For those of you who might have been paying attention to other important issues the past few days, let introduce you to the insanity that is my home state of Michigan.
Last week, the Republican majority presented a package of three bills to the State House, the Omnibus Abortion Restrictions: HB 5711, HB 5712 and HB 5713. They rushed them from Committee to the floor for a vote, without allowing one woman a chance to speak in committee. Oh, wait – two men spoke, one of them a friend of mine from here in Midland. After his testimony, which was pretty darn pointed (he’s pro-choice), they shut everything down. This action, not surprisingly, sparked protests in the Capitol, that afternoon, and the next day as well.
Several Democratic women spoke up when the bills were brought to the floor – and spoke fiercely and well. One, Barb Byrum of Onandaga, tried to add an amendment to one of the bills suggesting that vasectomies should only be given in emergency situations. She was shut down. Then, Lisa Brown of West Bloomfield gave an impassioned speech about her opposition to the bills ending with “I'm flattered that you're all so interested in my vagina. But, no means no." The next day, the Speaker of the House Jase Bolger and the Republican House Majority Floor Leader Jim Stamas banned Brown and Byrum from speaking on the floor – and gave them no reason why.
I am the Democratic candidate for the 98th State House District here in Michigan. I am Jim Stamas' opponent in the November election.
I am appalled that two of our representatives’ voices were silenced this past week by the House leadership when they dared to speak up for women’s issues. No matter how people feel about the package of bills that were being debated last week, the fact remains that two women were silenced for daring to share their concerns. This is a First Amendment issue! By silencing Representatives Lisa Brown and Barb Byrum, the Republican leadership stifled the voices of more than 90,000 voters by not allowing their representatives to speak. And there were important items of legislation that were to be determined in the last days of the session, including the MPSPers bill, which ended state-provided health care coverage in retirement for new teachers and added 20 percent to the premiums of retired employees covered by state-provided insurance, the bill to lower the state’s income tax to 3.9 percent and the bill to require welfare recipients to be tested for drugs before receiving aid – yet, they could not speak!
I intend to speak up for the people of this district with the same courage that Representatives Byrum and Brown exhibited last week. The future of this state is at stake in this next election. The Democrats have to take back a majority in the House so that there is, once again, some balance in our state government. The ordinary, working people of this district must have a voice in Lansing. We will not be stifled. We will not be silenced.
You can find out more about me at my website: www.brauschforhouse.com You can donate through PayPal, you can volunteer to help with my campaign or we will have an ActBlue account in the next few days.