS: @GovWhitmer pulls plug on contract for political consultant, software vendor for #COVID19 contact tracing https://t.co/N82FxSVGQg via @crainsdetroit
— Chad Livengood (@ChadLivengood) April 21, 2020
Unfortunately, although the contract was announced only on Monday, the political operatives have been collecting data since April 1, almost three weeks. Their database contains priceless information on individuals, families, and everyone they are in contact with. Shades of Mark Zuckerberg!
Tucker Carlson last night laid out Whitmer's shameful performance in office, exploiting the crisis to grab power, help her supporters and hurt her enemies, and enrich her allies.
Photo credit: YouTube screen grab.