Senate Republicans ignore the people and move anti-union and anti-Democratic EFM bills

LANSING – Despite thousands of workers packing the Senate gallery on Tuesday morning chanting “kill the bill,” the Senate Republicans ignored them and moved the anti-union and anti-Democratic Emergency Financial Manager (EFM) package of bills to the third reading.

The bills can be voted on as early as Wednesday and sent to the Governor for his signature. The EFM package, House Bills 4214-4218, will make it easier for financially troubled municipalities and school districts to be taken over by an emergency financial manager, and the bills give the EFM almost dictatorial like powers. The bills take the power and authority out of the hands of the people legally elected by the voters and places it in the hands of a person appointed by the governor and the Legislature, and it allows the EFM - which is why Republicans have placed the bills on the fast track - to terminate contracts negotiated with labor unions in good faith.

Many of the financial challenges municipalities face are due to mandates and budget cuts not of their own creation, but rather those that were imposed on them by decisions made in Lansing. The Governor’s proposed budget cuts will push those barely hanging on over the edge, from financial stress to financial emergency.
Senate Democrats put up 17 amendments and two substitutes to the main bill to make it more transparent, but they all were defeated along mostly party lines, with the exception of one. Sen. Tupac Hunter, D-Detroit, introduced an amendment that would not allow the EFM to be paid no more than the Governor, Michigan's highest paid elected official at $177,000 a year.

Amendments are voted on via voice vote unless the chair is not sure of the outcome or someone makes a request for a record roll call vote. The Chair, Sen. Make Jansen, R-Gaines Twp., said the Hunter amendment failed despite the obvious loud yes votes.
When a record roll call vote was called for, Republicans joined with Democrats and the amendment passed with a vote of 19-18. But about 45 minutes and 12 amendments later, the Senate Republicans moved to reconsider Hunter’s amendment, and it was then disapproved by a vote of 16-21, angering Democrats.

“We have an emergency financial manager in my community that makes $420,000, and this man will make a million dollars before he leaves,” said Sen. Virgil Smith, D-Detroit. “Are you really saying we can pay someone half a million dollars in a community that is financially strapped?”

Senate Democratic Leader Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, was very angry, and even though the Senate Republicans tried to gavel her down, she made her point about the basic dishonesty of Republicans, saying they have no problem making millionaire EFMs with taxpayer money, but they want to break contracts with first responders negotiated in good faith.

“We were told you were going to open it back up because more people wanted to vote for it not to defeat it,” she said.

Senate Republicans give Snyder appointees a free pass

LANSING – Michigan Senate Republicans completely neglected their statutory duty of advise and consent, and none of Gov. Rick Snyder’s department heads will face a confirmation hearing.

The 60-day window expired on Monday, and not a single Snyder appointee had to face a Senate hearing. It’s even worse when you consider Snyder wants to give more power to the Emergency Financial Manager (EFM) who can suspend union contracts and fire elected officials. That EFM, which can also be a corporation, is appointed by the State Treasurer, and the EFM has almost zero oversight.

That advise and consent duty was not ignored by the Republican controlled Senate when we had a Democratic Governor. In fact, Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s appointees had a full public hearing, and at times faced some uncomfortable questions.

The Republican Senate did basically the same thing when Republican John Engler was the Governor, but they at least made an attempt, holding hearings in the first two years of his 12-year tenure. This Senate is not even pretending it’s being fair and doing their job.

Bob McCann, Senate Democratic communications director told subscription only Gongwer that the Senate's handling of the advice and consent hearing during Ms. Granholm's tenure was thorough and quick.

"It's disappointing that they would break with that tradition and essentially ignore one of the most basic components of a system of checks and balances that we have," McCann said in Gongwer. "Certainly background checks can give you cursory information about an individual. ... We need to be able to hear what their qualifications are and what direction they're looking to go in."

Michigan Republican’s war on the middle class and labor is priority one

The Michigan Republican’s war on the middle class and labor continues to go at top speed with complete disregard for the consequences.

Less than two weeks after introducing bills in the Michigan House that will repeal Public Act 312 of 1969 that allows binding arbitration of labor disputes for municipal police and fire departments, the bills, House Bills 4205 and 4206, are already headed to committee for action. It is rare that legislation moves that quickly.

Because police officers and firefighters are essential to public safety, they are not allowed to go out on strike like other bargaining units can, so this gives them a tool in negotiating a contract. PA 312 is the foundation of collective bargaining rights for firefighters and police officers in Michigan, and since 1969 PA 312 has provided a fair and equitable process for contract disputes between firefighters and police officers and municipalities.

It is rarely even used and when it is the local municipalities win 71 percent of the time, yet Republicans try to blame the financial difficulties municipalities are facing on PA 312 while ignoring the fact that revenue sharing payments from Lansing have been cut and property values are falling.

They are setting up a trap to first bust public service unions then they will go after private unions. However, they are being stealthier about it instead of being more open like they are in Wisconsin and Ohio, fearing the backlash from working Michiganders.

The new budget proposal introduced yesterday cuts revenue sharing payments and aid to public schools by $420 per pupil, sending many municipalities and school districts into insolvency, and they are expanding the law for emergency financial manger and giving them more power.

The EFM law already takes the power and authority out of the hands of the people legally elected by the voters and places it in the hands of a person appointed by the governor and the Legislature. The new bills will make it easier to appoint an EFM with several more triggers, and the bill also gives the EFM much more broader powers, such as allowing the manger to terminate contracts negotiated with labor unions in good faith.

This is just one more union-busting measure, and if there are less police officers on the streets and firefighters ready to respond, Republicans think it’s worth it as long as they bust the union.

Yesterday Senate Republicans introduced Senate Bill 165 that will kill the prevailing wage law that calls for union wages to be paid on public projects. The bill was sponsored by Sen. John Moolenaar, R-Midland, but it is co-sponsored by 20 of the 26 Senate Republicans.

HBs 4205-4206 that will kill PA 312 will be before the House Committee on Government Operations at noon on Wednesday Feb. 23 in room 327 of the House Office Building, 121 N. Capitol in Lansing. The meeting, like all committee meetings, is open to the public.

Democratic leader also urges GOP to move on Hire Michigan First bills

Senate Minority Leader Mike Prusi, D-Ishpeming, was just one person battling Republicans to help those unable to find a job in the Bush recession continue to receive unemployment benefits, and the persistence paid off on Wednesday when the U.S. Senate a approved a six-month extension of unemployment benefits after weeks of Republican obstructionism.

