GET THIS WOMAN AN INTERVENTION

Those in politics know if you can't win, you pander, pander, pander. Sadly, Republican Lena Epstein of Bloomfield Township took that mantra to new lows. Epstein, who has run – unsuccessfully – for Congress in 2018, against Democrat Haley Stevens, who took the crown, then in 2022, for University of Michigan regent, and played with the idea of running for Senate against Sen. Gary Peters in 2020, was running for Michigan Republican Party chair. A video making the rounds of the Jewish Epstein, whose family are longtime members of Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Township, features her in early February at the Ottawa County Patriots meeting. She said, “It is joyous to be here...with a man who actually baptized me into the Christian faith. I'm a 41-year-old Jewish Messianic believer in Christ from Oakland County.” Those who recently attended a Birmingham Bloomfield Republican Club meeting weren't surprised – seems Epstein introduced herself there as a “Christian Jew.” A new religion? One attendee said members were taken aback. Word is her family vehemently disagrees with her – but that did not Epstein from clearly pandering to those in the Religious Right, the Evangelicals so important in the party base makeup. Here running mate for the party's top spot was Pastor Donald Easton, senior minister of Metro Church of Christ in Sterling Heights. Ironically, Epstein was one of two candidates who withdrew before balloting as the state convention started this past weekend, throwing her support behind failed 2022 state attorney general candidate Matt DePerno, who lost to Oak Park election denier Kristina Karamo, 42-58, after three ballots. For the record, Karamo has yet to concede her 14-point loss in the Secretary of State contest last fall.