BY TODD SPANGLER

DETROIT FREE PRESS WASHINGTON STAFF

WASHINGTON — Livonia congressman and rock ‘n’ roll guitarist Thaddeus McCotter is taking his act to a bigger stage Friday: He’s filing paperwork to run for the presidency.

The 45-year-old McCotter, now in his fifth term representing northwestern Wayne and southeastern Oakland counties in Congress, will talk up his bid for the Republican nomination at Freedom Fest at Whitmore Lake on Saturday night after appearing Friday on Sean Hannity’s radio show.

“He’s in it to win it,” said a senior campaign advisor who spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement hadn’t been made public.
But McCotter will enter the race at a significant disadvantage in terms of name recognition, fundraising and national campaign experience. And he’s not the only newcomer trying to catch fire, with U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota also entering the race.

McCotter is one of three sitting members of the House — along with Texas’ Ron Paul and Bachmann — to enter the race. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Michigan native, is considered by many to be the frontrunner to win the nomination and face President Barack Obama next fall.

McCotter brings to the race a wry, sardonic sense of humor, and a deep-seated sense of conservatism. He can quote Led Zeppelin and Rolling Stones lyrics as easily as he can cite conservative thinkers and rails against big government and taxes.

He has not always taken a pure conservative line, however. He has written that there is room for labor and management to come together in the interest of both. And on the campaign trail, he will have to defend a vote to rescue General Motors and Chrysler that may not be as popular outside Michigan as in it.

Meanwhile, he has to hope that his eccentricities — a deep voice, his cerebral demeanor and off-beat remarks — play to his benefit.

“But he’s got a message and he’ll make it interesting,” said former Michigan Republican Party chairman Saul Anuzis, who added that he considers McCotter a “long shot.”

“He’s a typical blue-collar Reagan Democrat type of Republican,” Anuzis said. “But the key is going to be whether he’s able to raise enough money, and that’s no small challenge.”

McCotter began telling some advisors of his decision Tuesday and it began to spread within his close circle on Wednesday. USA Today broke the story in a blog post Thursday evening.

Whether or not McCotter plans to also run for re-election in his own seat remains to be seen.

The district will change with redistricting. Some have been urging U.S. Rep. Gary Peters, a Bloomfield Township Democrat — who’s being pushed into a district with U.S. Rep. Sander Levin under the Republican plan — to run against McCotter in a district more heavily weighted toward Peters’ Oakland County base.

The senior advisor said McCotter decided to jump into the race because he felt after speaking at Republican gatherings and making trips to Iowa, the first caucus state, that there is room for a candidate like him and that he offers something the others don’t.

McCotter is expected to give the keynote speech at Freedom Fest at Whitmore Lake at 8 p.m. Saturday.

Contact TODD SPANGLER at 202-906-8203 or at tspangler@freepress.com. Staff writer Kathleen Gray contributed to this report. http://www.freep.com/article/20110630/NEWS15/110630052/Thaddeus-McCotter-run-president