Prusi introduced Senate Resolution 172 on July 1 urging U.S. Senate Republicans to put partisanship aside and lift their filibuster on a bill that will allow a six-month extension of unemployment benefits and Medicaid funding, but Michigan Senate Republicans even refused to allow a vote on the resolution and promptly went on a two week vacation.

“I am glad to see that two Republicans in the U.S. Senate finally allowed a vote on an extension of unemployment benefits and that it passed last night,” Prusi said. “I called on them to do so weeks ago, and it’s just a shame that more than 100,000 unemployed Michigan residents had to struggle to get by with their lifeline cut for three weeks while the Republicans played games and took vacations.”

While Senate Republicans enjoyed their vacation, 114,000 Michigan residents had their unemployment benefits run out. These workers, along with almost 300,000 additional unemployed Michigan workers, will have their benefits extended thanks to Congress’ action last night.

“Unfortunately, it isn’t much different in the State Senate, where Mike Bishop and the Senate Republicans continue to do nothing for Michigan ’s economy and our unemployed workers,” Prusi said. “We have legislation before the State Senate that would hire Michigan workers first on state-funded projects and secure $138.9 million in federal funding to extend unemployment benefits for workers in retraining programs. The Senate Republicans in Lansing need to stop obstructing our efforts to help Michigan workers.

Republicans do everything they can to kill economic recovery

An award winning writer with a doctorate in English can better sum up the Republicans effort to stall and kill the economic recovery just to make the President look bad just so they can capture power much better than I can, and syndicated columnist Gene Lyons did just that with a column called “Americans still captive by the 'zombie lies'.”

This column ran in the print edition of the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus, but not online. The U.S. Senate Republicans filibuster on a bill that will allow a six-month extension of unemployment benefits and Medicaid funding is even more proof of Republican desire to stay in the Bush recession.

But Lyons said it best:

“It's not simply about making the Obama administration look bad. Many Republicans actually love economic recessions. No better means of disciplining the labor force has ever been devised. That’s the real message behind the GOP's Senate filibuster denying extended federal benefits to roughly a million long-term unemployed.”

Lyons quotes our own U.S. Senator, Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-East Lansing.

“In consequence, several hundred thousand cops, teachers, firefighters and other public employees are sure to be laid off due to state budget cuts. Fat lot of good that will do the economy. But working stiffs will be keeping their heads down, won't they?
Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., whose state has the nation's second-highest unemployment rate (13.6 percent), put it forcefully: "The Republicans in the Senate want this economy to fail. In cynical political terms ... they want our country to fail to win an election, and they're willing to take the people of this country with them."

It amazes me that anyone who makes a living from a pay check would vote for a Republican. But they have made a science out getting people to vote against their own self interest. The billons of dollars spent on rightwing think tanks has been a long term investment that has been worth every penny to the rich and Republicans.

“But that's only part of the story. One of the enduring mysteries of American life is how Republicans keep succeeding by failing. The presidency of George W. Bush ought to have inoculated American voters against GOP economic theories for a generation. Tax cuts for the wealthy led not to greater prosperity, but runaway budget deficits, a doubled national debt and the weakest job creation since World War II. See-no-evil financial deregulation damn near destroyed the world banking system. By the time President Obama was inaugurated last January, the economy was bleeding 750,000 lost jobs a month; the Congressional Budget Office had already projected the FY 2009 deficit at $1.3 trillion -- a budget written by the Bush White House. After taking over in 2001 with a healthy budget surplus and some economists warning against paying down the debt too fast, Bush doubled it to over $10 trillion in eight short years.”

Republicans had no problem with deficit spending by the likes of Bush and even Reagan, but now when we are trying to dig out of the worst recession since the Great Depression, they have a problem with it.

“New spending by the Obama administration -- mainly the economic stimulus and auto industry rescue -- is dwarfed by Bush's spending on the Iraq and Afghan wars and the unfunded Medicare prescription drug benefit. If Democratic attempts to stimulate the economy have proven less than adequate, that's because they've both been hostage to GOP obstructionism and restrained by the fiscal straitjacket Republicans left behind.”

Gene Lyons is syndicated political columnist and co-author with Joe Conason of “The Hunting of the President: The 10 Year Campaign to Destroy Bill and Hillary Clinton. He graduated with a Ph.D. in English from the University of Virginia in 1969. He taught at the University of Massachusetts, University of Arkansas and University of Texas before becoming a full-time writer in 1976. He has written hundreds of articles, essays and reviews for such magazines as Harper’s, The New York Times Magazine and The New York Review of Books. He is a winner of the National Magazine Award for Public Service.

Senate Republicans give Michigan’s unemployed the finger

LANSING -- The Michigan Senate Republicans joined their U.S. Senate colleagues in giving Michigan’s thousands of unemployed workers looking for work in the Bush recession the middle finger when they refused to even allow a vote on a resolution urging U.S. Senate Republicans to lift their filibuster on a bill that will allow a six-month extension of unemployment benefits and Medicaid funding.

“Today, we are about to break for a couple of weeks for the 4th of July holiday, but because of the Republican Senators and the United States Senate's failure to act on the unemployment extension and the FMAP extension, we are facing some critical issues here in the state of Michigan,“ said Senate Minority Leader Mike Prusi, D-Ishpeming. “If we do not get that extension passed in Washington, D.C., by next week, 97,000 families in Michigan will lose their unemployment benefits.”

The Senate Republicans referred Senate Resolution 172 to the Committee on Government Operations where bills go to die. Democrats moved to discharge the committee from further consideration, but Republicans moved to postpone the motion temporarily.

Republicans have used the lame excuse that the bill will increase the federal budget deficit, but the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said the deficit was because of the Bush tax cuts for the rich that Congress did not pay for and the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The cost of allowing the unemployed an extension is just a tiny fraction of this year’s budget deficit.

“I think that is rather disingenuous when this same crowd of Republicans in six of the eight years of the Bush Administration turned a $236 billion surplus into a $1.4 trillion deficit,” Prusi said. “Now all of the sudden, they want to cut the deficit; they want to cut taxes; they want to cut regulations; they want to cut red tape; and the first thing they go after is cutting millions of Americans out of unemployment benefits and cutting millions of Americans off the Medicaid rolls.”

The Senate was on various recesses on and off on Thursday, waiting for bills to come over from the House because the Legislature breaks for most of the summer. Senate Republicans then moved that further consideration of the resolution be postponed for the day, meaning the summer, but Democrats asked for a vote on that postponement.

