ACHTUNG: This is not a “fair and balanced” article. It is an editorial by the editor.
State Rep. Rachelle Smit (R-Shelbyville) raised a few eyebrows Friday by honoring two local men recently acquitted of charges they were in on a plot to kidnap and even murder Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
WOOD-TV reported, “Smit gave William and Michael Null, (of Shelbyville and Plainwell) the hometown hero treatment on the steps of the Allegan County courthouse…
Smit was quoted as saying, “We’re here to recognize Bill and Mike Null for their unfortunate involvement in this scandal, if you will, and that’s what I’m going to call it. If you (the Null brothers) would just accept these tributes on behalf of the state of Michigan and our office as your representative in the 43rd District.”
The tribute honored the Nulls for their “courage, unflagging spirt and dedication to our state and the founding principles of our beloved nation and thanked them for keeping alive our cherished liberties.”
This incident serves as another example of manufactured news, a media event that is newsworthy only in its shock value, its outrageousness. Both men were presented with a piece of paper with the state logo at the top, something they can hang in their living rooms. But, as I have often commented, “That and 73 cents will get you a senior’s cup of coffee at McDonalds.”
Should someone in California have given O.J. Simpson a hero’s tribute after his acquittal of murder charges?
The Null brothers were found not guilty by a court of law. That doesn’t elevate them to the status of heroes that Rep. Smit did in the manufactured media event.
This actually is the freshman legislator making a political statement. She has long been identified as a religious right-winger, and the people of the 43rd Legislative District elected her with more than 70 percent of the vote in 2022. I suppose this publicity stunt will better insure her re-election in 2024.
The Nulls were accused of having been accessories to very serious crimes. They were acquitted and that should have been the end of it.
But Smit is obviously is borrowing a chapter from the book of Donald Trump, her hero, calling attention to her radical beliefs to a compliant press. Trump is amazingly good at one thing — playing the media. And now so is Smit.
The legislator praised the brothers for standing their ground, meeting “government inquisitors in court, and soundly defeated them.”
A spokesperson from the governor’s office was quoted as saying, “These types of actions normalize and incite violence against our political figures, and only serve to shake our faith in our values and our institutions. This tribute will further encourage and embolden radical extremists trying to sow discord and harm public officials or law enforcement.”
The Allegan County Democratic Party has called on Michigan House Speaker Joe Tate to take immediate action.
“Speaker Tate should remove Smit from her committee assignments to send a clear message that such behavior is unacceptable and does not reflect the values and principles that the Michigan House of Representatives upholds. The Allegan County Democratic Party believes in fostering an environment of respect and civility in our political discourse. We hope the Speaker will take this opportunity to address this issue swiftly and maintain the dignity and reputation of the Michigan House of Representatives.”
Sorry, folks. Rep. Smith was acting deliberately and according to her worldview, using the First Amendment. She is unapologetic. And she won’t have to face the disgrace of her predecessor, Cindy Gamrat, from eight years ago being banished from the State Legislature.
She should be recalled .!!!
Boo hoo…….my opinon
Another intelligent comment from David. Rinse and repeat
This is one more disturbing act from a rep who won’t even support her local public school district, but instead supports the elitism culture of private schools. Ugh
No one has planned Representative Smit’s kidnapping or made multiple threats to her husband, those he works with and affect his livelihood. Perhaps she would lose the bravado pandering to her base had she’d experienced what Governor Whitmer has in the last several years.
Since Representative Smit has valid reasons for her opposition to state decisions to takeover local and county government zoning for wind and solar power, I wonder if she’s equally enthusiastic about voting yes to rolling back the state power taken from local government in Public Act 105 of 2015 that was passed by the GOP majority state house and senate and signed by GOP Governor Rick Snyder.
If local control is important I can’t see why Representative Smit and her fellow legislators in the GOP minority caucuses wouldn’t vote on Bills 170 and 171 to roll back Public Act 105 of 2015.
There was not a findiing of “innocence”; that’s not how our system works. The verdict reflected that the prosecution did not fully prove that the brothers were, beyond reasonable doubt, unanimously found guilty of the felonies charged. Rachelle Smit is an embarrassment.
Rachelle Smit as an embarrassment notwithstanding, there doesn’t need to be a finding of innocence. There is always supposed to be a presumption of innocence. Something that seems foreign in todays culture where we all tend to judge and convict, usually without most of the facts.
Wow! Disgusting! Just when you think the bar couldn’t get any lower. Are the crumbly parents next?
She manufactured a certificate to honor their involvement in kidnapping plot, that they even confessed to, but didn’t know that it was being taken seriously by Fox and Croft.
And, of course, the county where the trial was held was the one that believed in the” BIG LIE” so you can almost guarantee a not guilty verdict.