Sak alleged memogate and troopergate does not pass smell test

The rightwing blogosphere, all three of them, is buzzing - whining would be a better description - about an alleged incident where Rep. Michael Sak, D-Grand Rapids, was drunk at the National Governors Association event in Traverse City and allegedly “demanded” a ride form a Michigan State Trooper who was on duty there.

Minority “leader” Craig DeRoche, R-Novi, has even made the ridiculous request that the Speaker of the House relive Sak from his committee and leadership positions. This entire matter does not smell right, and it reminds me of the “Troopergate” issue of the early ‘90s when Rightwing sugar daddy Richard Mellon Scaife paid Arkansas State troopers to make up juicy and unflattering stories and lies about President Clinton.

This episode came to light from a memo the state trooper wrote and the Grand Rapids Press obtained from a Freedom of Information (FOIA) request. As a former reporter covering cops and courts, I have read many police reports, including reports from the Michigan State Police at the Brighton Post, but I have never seen a memo from the state police. Ask Bill Nowling, the new Communications Director of the Michigan Republican Party, about how many state police memos he has read as the cops and courts reporter for the same newspaper where we worked the same beat.

This raises a few of questions for me. Why did the unnamed trooper even write the memo? How did the GR Press know to make a FOIA request for that particular memo?

The bottom line is Sak did not break any laws, and he had the good sense not to drink and drive. Sak denies he demanded a ride or even asked for a ride, but what if he did? Since when is that a crime to have to much to drink on occasion and have the foresight and maturity to ask for a ride instead of getting behind the wheel of a two-ton deadly weapon?

It’s funny that the right-wingers are crowing about this, but they were silent as church mice when Rep. John Garfield, R- Rochester Hills, was arrested for his second drunk driving charge in March, and they even stayed quiet when the charge was dropped on a technicality. He was clearly driving drunk and endangering lives, but do you think we heard anything from the right? You guessed it, they were silent.

The Democratic Speaker declined to relieve Garfield of his committee assignments when he was arrested. Perhaps he believed that quaint and naïve notion of innocent until proven guilty. So why should he relieve Sak when he was not only not charged with a crime but did not commie a crime to be charged with.

Sak has apologized, but that is not good enough for Republicans. Now that the charges have been dropped against Garfield perhaps he can now issue an apology. Don’t hold your breath.

Garfield ducks second drunk driving conviction

Just 24 hours before jury selection was set to begin, it appears the second drunk driving charge against Rep. John Garfield, R- Rochester Hills, may be dismissed. The moral of the story seems to be with a good lawyer anything is possible, or justice is only for those who can’t afford a good lawyer.

Ingham County prosecutor Stuart Dunnings told subscription only Gongwer that he has submitted a motion to the 54-B District Court Judge to dismiss the second drunk driving charge. Dunnings said the video evidence of Garfield being pulled over by Michigan State University police on March 29 for not wearing his seat belt "doesn't jive with what was being said." I’m not really sure what that means, unless they pulled him over first because they suspected he was driving drunk at that hour of the morning and used his not wearing a seat belt as justification for pulling him over after the fact. However, that is pure speculation on my part.

But there appears to little doubt of Garfield’s guilt. His blood alcohol level was .14, and the legally drunk level is .08. The day after Garfield was arrested his chief-of-staff, Dave Jessup, said, "This is an ongoing battle he is fighting with alcohol,'' he said. ''He is home in the district and is taking steps to deal with this.''

Following his first drunk driving convention in 2005, Garfield used the standard GOP alibi and checked himself into a rehabilitation center, claiming he had a problem that was aggravated by pain medication he has taken for several years. His hometown newspaper, the Oakland Press, called for his immediate resignation following his second arrest, but it appears there will be no consequences for Garfield, either from law enforcement or the Republican “leadership.”