As predicted, every single Republican voted to stiff Michigan’s unemployed.

“Those are your constituents and my constituents that week by week will fall off the unemployment rolls; lose the support that keeps their families whole, puts food on their table, pays their rent, and allows them to live a modicum of a decent life here in the state of Michigan,” Prusi said. “They are playing pure partisan politics with the lives of our constituents, and I find it reprehensible that we will not even stand up.”

Republicans quickly moved to adjourn, despite objections from Democrats, and Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing - one of the Senate Republican’s most vocal critics - and Sen. Deb Cherry, D-Burton, were on the board to speak.

I hope Republicans have to go back to parades and picnics and look Michigan’s unemployed constituents in the eye and tell them tax cuts for the rich are more important for their very economic survival.

DRIC bridge and 10,000 Michigan jobs dead until at least the Lame Duck session

The Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee said he was going to slow walk any attempt to build the much-needed planned Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) bridge over the Detroit River between Canada and Windsor, and he confirmed that Tuesday with a speech on the Senate floor.

The Transportation Committee has been holding hearings on House Bill 4961 that would authorize Michigan to enter into a public-private partnership with Canada to build the bridge, but Senate Republicans – the only Republicans in the state – are against the bridge, and they have fought any attempt to build the bridge in order to help Republican benefactor Matty Moroun, the owner of the Ambassador Bridge, keep his monopoly.

Chair of the Transportation Committee, Sen. Jud Gilbert, R-Algonac, said the committee held six hearing on the DRIC totaling 10 hours of testimony, as well as testimony in 2006. He said despite four years of lead time, he was not going to be rushed. He complained that the committee did not get HB 4961 until last May, despite the fact that it had been introduced in May 2009 in the House.

“For years, the House worked on the proposal, and we were not privy to how or why certain changes were made to the bill,” he said. “But now after a year’s work by the House, the Senate is expected to ram this measure through in a matter of weeks.”

It makes you wonder if he was living in a cave since 2006, or why he is against working with his counterparts in the House.

He also questioned Canada’s offer to pick up Michigan’s $550 million share of the project.

“In addition, there are questions on how Canada’s financial contribution to a bridge project would work,” Gilbert said. “Would it be a gift; A loan; What are the ramifications; If it is a loan, would that trigger the constitutional requirements of a two-thirds vote by the Legislature?”

Gilbert said the committee will continue to sort through the details to make an informed decision, but he will not be rushed. However, he has pledged to work with colleagues on both sides of the aisle, as well as with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and all interested parties.

That means it will not get done this summer, and it will have to be taken up in the Lame Duck session in November.

“My top priority throughout all of this is to protect the Michigan taxpayer,” he said. “I will not support any legislation on DRIC from this body that will leave the taxpayer on the hook for one single dime.”

Sen. Ray Basham, the Minority Vice-Chair of the Transportation Committee, said he appreciated Gilbert’s fair handling of the hearings and attempt to get the facts, but he set the record straight on the Canadian offer.

“I especially appreciated the testimony of transport minister John Baird who came before our committee a week ago,” he said. “But I do remember John Baird saying that this was not a loan. This was Canada putting up the money that Michigan would have put up had it been able to and then Canada getting its money back through tolls.”

Basham also said this was not a new concept, and the U.S. did the same thing for Canada in 1938 with the Blue Water Bridge.

“Also Canada has been our partner, even in the war in Afghanistan, and suffered losses also,” Basham said. “They have also been our partner in transportation and commerce. They are our partner in many things and will continue to be.”

Cropsey has a meltdown over DRIC

LANSING – Ambassador Bridge owner and Republican benefactor Matty Moroun’s chief lobbyist, State Sen. Alan Cropsey, R-DeWitt, had a meltdown on the Senate floor on Thursday while fighting off the effort to build the much-needed planned Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) bridge over the Detroit River between Canada and Windsor.

Cropsey has gone the extra mile for Grosse Pointe billionaire in the past; at one time he appeared to be ready to declare war on Canada because they are not willing to give Moroun a permit to land a second Ambassador Bridge on Canadian soil.

The Senate was debating the budget bill for the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) when Cropsey when off on a verbal tirade MDOT director Kirk Steudle following the defeat of an amendment effecting DRIC.

According to subscription only Gongwer that covers the Capitol:

“The lead critic of DRIC in the Senate, Majority Floor Leader Alan Cropsey (R-DeWitt), uncorked a denunciation of DRIC on the Senate floor so furious that he his voice cracked into a squeak at one point.”Kirk Steudle!" Mr. Cropsey bellowed like a parent to a child, pausing almost as if he hoped Transportation Director Kirk Steudle was in the gallery and would respond. "Why don't you give us what the Legislature requested?!"
"This is absolutely abysmal," he yelled, his voice cracking into a squeak and prompting some snickering on the floor. "Are we supposed to vote on this in the dark too, just like the House did?"

Sen. Ray Basham, D-Taylor, introduced an amendment to the budget bill – House Bill 5889 - that would remove the provision that prohibits MDOT from expending any funds on DRIC unless the Legislature passes legislation allowing the construction of DRIC.

“As you all know, we are currently deliberating on this legislation, and under current MDOT boilerplate language, that vote has to have occurred by June 1 of this year,” Basham said. “While I understand that this body is elected to delay the vote in order to fully study and evaluate the legislation, there is no certainty as to when or even if that vote will occur. I believe it is inappropriate to the MDOT expenditures to vote on the bill when we have already failed to meet our own imposed deadline.”

For the past three weeks the Senate Transportation Committee has held hearings on House Bill 4961 that would authorize Michigan to enter into a public-private partnership with Canada, the U.S. and a private sector developer/financier to build the DRIC bridge.

Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, promised an up or down vote on the bill some time ago, but he reneged two weeks ago, saying there would be no vote because MDOT declined to release revenue data on how much money the tolls from a new DRIC bridge would generate. Steudle said he supplied the traffic study as required, and that releasing the revenue data would worsen the state's negotiating position when hiring a concessionaire to participate in the public-private partnership that would oversee the new bridge.

However, to speed the process, Steudle released the study on Wednesday, but Senate Republicans – the only people against building the DRIC – are now saying it’s not enough and they also need at lest 30 days to study it. It also led to Cropsey’s temper tantrum.

