This is what the republican party has done--just this year--to embarrass the state of Michigan and in all likelihood, make it an even less attractive place either for businesses to locate to or talented individuals to stay in or move to:
1) Challenge a voter initiative to repeal the draconian Emergency Financial Manager law despite its having more than enough signatures to be placed on the ballot this November because they claimed the fucking font size on the petition was wrong.
2) Take away the free speech of two female state congresswomen for having the audacity to say "vagina" as a bill on women's reproductive rights was being debated.
3) Refuse to pass a bill that would build a second bridge to Canada, which would create thousands of jobs, reduce traffic significantly, save businesses and taxpayers money, and make the state an even bigger player in international trade, because the votes of republicans in Lansing have been bought--literally--by billionaire Matty Moroun who stands to be worth a few dollars less if the Ambassador Bridge isn't the only game in town.
As if all that wasn't enough of a black eye for Michigan, now we have Speaker of the House Jase Bolger and newly converted republican Roy Schmidt
conspiring to pay a young man to run as a Democrat against turncoat Schmidt to spare the possibility that voters angry with Schmidt's last minute defection might vote his ass out of office. Calls for Bolger's resignation and Schmidt's withdrawl were given the usual republican short shrift by blaming the Democrats (how it's our fault they paid a candidate to run a false campaign is never explained) and Bolger ran a lame ass
apology in the Free Press. Frankly, if he were truly sorry he would resign--the offense is that egregious.
But--believe it or not--what Bolger and Schmidt conspired to do is not illegal in Michigan and neither can be charged with any crime. The Free Press--ever vigilant--didn't bother to call for Bolger's resignation, but did run an equally lame ass
editorial calling for Secretary of State Ruth Johnson to get just such a law passed to prevent this from happening again (or, at least if they get caught, having such actions be a crime). I'll at least give the Free Press credit for bitch slapping Secretary Johnson over her bogus voter fraud claims and bills to prevent such (out of millions of votes the last three elections, less than ten cases were found, and those were errors rather than fraud), but if they think she's going to lift a finger on this...they're forgetting that unless it involves subverting democracy and disenfranchising Democratic voters, republicans don't give a shit.
I've said it before and I'll say it again--it's going to be hard enough to attract the best and the brightest to Michigan where you freeze your ass of six months of the year (let alone with lousy paying jobs), but embarrassing the state again and again and making us look like some southern idiocracy will be the death knell.
North Dakota, here we come!
Peace,
emaycee
