ACHTUNG: This is not a “fair and balanced” story. It is an editorial by the editor.
I was naive enough a few years ago to believe our Michigan Legislature could not sink any lower after approving a law permitting widespread use of obnoxious fireworks.
But I was wrong. Our boys and girls in Lansing, who are supposed to represent us, the people, just recently in lame-duck session, astonishingly collectively thumbed their noses at their constituents and the supposedly democratic principle of the will of the people.
I remain astonished that the people of Michigan seem to be taking this development lying down after Gov. Rick Snyder signed a bill making it nearly impossible for ordinary citizens to sign petitions to put statewide proposals on the ballot.
This State Legislature has committed a crime against democracy, a crime against representative government, all by worshipping at the altar of politics, the Republican Party and dirty money. The vast majority of legislators who voted for this bill were Republicans and now a Republican governor has signed this piece of trash, a slap in the face of voters in this state.
The new law would create a cap on a percentage of voters who can sign petitions from each district, thereby limiting the power at the ballot box of voters based on where they live. The name of this game is very simple — make it difficult for voters to get issues on the ballot for people to decide on them. Increase the power of corrupt and beholden lawmakers and decrease the power of the people.
This, in the wake of five proposals in 2018 that qualified for inclusion on the Michigan Nov. 6 general election ballot. The GOP legislators found the voters’ wishes on these issues not to be to their liking, so they used a lame-duck session that either reverse them or water them down.
It was no secret the GOP senators and legislators in Lansing opposed legalization of marijuana, creating a more non-partisan panel to stop gerrymandering and widening access for people to register to vote. But they pulled nothing short of a dirty trick on the folks who gathered enough signatures to place a minimum wage and extended family leave issues on the ballot for consideration of voters statewide. They headed the last two off at the pass in September, and in lame duck voted to circumvent the intentions of the process.
For the first time ever, I must extend gratitude to State Rep. Steven Johnson of the 72nd District, who voted against this piece of anti-democratic garbage. At the same time, my perceptions of the integrity of State Rep. Mary Whiteford of the 80th District appear to continue to be in free fall. She apparently has consumed the GOP Kool-Aid at the expense of the people.
As a life-long student of history, I was captivated by the stories of the era of Theodore Roosevelt and the Progressive Era. This was when a president put a stop to big business monopolies and trusts and the people were granted the ability to rise up in righteous indignation to create the processes of initiative, referendum and recall when legislators failed to get the job done themselves.
As the historian Howard Zinn pointed out, in his Peoples’ History of the United States, the rights of the people were not legislated by lawmakers, they were fought for over many years by citizens’ groups. What the State Legislature and governor have done is circumvented this democratic process.
It took a little more than 100 years for the Michigan Legislature to defecate all over the hard work and heroic sacrifices our ancestors made so that we the people indeed could be granted a seat at the table of power.
With apologies to Ranger Rick — the rotting of our state government continues from within.
Great article…..hard to debate your points
The only one I am cautious of is praise for Rep Johnson. He plays the public so he looks good knowing full well his vote outside of Party Lines will.not change the out come.
Harry, I was tickled to see you parenthesize (my new made-up word) yourself as an amateur essayist. You see, all of us contributors to Townbroadcast are amateurs ourselves (unless our fearless editor is paying someone I don’t know about!)
There is no reason for anyone to apologize for his or her opinions, only for hateful speech and unwarranted criticism.
Please continue to offer your thoughts so we can try to expand understanding of ideas and opinions that might be considered “out there” to our own ways of thinking.
Let’s make this new year about better understanding and patience with the ways our minds absorb and process ALL points of view.
Blessings in 2019.
I am back Harry .New computer same old amateur brain. The pros will have their hands full now.Buy the way I like ya. Have a happy new year.
Harry is right to speak well of this important piece. Republicans have shown us their values, and they don’t include fairness or adherence to the will of the people. They should be ashamed, with the exception of Steve Johnson and others that believe that elections matter. I’d hoped for better from Snyder. Signing the bills was disgraceful.
Hopefully the new redistricting panel will get rid of the weird shaped districts and we will actually get competitive races for the Michigan Legislature in two years. What we need now is a state constitutional amendment to outlaw lame Duck sessions of the state legislature.
A thought… We are right to question and even be outraged at times at the actions of those in power. But those in power didn’t get there through a lottery system. They had to have votes. The people…the same ones we often claim are being ignored or whose rights are being trampled on…elected every one of those constitution and natural rights violators who are in power. Dictators can only become dictators by being allowed to dictate. So, the ultimate blame is right at the doorstep of the enablers…the voters who put their tormentors there and don’t fire them if they promise to fly right and then go astray.