“The report we received in our offices yesterday was a preliminary traffic and revenue study,” he said. “They dragged their feet for six weeks before they gave us the final parts of that.’

The Basham amendment failed, and the bill was then passed along party lines with one Republican joining the Democrats in opposition. However, the bill failed to gain the necessary two-thirds vote for immediate effect. That is often used as a form of protest, but it will not matter much because the House and Senate passed different versions and a conference committee will have to work out the differences.

The toll study, however, showed the area will support two bridges, but it will eat into the profits of the 81-year-old private border crossing.

According to the Detroit Free Press on Wednesday:

“A proposed second bridge across the Detroit River would generate about $70 million in its first year of operation and as much as $240 million by 2035, according to a study the Michigan Department of Transportation released today
DRIC revenue during that time would rise from $70.4 million in 2016, the bridge’s first year of operation, to $238.2 million by 2035. It would be more than enough to pay off bonds that would finance the bridge, Steudle said.
Steudle acknowledged that the Ambassador Bridge would lose traffic and revenue once the new bridge is opened, but he said there will be enough of both to support DRIC, the Ambassador and the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron.”

Senate Republicans ignore the pollution of CAFOS

LANSING – The Gulf oil disaster demonstrated less regulation and oversight is not a good thing. Someone better tell that to the Michigan Senate Republicans.

On Wednesday, the Senate approved resolution 158 that urges “the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to rescind rules that would require dairy farms to have oil spill prevention plans for milk storage tanks.” It passed – unfortunately, with bipartisan support – by a vote of 24-10.

Eric Barren at Michigan Liberal had a good on this a few days before Wednesday’s vote:

“The definition of oil is not "petroleum." Oils are substances that at room temperature are viscous liquids that don't mix with water. Alas, the critical, illuminating piece of science is buried under reverse Ripperisms ("Ice cream, Mandrake, childrens' ice cream?"), accusations of government run amok and the standard objection of seemingly insensitive environmental lobbyists.
Those objections, incidentally, make a good deal more sense if you highlight the -- you know -- fundamental science of the issue rather than descending into the same lousy environmental reporting that has helped slow our collective response to global warming for two decades. Instead, we get some tired old narrative about gummint bureaucrats run amok, and policy direction that pretends that calling something an oil is the same thing as calling it petroleum, which itself places policy at odds with basic science definitions.”

The sponsor of the resolution, Sen. Wayne Kuipers, R-Holland, said if the EPA does not act to rescind the rules, we should ignore the law.

Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, noted the irony of that position. Kuipers is running for Congress in the seat vacated by “Twitter” Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland.

“I find it ironic that the previous speaker says we should disregard federal law, yet he is on a mission to go there and make it,” Whitmer said. “With regard to this resolution in front of us, this is a resolution and I think it is odd timing to ask that the EPA not require prevention plans for oil spills; anyone watching C-SPAN around here?”

Whitmer said milk is a wholesome product in a child’s body but not in Michigan’s waterways. Milk can have very serious environmental consequences once released into our surface waters.

Whitmer said according the University of Wisconsin Extension Service, milk has a high biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). BOD measures the amount of oxygen consumed when organic matter, such as milk, is broken down by bacteria. In streams and lakes, bacteria would need the dissolved oxygen from 1,600 gallons of water to break down the organic matter in one pint of milk. Because it depletes oxygen, discharging milk into surface waters can upset biological communities and kill fish. The minimum tank size of 1,320 gallons would be enough to deplete the oxygen in almost 17 million gallons of water.

“Milk also has a high concentration of phosphorus, a nutrient that causes the growth of algae and aquatic plants which can deplete oxygen levels in our lakes and streams, exacerbating an existing problem with excess phosphorus in our waterways,” she said. “In today’s world, it’s especially true that it is not unreasonable to ask that emergency plans be in place in case of milk spills or the failure of bulk milk storage tanks.”

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) have been cited for polluting rivers and streams in Michigan with runoff from manure, and these are huge factory farms. A small CAFO would have 1,000 cows that would result in, at the rate of 20 gallons a day per cow, a volume of milk reaching 20,000 gallons a day. But the largest CAFO in this state hosts 3,000. So we are talking about 60,000 gallons of milk a day.

“Now just to put this in perspective, we are not talking about a few cows and a pretty red barn with a dairy maid sitting on a stool with a little bucket milking a cow,” said Sen. Liz Brater, D-Ann Arbor. “That is not what happens on these farms these days. We have, unfortunately, in this state made it all too easy for CAFOs to operate in this state after they were expelled by the country of the Netherlands.”

Despite widespread voter support, Senate Republicans continue to block voting reform

A statewide poll sponsored by the non-partisan League of Women Voters and the Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks found a whopping 70 percent of Michigan voters believe the Legislature should pass bills to make it easier for them to cast ballots,but the bottleneck, as usual, continues to be Senate Republicans.

No reason absentee voting and early voting have widespread and bipartisan support, including Republican Secretary of State Terri Land. The telephone survey of 600 representative people found support for both reforms did not drop below 55 percent in any of the poll’s 29 demographic segments — whether it be gender, partisan affiliation,age, geography, ethnicity, frequency of absentee voting, occupation or the presence of children in the household, according to a story in the Downriver News Herald.

Still, Senate Republicans continue to block any type of voter reform that will increase voter turnout and make it easier to vote.

The Democratically-controlled House passed no reason absentee voting with bipartisan support in April of last year, but the Senate has refused to take up the bill the last two sessions. In fact, they have not even held a single committee hearing on any voting reform measure.

The House approved early voting in December of 2008 that would allow the polls to be open on Friday, Saturday and Monday before each election. Guess where that bill died?

The House also approved House Bill 4261 in May 2009 with a bipartisan vote of 92-19 that would allow 16-year-olds to pre-register to vote when they get their first driver’s license, but it has sat in the Senate without a hearing for more than a year.

Enough is enough. Call or email your state Senator, and tell them to support the will of the people and move these common sense reforms.

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization with more than 150,000 members and supporters nationwide that has fought since 1920 to improve our systems of government and impact public policies through citizen education and advocacy. Its simple mission is to encourage informed and active participation in government, work to increase understanding of major public policy issues and influences public policy through education and advocacy.

The purpose of the Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks is to promote, enhance and encourage the professional development and standing of municipal clerks; encourage improvement of methods and procedures of duties performed by clerks; and to address legislative matters relating to their responsibilities.

