This is an excerpt of a column I wrote on Dec. 7, 2018, for Dome Magazine.

 

In a power play demonstrating a rare form of chutzpah after a lopsided loss at the ballot box to the Democrats, the Republican-controlled Legislature is proceeding with a lame duck session strategy that amounts to little more than dirty tricks to circumvent the voters.

At the 11th hour, the GOP seeks to establish new rules limiting the voice of the voters following their Democratic choices in November for governor, secretary of state and attorney general. Beyond weakening the traditional authority of those top statewide offices, Republican lawmakers also seek to revise ballot proposals approved by the electorate and use an unseemly path to undermine other initiatives that secured enough voter signatures to gain ballot access.

It seems clear that Michigan’s post-election lame duck process is out of control.

Call it what you will – sour grapes, a power grab, a scam, a blatant act of subversion – but what we saw in the Capitol this week was a profound lack of integrity on display. I can’t imagine any of this legislation coming to the fore if the November election had turned out much differently for the GOP.

Elections have consequences – except during the free-for-all lame duck process in Michigan. 

At this point, I wonder: Why hold elections shrouded with false implications that the voters’ decisions are final? Why allow for petition drives when the signatures of support for a ballot proposal are nearly meaningless?

Bush Displayed a Different Style

I can’t help but compare this brand of sinister hyper-partisan politics with the graceful approach toward leadership displayed by former President George H.W. Bush, whose death inspired a week of national mourning. The 41st president will be forever remembered for his advocacy of a “kinder, gentler nation.” 

With his diplomatic approach, he reached across the partisan divide in exceptional ways, even sending well-wishes to his vanquisher, President Bill Clinton, on his first day in the Oval Office, then later comforting Al Gore after he lost the presidency to Bush’s son. The nation’s melancholy this week revealed an extraordinary degree of bipartisan admiration for Bush and the way he handled himself during his 12 years as VP and POTUS. 

After the tributes to a life well-lived, it’s become abundantly clear that Democrats, if they’ve not issued a mea culpa for the ugliness of past political battles, came to view Bush 41 as a good man and a good president. 

But the ruthless Republicans in Lansing, through their actions, seemed eager this week to tacitly bury the Bush legacy. This is the difference between crass and class. 

As Republicans across the nation paused to reflect on Bush’s career, the last thing on the minds of these GOP lawmakers was: What would H.W. do?

The subversion underway at the Capitol is such that newly created Republican legislation arising from the ashes of defeat is rushed through in a shadowy process with barely any discussion allowed. And, to be clear, they are targeting issues that stand at the forefront of Michigan politics. 

Continue reading here.