Holy shit - can someone from Michigan tell me how this is being reported locally? I can’t believe people aren’t demonstrating against this.
Today’s Detroit Free Press: https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2018/12/04/michigan-legislature-bills-lame-duck-session/2162560002/
One of the most flagrant bad government proposals: https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2018/11/28/michigan-fraudulent-charities/2071815002/
Recall time. Limited but possible option under Michigan law. Lots of thoroughly organized groups of incensed voters out there. Use simple language -/ so and so sponsored law X.
One editorial take: https://www.freep.com/story/opinion/columnists/nancy-kaffer/2018/11/30/michigan-women-gop-election/2161043002/
Well, the final mask of the GOP is falling. “Democracy is only to be defended if the people vote the way we want.”
The proposal didn’t just squeak through, there was a solid 2/3 majority. Expect pushback. Expect lawsuits. The incoming AG is a Dem.
Also: Snyder is a lying POS who should never have been allowed to run amok for as long as he did.
ETA: The anti-Trump pushback started in Nov, followed by GM closing plants after Trump promised the automakers would be revving up the assembly lines, and now this should convince all but the most diehard MAGA koolaid drinkers that the GOP is not on their side.
The “MAGA koolaid drinkers” will just twist these facts into “MOAR PROOOF” that the “Deep State” is targeting them for not liking Black People!!! It’s TRUE! I saw it on INFOWARS!!! and my sisters cousins third uncle on his fathers side Facebooked me a Photo of Hillary Clinton using her E-Mail Server to kill a white baby and eat it!!!"
This is the kind of fucking insane beliefs we are up against. There is no reasoning with someone who refuses to live in reality. Luckily, they are only about 15% of the electorate. Always have been, always will be.
IIRC, one gambit under MI law is to attach appropriations to bills like this, because then the resulting legislation is immune to repeal or alteration via ballot initiative. I expect this maneuver will be a critical element here, although the article doesn’t mention it.
On November 6, Michiganders overwhelmingly voted to expand access to the ballot in their state and put an end to partisan gerrymandering of districts. But that’s not stopping Republicans in the legislature from targeting those citizen-approved measures before Democrats take control of key statewide offices on January 1.
Proof that the GOP does not represent the people who vote them to office.
One more step on the GOP march toward Dictatorship!
The local TV station covering the greater Lansing area is a Sinclair station, so we don’t get a lot of anti-GOP action news coverage around here.
#votersdon’tmatter
“Democracy for me, but not for thee” is by definition not democracy.
Mlive, the online news chain, buried it deep in the news section.
Today’s first story was about the new tour of Hootie and the Blowfish.
A new proposal by state Sen. Phil Pavlov would impose a $500 fine on individuals who mischaracterize their political affiliation while seeking to become a member of the commission.
Pavlov is the chair of the Senate Education Committee. And a community college dropout.
But all you need in the GOP is a staffer who can rewrite ALEC proposals and present them for you to sign.
Michigan republicans are on the move all right. While they have a supermajority, they’re going for broke.
LANSING — The Republican-controlled Michigan Senate has approved hotly contested legislation that would ease landowners’ ability to fill in or build on wetlands.
The bill, which won passage 23-14 along mostly party lines Tuesday, next goes to the GOP-led House.
The sponsor, Republican Sen. Tom Casperson, said he is trying to curb regulators who abuse their discretion to block landowners from filling in wetlands, removing soil or taking other actions. Environmental groups still oppose the legislation despite some changes being made to it.
They say some 4,000 inland lakes would be unregulated or not protected under the bill.
https://www.crainsdetroit.com/environment/gop-led-michigan-senate-votes-deregulate-wetlands
The problem is that they only represent the people who voted for them. Everybody else can fon**** themselves.
For the GOP at all levels the new mantra is…You vote…we decide. This party is no longer even PRETENDING to be guided by any set of policies or programs. It is a pure and evil effort to cling to power at any cost. This entire party has lost the right to participate in a democratic form of government.
“A new proposal by state Sen. Phil Pavlov would impose a $500 fine on individuals who mischaracterize their political affiliation…”
What in the world is that supposed to mean? I voted to approve Proposal 2 and the text was crystal clear – Prop 2 will “create a commission of 13 registered voters randomly selected by the Secretary of State: 4 each who self-identify as affiliated with the 2 major political parties; and 5 who self-identify as unaffiliated with major political parties.” It is impossible for me to “mischaracterize” my political affiliation, since it specifically said I am the ONLY person who gets to decide what my own political affiliation is.