Patterson blasts Bishop in press release

LANSING – Sen. Bruce Patterson, R-Canton, blasted his caucus leader, Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, with a press release Thursday accusing Bishop of playing “insider political games” that “put Michigan lives at risk.”

A brief meeting of the Senate the Energy Policy and Public Utilities Committee on Thursday, chaired by Patterson, touched off the controversy. The committee was to hold a discussion of a bipartisan package of bills, Senate Bills 1310-1313, addressing stopping utility theft, but Patterson learned the bills had been sent to the Judiciary Committee instead.

Patterson said the bills were carefully designed to address the problem of stealing energy, both electricity and natural gas, and instead of being referred to his committee which had been working on the matter for nearly a year “the petty Senate Majority Leader, Sen. Michael Dean Bishop, sent them to the unrelated and ill – prepared Judiciary Committee.” Patterson said for more than a year, he has worked with Rep. Jeff Mayes, D-Bay City, to craft the bills, and that both he and Mayes have held hearings on the legislation and conducted field investigations.

“Energy theft not only increases rates, it’s an extremely dangerous activity that puts families and our neighborhoods at risk,” Patterson said. “Republicans support this legislation; Democrats support this legislation. The only road block is Senator Bishop. It makes no sense.

Patterson said instead of seeing quick action, the legislation is now languishing in the Judiciary Committee, where members are working to educate themselves on the highly complex, multi-faceted legislation. Sen. Wayne Kuipers, R-Holland, chair of the Judiciary Committee, is also a member of the Energy Policy Committee, and Patterson said Kuipers confirmed the bills were only referred to the Judiciary Committee “to mess with Patterson for his continued independence and because of the pretext that the bills were about theft as opposed to energy.”

Patterson had been at odds with Bishop in the past for on occasion voting with Democrats, and he even stripped Patterson of a committee assignment two years ago for helping Democrats discharge a bill Patterson wanted action on.

“If Senator Bishop wants to punish me for my independence, fine; we can address that as a separate issue,” Patterson said. “But assigning this legislation to a committee not prepared for it is recklessly putting Michigan citizens in danger.

Editorial board reluctantly criticizes GOP

It’s rare when the rightwing editorial board of the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus comes out with an editorial critical of a Republican, but it’s hard to ignore the blatant partisan, political games played by Senate Republicans and Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop in unilaterally rejecting appointments Gov. Jennifer Granholm made to six university boards for terms that begin the day she leaves office with no hearings.

Newspapers all over the state have seen through the vindictiveness and pettiness of the action and spoke out, so again, it was hard for the paper to ignore it. Still, the editorial board used it to take shots at the Legislature in general while ignoring the real problem.

You will recall last month that in the middle of budget negotiations, the Senate Republican used two session days to ping the Governor. Granholm made the bipartisan appointments on April 7, and she followed previous precedent set by former Republican Gov. John Engler in making the same type of appointments. But on April 29, the Senate rejected them in mass with no advise and consent hearings along party lines.

Of course, the paper defended the action, at least at first.

“On the very thin veneer of the surface is this issue: Bishop might have a point. He says the governor, who cannot run for re-election because of term limits, is making appointments that go into effect next January when a new governor — quite likely a Republican — will be in office.”

But in the end, they could not ignore the political games of the GOP, but they managed to dam the entire Legislature for the actions of the Republicans.

“But it doesn’t take much digging to uncover a widespread belief that Bishop’s ploy has less to do with good government and more to do with another chance to stick it to the other party. Sometimes it appears as though political gamesmanship is the only skill to be found in Lansing politicians.”

‘Liberal media’ continues to bash Democrats with false attacks

One thing you can count on is rain in April and that the rightwing Livingston County Daily Press & Argus will go out of its way to bash Democrats; the editorial in Friday’s edition called "Throwing gas on the fire in Lansing” is just one more example.

It’s not surprising Democrats don’t get a fair shake when you consider the make up of the editorial board, and the war on journalism waged by Republicans that began in 1971 with the publication of "News Twisters" by Edith Efron and was turned into a political strategy by the Nixon Administration. What is surprising is that even though the paper’s editorial board knows how the legislative process works, they ignore it just to bash Democrats.

At issue is Senate Bill 1227 that addresses early retirement for public school teachers. The Governor introduced a reform plan back in January to induce more experienced teachers to retire and save $87 million the first year and $1.8 billion over the next 10 years. The plan had both carrots to entice them to take the early retirement and some sticks that kicked in if they did not.

Those who take the early retirement would see a small income boost. Their pension would be based on 1.6 percent of earnings rather than 1.5 percent. If they did not take the generous offer, the sticks would kick in that include taking away their dental and vision coverage and included capping years of credit at 30 years.

On April 14 the Republican-controlled Senate passed the bill almost along party lines. However, the carrot and the stick were both stripped out, so there was absolutely no reason for anyone to take it, meaning no money would be saved at all. The only thing left was a small stick that included requiring teachers and state employees who don't retire before October 1 to pay an additional 3 percent of their salary into their respective pension systems.

The newspaper ignored that.

The House passed version provides an "80 and out" threshold for retirement, which would require a person to have a combined age and years of service of 80 to be eligible. It would increase the retirement multiplier to 1.7 for people retiring between June 15 and July 1. Provide a 1.6 multiplier to people retiring between July 1 and October 1.

Because the House and Senate passed different versions, it goes into a conference committee consisting of three members from each body to work out a compromise to present to their respective bodies for an up or down vote.

The House Democrats are going to the negotiating table with something to bargain with, and early reports are that a deal may be reached with a 1.55 multiplier. Sounds like a smart move by the Democrats, but the paper does not see it that way. The final version the Governor will sign will not look like the version either the House or Senate passed.

“The people who write our state laws may work in Lansing. But they live in the same neighborhood as "Alice in Wonderland.” How else to explain the madness coming from House Democrats whose idea of economic reform is to increase taxpayers' obligations by $1 billion."

I would say the people who wrote this editorial must also live in "Alice in Wonderland." The fact is there are no savings if no one takes the early retirement, and under the Senate plan, no one will.

The paper takes its normal chap shots at public employees that are simply not true. Like Senate Republicans, the paper believes reform means cutting wages and benefits of public employees.

“Apparently, in their mind, the financial crisis in the state is a problem for the private sector, but it is an opportunity for greater financial gain for public employees.”

That’s plain old BS. Last August, respected Michigan State University professor of economics Charles Ballard issued a report that said state employees earn less than their private-sector counterparts with comparable educational attainment. The report also confirmed what we already know: state government is smaller now than it was in 1973.

