There will be no citizen initiated ballot questions when voters go to the polls on November 2, and as expected, the effort of Michigan teabaggers to stop 32 million Americans with no health care insurance from getting it with a petition drive to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot to exempt Michigan from the historic health insurance reform law failed miserably.
In fact, none of the groups collecting signatures in hopes of putting an issue or constitutional amendment on the ballot in November turned in signatures before Monday’s 5 p.m. deadline. It just proves that the tea bagger “movement” is as much a creation of the media, and it proves the people who scream the loudest get the most coverage.
In addition to the failure of the Lansing-based tea bagger group called “Michigan Citizens for Healthcare Freedom” headed by Howell School Board member and founder of the anti-gay hate group “LOVE” Wendy Day, a group hoping to establish more casinos and a group hoping put the Fair Affordable Insurance Act on the November 2010 ballot failed to get enough signatures.
However, two constitutional amendments initiated by the Legislature will be on the ballot in November. One will be on whether to convene a state constitutional convention and a proposal to bar those convicted of felony crimes that violate the public trust from running for office for 20 years.
The tea bagger effort was little more than an exercise to build a mailing list of Republican supporters for the November election and to bash the President. The group has scheduled a press conference for noon today on the Capitol steps, and Day’s Facebook page said they will talk about “results and plan.” I’m sure one “plan” will be to go out and work against Democratic candidates.
Unfortunately, I will be unable to attend, so I’ll have to read the account of what went on in Gongwer. I know one thing for sure; Day will not step out of the spotlight very easily.
Today at 5 p.m. is also the last day to register for the August 3 primary election. If you are 18 or will be 18 by Aug. 3, you can register at any Secretary of State office or your local clerk’s office. The last day to register for the Nov. 2 election is Oct. 4.
4 comments:
150,000 signatures is pretty damn impressive for a group that isn't spending money.
Nice try at spin. So, it’s about money? All this BS about how the majority of Americans are angry and against the talking point of a “government takeover” of health care. What happened to those thousand of tea baggers at “tea parties? They didn’t get even half of what they needed and spent, what $50,000?
Just sad and pathetic.
Don't know about sad and pathetic.
I stand by what I said. 150,000 signatures is a lot of signatures. Compare that to the governor recall guy from up North, or the casino issue folks.
But what it does point to is the signatures for petitions for a statewide amendment being far too high for any average citizen group to gather.
Means that all amendments of all types are strictly the purview of either union or corporate interests.
That's wrong.
Like I said, sad and pathetic.
Well, 150,000 signatures may be a lot of signatures, but not in a state of almost 10 million people and when you need 380,000.
I disagree. It may be high for a fringe extremists group, but not for mainstream Michigan residents. According to the Secretary of State’s office, “since the adoption of the State Constitution of 1963, 26 proposed amendments to the Constitution have been presented on the ballot for a vote of the people that were placed on the ballot by initiative petition.
What’s really sad and pathetic is that just because teabggers failed and don’t want people to realize that they are a small, very vocal extremist fringe group that they are crying about the rules.
Not only that, all we have for proof of how many signatures were collected is the word of Wendy Day. I’m skeptical.
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