Wisconsin and North Carolina have not cornered the market on bad actors and sore losers. Michigan has our own fair share of them. In fact, Michigan Republicans might actually be the worst of all. As Michael Tomasky writes in the Daily Beast, “what’s happening in Michigan may be the most egregious of the three.”
Unfortunately, we have been here before, seeing terrible outcomes most recently from the 2012 lame duck session, not coincidentally also dominated by MI Republicans. In December 2012, the so-called Right to Work law was passed and the governor signed it despite his earlier promises not to do so. Even worse, though voters had just rejected the Emergency Manager law then in effect, a month later the GOP passed new legislation, which Snyder signed without qualms. The new version not only overrode the will of the people expressed at the ballot box but made it impossible for us to challenge it that way again. Within a year, the administration of the city of Flint was in the hands of the Emergency Manager, Darnell Earley, who made the fateful decision to switch the city’s water source to the Flint River.
Fortunately, we also have many thousands of activists who are not willing to roll over and acquiesce to the scorched-earth tactics of the GOP. Now is the time to make our opposition as big and loud as we possibly can, with several crucial bills likely to be voted on and possibly signed into law next week. The GOP attack is intended to be fast, overwhelming, and hard to follow, let alone counter. Luckily, we are strong, smart, funny, and organized.
The 2018 Lame Duck session in Lansing has something to anger everyone who dreams of and strives for a better Michigan. Are you pro-workers’ rights? Then you’ll be appalled by the gutting of One Fair Wage and Time to Care, the proposals headed to the November ballot that the GOP cynically passed before the election, precisely to make their job of regression much easier. Pro-environment? Then you’ll be furious about the many initiatives designed to worsen our state’s safeguards against polluters of our water and air, including a plan to keep Enbridge’s pipelines across the Straits of Mackinac in service for another ten years. Pro-reproductive rights? Then you’ll be dismayed by the sneaky effort to extend the ban on teleprescription of abortion pills. Proud to have elected Democrats to all executive offices last month? Then you’ll be outraged by the legislative efforts to curtail their constitutional powers.
This list only hints at the onslaught. For more lowlights, please refer to this (recently retitled) overview prepared by Paul Egan and Kathleen Gray for the Detroit Free Press. Even better, check out this bill tracker, which uses background from several key advocacy groups and is regularly updated.
STEPS YOU CAN TAKE
- Call, email, and write your state representative and senator.
Separate calls for each measure if you can, please! And consult the trackers above to be able to cite the bill numbers.
If your elected officials are Democrats, you can thank them for standing strong and united against ALL of these bills. (Unless your senator is Adam Hollier, in which case you should excoriate him for his ignorant vote in support of Marathon’s talking points, backing the Line 5 tunnel plan (SB 1197).)
If they’re Republicans, then you may know better whether a call is worth the effort. The Republicans who are still in office next term but not about to commence their last term are likely the most amenable to persuasion. Find your representative HERE and your senator HERE.
- Call, email, and write Governor Snyder
Governor Rick Snyder
P. O. Box 30013
Lansing, Michigan 48909
governorsoffice@michigan.gov
517-373-3400
Again, separate messages for each bill/issue will be most helpful.
Snyder is most invested in passage of the Line 5 tunnel, which is both good and bad news. He appears to be very willing to use the leverage he has over the legislature to get his own pet projects passed. Urging him to respect the rule of law and avoid rewarding the GOP for their bad behavior might work to get him to veto the most egregious bills. But unfortunately we cannot count on him to act in the best interests of Michigan residents.
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Exercise Your Rights in Lansing to attend sessions, comment in hearings, and join protests.
Our Democratic legislators are outnumbered. They can’t prevent the chambers from reaching quorum, and they can’t slow the process as much as they’d like. But WE can make sure that this is not business-as-usual for the Republicans accustomed to having their way. Offering personal testimony in committees, creating protests in the hallways, and insisting that the legislators serve the people, and not the lobbyists, are actions we ALL can do. As one of my companions on Thursday, Bill Finehout, stated, “We have to show up so that we know we are there for each other. Why vote if we aren’t willing to follow up with it and make sure it counts?”
The Legislature is in session Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for the next two weeks. It’s time to show up to be there for each other.
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Get and Stay in Touch with Other People Engaged in Action because people power is what we have in abundance. Most advocacy groups involved in getting the ballot proposals passed have their own action plans in operation. We the People MI is coordinating the on-site protests and also helping to spread the word about local calling parties and other actions. Sign up here (which will also get you added to the email updates). Whether you have 2 minutes, 2 hours, or 2 days, you can make a difference.
If you’re on Facebook, look for public groups Michigan Lame Duck Action and Michigan Lame Duck Watch for information and inspiration. Here’s a video taken during last Thursday’s serenade in the Capitol. You can’t hear me but I’m in there singing away!
SAVE THE DATE: Plans are underway NOW for another large protest in Lansing on Wednesday, December 12th, from 12-4 PM. I hope to attend and would be delighted to meet other Kos folks there. Comment below or send me a Kosmail if you’ll be there too.
Here is the FB event page. Here is the Google sign-up page.
Plus, one more SPECIAL INVITATION for Monday (tomorrow!) Dec. 10, 5:15-6:15 PM: Snyder Serenade, No Lame Ducks!
We’ll meet at the corner of Main and William and launch into some seasonal carols, using lyrics revised for this occasion. Snyder lives in Ann Arbor, so we have a great opportunity to remind him we are here too and we oppose his schemes, especially the ludicrous one to allow Enbridge to operate their Straits of Mackinac pipeline with impunity.
We have only two more weeks to try to block or weaken the bad legislation the Michigan GOP wants to inflict upon us. Let’s come together and seize the moment.