Just last week, a study by the National Institute on Retirement Security confirmed that Michigan public employees are paid, on average, less than private-sector employees with comparable skills and educational levels. Public employees nationwide are paid about 12 percent less than their private-sector counterparts. That has been a trend for 20 years, according to the study.

Then this cheap shot at Democrats:

“The hard truth is that legislative Democrats concern themselves with only one constituency, that being the marching orders from public employee unions, particularly the Michigan Education Association which represents the majority of Michigan public school employees.”

I was under the impression that teachers were citizens. Not only that, but public education has always been a priority for Democrats.

But they end with the most ridiculous claim:

“Remember that this fall when state Democrats again ramp up the need for higher taxes. They will say that the state needs the money to take care of basic needs. What they won't say is that the "basic needs" is code word for even cushier benefits for state employees.”

If you want co condemn House Democrats for one single vote that is just part of the negotiating process no one can stop you. What you really need to remember when police officers and firefighters are being laid off, schools are closing and roads are in bad shape, is that Republicans refused to consider any new taxes or even reforming the tax system. The fact is we are moving toward a serving economy and away from a manufacturing economy, but Michigan’s tax system has not changed in years.

Senate Republicans fiddle while Michigan smolders

LANSING -- If anyone wants to know why bipartisanship and cooperation are hard to come by in Lansing just needs to take a look at the action on Wednesday of the Senate Republicans and Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop in unilaterally rejecting appointments Gov. Jennifer Granholm made to six university boards for terms that begin the day she leaves office with no hearings.

Granholm made the bipartisan appointments on April 7, and she followed previous precedent set by former Republican Gov. John Engler in making the same type of appointments. In fact, at least one of the 14 people on the list, Doug Roberts, was one of those appointed by Engler. None of Engler’s appointees ever had to go through the advise and consent process.

Granholm laid the blame squarely where it belongs.

“Senator Bishop rejected qualified appointees to serve our state universities, making them nothing more than partisan political pawns,” Granholm said in a statement. “He chose to ignore the advice of an attorney in his own caucus and rejected sitting board members like Doug Roberts, who Republicans have confirmed in the past, just to make a partisan point.”

Republicans tried this last Thursday, but Democrats used a parliamentary procedure to thwart them. Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, made a motion to adjourn and Lt. Governor John Cherry Jr., the Senate's presiding officer, granted it - in accordance with Senate rules - over the objection of Senate Majority Floor Leader Alan Cropsey, R-DeWitt.

Republicans were a little more prepared yesterday. They took a recess for an hour until Cherry left the chamber, and they then reconvened with Sen. Randy Richardville, R-Monroe, in the chair and took up the issue.

While the budget waits and people are unemployed, Republicans killed an hour until the Lt. Gov. had to go to another appointment and left the chamber. That is just sad. They again proved that petty politics and keeping power is more important than anything else.

“In addition, it shows that we are having another unproductive and self-serving day in the State Senate,” said Sen. Deb Cherry, D-Burton, “After focusing a full session day on this last week, Senate Republican leadership continues to focus on this political issue instead of addressing the bills to create jobs and help Michigan workers.”

Cherry them brought a motion consider each of the 14 appointees separately. That failed along party lines. Last Thursday, the same motion almost passed, and two Republicans sided with the Democrats while another Republican did not vote because they supported some of the 14 appointees. The effort failed 18-19. Ironically, Richardville voted with the Democrats. He must have gotten a good talking to and went along with the party line.

Only Sen. Bruce Patterson, R-Canton, voted with the Democrats for a second time. Patterson - one of only three attorneys in the Senate - said summarily rejecting the appointments appears to go against the Constitution. He is a stickler for the constitution, and he spent the weekend researching the issue, as well as discovering that Governors as far back as Republican Gov. William Miliken has used the same procedure that was rejected yesterday.

“Here we are taking action en masse, even rejecting people we’ve approved in the past,” Patterson said. “When we look at Article VIII, Section 6, it talks about the boards of control and how they are to be constituted,” Patterson. “But, again, that’s just picky,picky, picky little details.”

Senate Minority Leader Mike Prusi, D-Ishpeming, challenged anyone to "look me in the eye" and say the appointees were getting fair and equitable treatment.

“The Michigan Senate has not rejected university appointments without hearing in recent history,” Prusi said. “Over the last 20 years, no gubernatorial appointee—and that includes Governors of both political parties who have made appointments to the boards of control—has been rejected without at least giving them a hearing.”

Senate Republicans get outplayed in political game

LANSING -- Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop’s attempt to unilaterally reject appointments Gov. Jennifer Granholm made to six university boards for terms that begin the day she leaves office with no hearings failed Thursday with a procedure move by Democrats and some desertions by a GOP caucus that usually marches in lockstep.

Granholm made the bipartisan appointments on April 7, and she followed previous precedent set by former Republican Gov. John Engler in making the same type of appointments. The attempt to reject the appointments without the normal advise and consent hearings upset Democrats and touched off a long debate.

“Article I, Section 17 of our Constitution allows these people the right to a hearing in front of a committee to determine whether or not they are qualified to serve the appointments that the Governor has sought to make,” said Senate Minority Leader Mike Prusi, D-Ishpeming. “The Michigan Constitution does not limit the time period to which the Governor may make an appointment to the office. Because the appointment power is vested in the Governor, the timing of these appointments is within the Governor’s discretion; not just this Governor but every single Governor of the state of Michigan since we approved this Constitution back in 1964.”

The normally organized Republicans were simply outmaneuvered by the minority Democrats.

After all of the agenda had taken care of, the Senate discharged the 14 university appointments in question from the Government Operations Committee, bringing them to the floor. Then the wheels fell off the Republicans‘ bus and their carefully laid plans.

Democrats sought to vote separately on each appointment instead of voting them up or down with just one vote. Normally, those types procedural motions usually go along strictly party lines, but two Republicans sided with the Democrats while another Republican did not vote. The effort failed 18-19.

“I ask you either approve these appointments, or remove this item of business, and let’s get on with what we are supposed to be here doing, not playing partisan, political games,” Prusi said.

As the debate continued and about a dozen senators having requested to speak, Republicans tried to end the debate, but that motion failed with five Republicans breaking ranks to oppose ending debate.