Ironically, in the same issue of Gongwer the Michigan Office of Highway and Safety Planning announced it is running a new advertising campaign aimed at getting people to not drink and drive as a statewide blitz on offending drivers that begins Friday. The TV ads will begin running immediately, and a state police crackdown on drunk drivers will run from Friday until September 3. "Drinking too much and driving is a dangerous combination, and the result isn't pretty," OHSP Director Michael L. Prince said. "The consequences of a drunk driving conviction, such as fines and increased insurance rates, are very serious and are a drain on offenders' wallets for years."

That is unless you have a good attorney.

UPDATE: The Detroit News on Tuesday confirmed the charges have been dropped. No word on why.

Hometown newspaper calls for Garfield’s resignation

I was a little surprised to read in the Oakland Press editorial pages that they are calling for the resignation of Rep. John Garfield, R-Rochester Hills, following his arrest late last month for drunken driving, his second such arrest in 18 months.

“For his own good and for the good of those people he represents, we believe he needs to focus on his personal problems and consider resigning from the Legislature.
First, he is a lawmaker and it doesn't set a good example for such an individual, if found guilty, to be breaking the law.
Also, today's state government problems need intense focus from our leaders. They need to be able to concentrate on resolving the budget and other economic concerns.
Whatever the extent of his current drinking problem, the court case and its surrounding publicity are distractions that most likely hamper his ability to fulfill his duties as a legislator.”

The Michigan Democratic Party is simply asking the Republican “leadership” to reprimand Garfield.

"He has violated the public's trust," said Mark Brewer, Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party in a press release. "Given the emphasis the Republican caucus has put on personal responsibility and public servants acting as role models to youth, I fully expect GOP leaders will want to reprimand him publicly, at the very least. The people or Michigan deserve nothing less."

I agree with Brewer, and my only reason for even pointing out the Garfield story was to illustrate the hypocrisy of the Republicans crowing about a major story in the Detroit Free Press that Democratic Rep. Bert Johnson, D-Highland Park, was observed by a reporter driving on suspended license in a vehicle with an invalid plate. I still have not seen any press in any newspaper about Garfield’s arrest that comes close to the amount of ink Johnson got. So much for the “liberal media” myth.

At this point I don’t think Garfield should resign or be fired, but he should be reprimanded.

However, it would not be unprecedented if Garfield was asked to resign or even expelled for his actions, and we have the example of former Sen. David Jaye, R-Washington Township, the only Michigan lawmaker ever to be expelled. Jaye was convicted of drunk driving twice and he served stints of 10 and 45 days in jail, and he actually served his constituents from behind bars in jail. However, it was the domestic violence charge that eventually did him in, although he was never convicted of that or even charged.

At this point I don’t think Garfield should be expelled or resign.

GOP plays rehab card again

The rehab card is played again by the GOP.

Republican have been making hay with the fact that Democratic Rep. Bert Johnson, D-Highland Park, was observed by a reporter driving on suspended license in a vehicle with an invalid plate last week after the reporter was tipped off by an anonymous caller. Another anonymous poster thought it so important I know that he made it a point of posting to let me know about it.

Incidentally, since that report Johnson’s driving privileges have been reinstated.

Less than a week later Rep. John Garfield, R- Rochester Hills, was arrested in the East Lansing area by Michigan State University campus police, according to a sketchy Associated Press report. The report said Garfield, 57, was arrested “early Thursday.”

The House was in session from noon to about 2:20 p.m. Thursday, but Garfield is listed in the House Journal for that day as excused. I guess being in jail is a pretty good excuse. This is Garfield’s second arrest in about 18 months, and Garfield pled guilty to a lesser charge of driving while impaired in the 2005 incident, according to the AP.

But the kicker is the reason he was allegedly driving drunk, and haven’t we heard this excuse coming from the GOP before.

Following his conviction in 2005, Garfield checked himself into a rehabilitation center, noting he had a problem that was aggravated by pain medication he has taken for several years, according to the AP.
''This is an ongoing battle he is fighting with alcohol,'' Dave Jessup, Garfield's chief of staff, said Friday. ''He is home in the district and is taking steps to deal with this.''

Say hello to Mark Foley for us.