State Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer, an outspoken opponent of the emergency financial manager bill, tried to critique the bill from a conservative’s perspective. The East Lansing Democrat was hoping to point out the perceived hypocrisy by Republican lawmakers, particularly freshman lawmakers, who backed the measure.
“This bill represents bigger government, more bureaucrats (and) less accountability and less transparency,” Whitmer said, sending up a cheer from pro-union demonstrators in the hallway that could be heard inside the chamber. “Where the heck is the Tea Party now? We were sent to Lansing to create jobs, not dismantle them.”