Right after that vote ended, Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, made a motion to adjourn and Lt. Governor John Cherry Jr., the Senate's presiding officer, granted it - in accordance with Senate rules - over the objection of Senate Majority Floor Leader Alan Cropsey, R-DeWitt.

“We can debate the process of gubernatorial appointments and equity all day, and the fairness of this action is definitely questionable, but this is not what the Senate should be focused on in the first place,” Whitmer said. “As leader of the Senate and someone vying to be the top lawyer in the state, you would think that Mike Bishop would have more respect for the state constitution, but his latest emphasis on politics over progress only continues to show how out of touch he is with the people of Michigan.”

Subscription only Gongwer reported that “ Bishop was livid at the Thursday defection,” and “Mr. Bishop left the Senate chamber without speaking to reporters.”

It’s unclear if the issue will be taken up on Tuesday, but clearly some Republicans are impressed with some of the nominees.

Here are the nominees:

FERRIS STATE
Edward Haynor
Larry Leatherwood

CENTERAL MICHIGAN
Ronald Edmonds
Kevin Kelley

WESTERN MICHIGAN
John Cakmakci
George Franklin

MICHIGAN TECH
Russell Gronevelt
Terry Woychowski

GRAND VALLEY STATE
Douglas Crim
Matthew Tomasiewicz

EASTERN MICHIGAN
Michael Hawks
Erane Washington-Kendrick

NORTHERN MICHIGAN
Larry Inman
Douglas Roberts

Republican hypocrisy is confirmed

With the news that Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, will unilaterally reject appointments Gov. Jennifer Granholm made to six university boards for terms that begin the day she leaves office you get an idea of the unprecedented crap she has had to put up with from the Senate.

Granholm made the appointments on April 7, and she followed previous precedent set by former Republican Gov. John Engler in making the same type of appointments. Engler made a number of appointments for board positions, including a number of cronies – including current and former department directors and closest advisers such as Community Health Director James Haveman, former Corrections Director Bill Martin, Treasurer Doug Roberts and legal counsel Lucille Taylor - right before he left office.

But the Senate Republicans completely neglected their duty of advise and consent during the Engler administration, and any Engler appointment was automatic. Not so with Granholm appointees, and each appointee had to go before the appropriate committee and then the full Senate for a vote.

Bishop said back on April 7 that he did not “really like the idea of this governor making appointments for the next governor,” but on Wednesday he officially affirmed that ridiculous position, and he wrote Granholm a letter to inform her of the “Republican caucus' decision to reject those appointments,” according to subscription only Gongwer. It's unclear when a vote will be held. That’s a vote, not the normal advise and consent hearings.

Not only that, but Bishop took it even farther and said that the Senate would reject any gubernatorial appointments made after September 3, as well as any appointments made prior to that date for terms that begin after September 3. Her term does not end until noon on Jan. 1. They will be rejected without a hearing.

Many of the appointees are Republicans, including Roberts, who Engler appointed to the Northern Michigan University board in the same procedure Bishop is rejecting out of hand.

The hypocrisy is just overwhelming, and Granholm press secretary Liz Boyd called them out on it.

“The governor's appointees are qualified, they have bipartisan support and they are entitled to a fair hearing on the merits that the Senate Republicans have promised from the beginning of the Granholm administration," Boyd told Gongwer. "They have assured us that they would not reject qualified candidates. ... This is about Senator Bishop using qualified appointees as partisan political pawns."

GOP hypocrisy trickles down to Michigan Senate Republicans

The hypocrisy of Republicans on display during the health insurance reform debate was stunning, and it now appears it is trickling down to the Michigan Senate Republicans.

Republicans were horrified that the Democrats were going to use reconciliation to get a bill passed that will reduce the budget deficit $130 billion in the first 10 years, but it was OK that former President Bush used reconciliation numerous times, including to give tax cuts to the richest 1 percent that helped create the current budget deficit. Republicans are also upset that President Obama recently bypassed the vacationing Senate and directly appointed 15 nominees that have been held up, but they forgot that Bush had already made 10 recess appointments by this point in his presidency and he made another five over the spring recess, including the disaster John Bolton.

Now, Senate Republicans are getting into the act, and they are upset that Gov. Jennifer Granholm recently made appointments to six public university boards that will take effect the day she leaves office, according to subscription only Gongwer.

"I don't really like the idea of this governor making appointments for the next governor," Gongwer reported Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop as saying. "It's not fair to the next administration, whoever that might be. I'm sure that our members are going to have that same concern about fairness."

Granholm press secretary Liz Boyd told Gongwer that the Governor has followed previous precedent in making the appointments and wants to ensure the university boards don't lack members after a new governor takes office. And what exactly is that previous precedent?

Former Republican Gov. John Engler made a number of appointments for board positions, including a number of cronies – including current and former department directors and closest advisers such as Community Health Director James Haveman, former Corrections Director Bill Martin, Treasurer Doug Roberts and legal counsel Lucille Taylor - right before he left office.

Understandably, Senate Democrats were upset, but being in the minority there was little they could do about it. According to a 2002 edition of Gongwer they called the appointments “inappropriate and said the subject was being researched.”

Engler claimed that the appointments were legal because under the constitution his term expires at noon January 1 while under statute the university board terms expire December 31, giving him a 12-hour window.

The Senate Democrats could not even speak out about it during the confirmation hearings or on the Senate floor because the Senate Republican had given up on its duty of "advise and consent" over gubernatorial appointments under Engler. In fact, the Republican-led body did not take a vote on appointees during the 12 years Engler was in office. Appointments are effective if not rejected by the Senate within 60 days.

Only after Granhom took office did the Senate resume its duty of advise and consent. The hypocrisy of Senate Republicans is stunning.

The 60 day clock is running, and it appears the Senate has until late May to decide whether to reject the appointments. Bishop told Gongwer he would refer the appointments to the Senate Appropriations Higher Education Subcommittee.

Hate ginned up by GOP incites violence

No one who has witnessed one of the misnamed, Astroturf “tea parties” over the last year can be surprised at the death threats and attacks we are seeing on the offices of Democratic lawmakers who voted for the historic health insurance reform bill last week.

Hell, you just needed to see how they disrupted the townhall meetings on health insurance reform last summer to see what was coming.

I said way back in April of last year that the anti-government rhetoric going on now is eerily similar to what I saw in the mid-1990s with the Michigan Militia that only died down with the indictment of Timothy McVeigh for the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995, and like the cockroaches they are, the rightwing extremists dove for cover like somebody turned out the lights when McVeigh’s association with the Militia came out. Now, some of these same people are back, and they have been joined by other extremist groups, fired up by Republican leaders. Those so-called GOP leaders that have not tried to fire them up for political gain, have been silent on speaking out against it and condemning it.

