New York Times: Rogers “cashed in on his ties to Capitol Hill for foreign governments, and then moved to Florida.”

LANSING — If there’s one thing Mike Rogers is going to do, it’s show us that “he is only out for himself.” From Rogers’ extensive record putting working families last to campaigning with billionaire Betsy DeVos, it’s no surprise that people are calling him for not having “a harbinger of integrity” as he has “cashed in on his ties to Capitol Hill for foreign governments.” Just ask Republicans – even they think Rogers is a “disingenuous” and “unprincipled” “career politician.”

Here’s the latest on Revolving Door Rogers’ rough week: 

• Category: Rogers’ priorities. And the loser is… working families. The Detroit Free Press notes that Rogers puts Michiganders last with his “attempts to block and repeal the Affordable Care Act and his support for trade deals which many workers found harmful to domestic manufacturing during his tenure.”

• Ready, set, spike (costs for working Michiganders). Rogers supports policies that put families last, including slashing Social Security and Medicare, voting against lowering the cost of prescription drugs, taking away workers’ rights, passing tax giveaways that slash taxes for billionaires but does nothing for Michigan working families.

• Cha-ching. The New York Times reported that Rogers “cashed in on his ties to Capitol Hill for foreign governments, and then moved to Florida.”

• Missing: Rogers’ integrity. The Detroit Free Press editorial page editor slammed Rogers for not having “a harbinger of integrity.” Rogers refused to “answer whether he believes the 2020 election was fair, and wouldn’t promise to defend the voting rights of the Detroiters he hopes to represent.”
• Senator Debbie Stabenow made it clear, “we can’t let Mike Rogers get anywhere near the U.S. Senate,” calling him out for leaving office and abandoning Michigan where he “made millions of dollars off of representing the drug companies” and “a whole lot of things that were happening that he made a whole lot of money off of… that are not good for us in Michigan.” 

• We’re getting dizzy from Rogers’ spin through the revolving door. Even Republicans have called out Rogers for being an “unprincipled career politician” who made “millions of dollars utilizing his government influence” “from Chinese joint ventures in areas that he said was terrible.”

• The rich get richer. On Monday, Betsy DeVos campaigned with Rogers who voted for tax giveaways that benefit billionaire DeVos and her wealthy friends but do nothing for hardworking Michigan families. 

See for yourself: 

Detroit Free Press [OPINION]: MAGA, money and turnout: 3 notes from Michigan’s Aug. 6 election

• You could argue that it’s the sort of thing Republicans have to do these days, if they want to get elected … but it’s not exactly a harbinger of integrity.  
• And it gets worse — in an endorsement interview with the Detroit Free Press Editorial Board earlier this summer, Rogers wouldn’t answer whether he believes the 2020 election was fair, and wouldn’t promise to defend the voting rights of the Detroiters he hopes to represent. And he floated a truly bizarre proposal to keep illiterate inmates incarcerated until they’ve attained literacy. Nothing like civil liberties, right? 

New York Times: Elissa Slotkin and Mike Rogers Will Face Off in Key Michigan Senate Race

• Mr. Rogers has his own problems.
• … Since leaving Congress, he has loosened his connection to Michigan, moving to Florida and registering to vote in Coral Gables.
• [Rogers is] out-of-touch… [and] cashed in on his ties to Capitol Hill for foreign governments, and then moved to Florida. His votes against abortion rights in the House will most likely be a mainstay of Democratic attacks.

Detroit Free Press: Elissa Slotkin, Mike Rogers win nominations for Michigan’s vacant US Senate seat

• As for Rogers, Slotkin described him as a friend to big business and pharmaceutical companies who would rather stoke culture war arguments than attack the danger posed to children by guns. “The contrasts between us could not be clearer,” she said. “This election will come down to service to country versus service to self.”
•  …That will mean drawing attention to Rogers’ attempts to block and repeal the Affordable Care Act and his support for trade deals which many workers found harmful to domestic manufacturing during his tenure. It also means going after him on gun control and the need for what she claims would be common-sense restrictions given the number of children who die, including through suicides and accidental shootings.
• Rogers’ history of working − and greatly increasing his wealth doing so − after leaving Congress, a time during which he mostly lived outside of Michigan, will also continue to be a Democratic theme against him… 
• Democrats began to attack him for… working for companies that did business in China after leaving Congress.

Michigan Democratic Party: Mike Rogers Puts Working Families Last

Michigan Democratic Party: Betsy DeVos Campaigns for Mike Rogers Who Voted for Tax Giveaways for Billionaire DeVos and her Wealthy Friends

Forbes: Sen. Stabenow: “And we can’t let Mike Rogers get anywhere near the U.S. Senate. You know when I think about the fact that Elissa has been on the front lines of taking on the drug companies, that this is something we all care passionately about, to bring down costs and we’re doing that, you know, $35 insulin for seniors. We’re about ready to announce the first 10 drugs that Medicare is going to negotiate, to get the best price their other camps were doing this. You know what Mike Rogers did when he left the State House? He went to Florida and made millions of dollars off of representing the drug companies. So this is not the person, the kind of person, that we need in the United States Senate from Michigan. And there’s a whole lot of things that were happening that he made a whole lot of money off of as well, that are not good for us in Michigan. So we have somebody who’s going to make sure that our shared values are continued, that we’re going to fight successfully for freedoms, to restore our freedoms. Top of the list, reproductive freedoms for women.” 

Michigan Democratic Party: WHAT TO KNOW: Michigan Republicans Think Mike Rogers is a “Disingenuous” and “Unprincipled” “Career Politician”