A propane gas line at the Virginia home of the brother of Rep. Thomas Perriello, D-VA, was cut; whose address was targeted by teabagger group angry at the congressman’s vote for the health insurance bill, the address was mistaken for the Congressman’s home. An envelope containing white powder and a threatening letter was delivered to the office of Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner of New York, who has been an outspoken proponent of health care insurance reform efforts.

Here in Michigan where eight of Michigan’s 15 members of Congress voted for the historic bill, some have been the object of threats and intimidation. According to the AP, the Michigan State Police have increased patrols around the home of U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Menominee, who has received obscene and threatening phone calls and faxes.

Now, Reps. Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek, and Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, are the targets of repeated threats. State Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, spoke out about the threats and intimidation on the Senate floor on Thursday.

“And now there are reports of death threats, cutting gas lines, delivering a coffin to the front yard of one lawmaker, and even threats to kill the children of Democratic lawmakers who supported the bill,” she said. “I think we can all agree; Gosh, I hope we can all agree that this has gotten way out of hand, as the rhetoric and rancor is turning into violent action.”

She was especially upset over the silence of so-called Republican leaders who ginned up the rhetoric, and then denied they had.

“In my view, perhaps the worst offense is that people in leadership positions are silent, and astonishingly, in some cases, it appears that they are actually encouraging this horrifying behavior,” Whitmer said. “None of us should take lightly this dangerous trend. We, as leaders, as legislators should condemn behavior like this—Democrats and Republicans alike. If we don’t quell this now, it will surely foment, and as a society, we will all pay as the election tensions rise.”

She plans on introducing a resolution condemning the behavior as soon as the Legislature comes back from it’s two-week Easter break. It will be interesting to see who supports it, if the Senate Republicans even allow a vote in it.

“Please join me in condemning this activity,” she said. “I have a resolution condemning that behavior, and I hope you will consider adding your name to it. “

Teabaggers led by school board member kickoff petition drive, again

Teabaggers led by Howell School Board member Wendy Day are launching a petition drive to stop 32 million Americans with no health care insurance from getting it and violating Howell Public School policy in the process.

Subscription only MIRS is reporting Day and a ballot committee called “Michigan Citizens for Healthcare Freedom” is planning a petition drive kickoff for 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Howell Freshman Campus cafeteria to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot to exempt Michigan from the historic health insurance reform law signed into law by President Obama last week.

This is the same amendment the Senate Republicans tried to pass on March 16, but it fell two votes short of the two-thirds majority it needed to get on the ballot. It’s also the same petition drive extreme rightwing Rep. Tom McMillin, R-Rochester Hills, launched on March 22 outside William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak. Apparently, teabaggers like kickoffs.

Like McMillin, Day has not had much success in petition drives. Day took the unusual step of launching a recall attempt against three of the four Howell Public School Board members who voted to fire the Superintendent. That attempt against her fellow board members failed miserably.

It’s ironic that the petition drive is taking place at the Freshman Campus, 1400 W. Grand River Ave. It also houses both the district’s administrative offices and board office. District policy bars facilities and equipment from being used for political campaigns. That was illustrated in April 2007 when the district canceled a forum for school board candidates, and cited the district policy that states, “District facilities and equipment shall not be used or made available for political campaigns.”

That was simply a nonpartisan forum so voters could hear from candidates, and this petition drive is extremely partisan.

Constitutional Amendments require the valid signatures of registered voters equal to 10 percent of the total number of votes cast for all candidates for governor in the last election, and that comes out to the signatures of 380,126 registered voters just to place it on the ballot. The Michigan State Board of Canvassers must first approve the ballot language before any signatures are collected. Once language is approved, the required signatures must be collected in six months and there can be no more than 90 days between the first and last signature. Any signatures collected before the board of canvassers are invalid, and that, to my knowledge has not happened.

However, the ballot committee, “Michigan Citizens for Healthcare Freedom,” was filed with the Michigan Secretary of State on March 22, and Day is listed as the treasurer.

MIRS reported “Day said the Michigan Citizens for Healthcare Freedom is in the process of rallying liberty groups across the state to pass around petitions for this effort.”

Republicans get even more desperate in their attempt to deny people health care

Apparently, Republicans in Michigan are not happy that 32 million Americans with no health care insurance will now have it, health insurance companies will no longer be allowed to deny people coverage because of preexisting condition, the federal budget deficit will be cut by $138 billion over the next decade, seniors on Medicare will pay less for their prescription drugs and young adults will be able to remain on their families' insurance plans until age 26, and they are launching a petition drive to kill the historic health insurance reform bill passed on Sunday.

The Detroit News is reporting that rightwing and teabagger state Rep. Tom McMillin, R-Rochester Hills, is helping launch a petition drive to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot designed to exempt Michigan from the historic health insurance reform law. McMillin did not have much luck with the last petition drive he was involved with the failed recall attempt in 2007, and this one will fail, too.

This is the same political stunt the Senate Republicans tried week that failed to get enough votes.

McMillin announced the petition drive outside William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak today. Ironically, hospital officials made it a point to say they do not support the petition effort and support health insurance reform. Constitutional Amendments require the valid signatures of registered voters equal to 10 percent of the total number of votes cast for all candidates for governor in the last election, and that comes out to the signatures of 380,126 registered voters just to place it on the ballot.

I watched the publicity stunt on WDIV TV news, and they were already collecting signatures. Those signatures do not count. The Michigan State Board of Canvassers must first approve the ballot language before any signatures are approved. Once language is approved, the required signatures must be collected in six months and there can be no more than 90 days between the first and last signature.

Even if they collect enough signatures and it won at the ballot box, it’s unconstitutional. It violates Article VI of the U.S. Constitution, known as the supremacy clause.

In a move that is even more pure, election politics and pandering to the fringe teabaggers that have become the Republican Party, Michigan Republican Attorney General and Gubernatorial candidate “Manoogian” Mike Cox plans to file a legal challenge to the health insurance reform law’s constitutionality, contending that it violates the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

To help fight off this misinformation campaign, make a contribution to Progress Michigan. They have identified a donor who will put up a dollar to match every dollar you give up to $10,000 to help in the fight to protect the health care reform we all fought so hard to achieve.