Teabagger effort to deny people health care dies a natural death

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.

Health care petition drive signs up GOP donors

Political consultants Joe DiSano and Joe Munem offered more ammo for their theory that the petition drive to stop 32 million Americans with no health care insurance from getting it and place a constitutional amendment on the ballot to exempt Michigan from the historic health insurance reform law is little more than an exercise to build a mailing list of Republican supporters and contributors for the upcoming election.

The Astroturf “tea parties” are a Republican effort, and on their April 24 pod cast, the Republican and Democratic strategists connected the dots to show the petition drive is an effort to collect names and addresses the Republicans can solicit support and money from.

DiSano and Munem first floated that theory earlier this month, and in talking about the Republican primary in Michigan’s 9th Congressional district for the chance to run against U.S. Rep. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, they again floated that theory.

Perennial candidate Andrew "Rocky" Raczkowski and Paul Welday are the Republicans in the race. DiSano and Munem made the point that Glenn Clark, the Republican Chair of the 9th Congressional District who is supposed to neutral, is working for Strategic National Consulting, a Republican political consulting firm owned by Chuck Yob.

Raczkowski is a client of Strategic National, so how can Clark be neutral? Clark is also, apparently, the chair of the Oakland County Tea Party,” what ever that is.

One things political consultants do is collect and sell to candidates lists of supporters and potential donors. That’s exactly want Clark is doing with this petition drive, and he is directly getting the names right from the petitions.

The tooth fairy responds to fire at teabagger HQ

The irony of teabaggers allegedly protesting taxes and out of control government spending at the fake Astroturf “tea parties” on public property provided by taxpayers continues with the news of an electrical fire at the headquarters of the teabagger group collecting signatures to try and stop 1.3 million Michiganders from getting health care coverage and exempt Michigan from the historic health insurance reform law signed into law by President Obama last month.

Head teabagger and extremist Howell Public School Board member Wendy Day reported that an electrical fire broke out at the group’s Lansing HQ at 2:30 p.m. Thursday. She reported in an email that they immediately called 911 and grabbed everything we could and ran out of the building.

“It was quite exciting to watch four fire trucks and a dozen firefighters show up ready for action,” she wrote. “The trunks of our vehicles are now full of petitions, office supplies and even our plant.”

This email was, of course, a plea for money. Gee, I wonder who was paying for those four fire trucks and firefighters that responded so quickly? Oh yes, taxes. It’s funny, the City of Lansing plans to close a fire station because of revenue shortfalls, yet when you call 911, you expect an immediate response and you get one.

We already know the teabaggers are the extremist wing of the Republican Party, and former GOP Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich confirmed that. That’s why the Michigan Republican Party is helping with the teabaggers petition drive to stop health insurance reform. Teabaggers/Republicans have to collect the signatures of 380,126 registered voters no later than July 5 to place the measure on the ballot.

Subscription only Gongwer is reporting that another traditional GOP ally is joining the petition drive. Officials with the Michigan office of the National Federation of Independent Business said Thursday it would help collect signatures to put the proposal on the ballot. The group will pass out petitions to its members, as well as use its agents to help collect signatures.

This is an obvious disservice to its members. The law will provide tax credits for up to 109,000 Michigan small businesses to make coverage more affordable. Only 43 percent of small businesses are able to provide health care to their employees, yet they are opposing something that will help them provide for the employees they say they value.

Health Care petition drive looks to nonprofits for help

Health Care for Michigan is looking to Michigan’s progressive, nonprofit and human service community to help with its petition drive to force a ballot initiative to require health care for all residents.

Health Care for Michigan is already a coalition of labor, religious and activist groups, but it wants to get more petitions into the hands of people by going to the numerous organizations and advocacy groups out there.

The coalition wants to amend the state constitution to require the Legislature to pass laws to ensure that "every Michigan resident has affordable and comprehensive health care coverage through a fair and cost-effective financing system." In order to do that, they must collect 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. That comes out to 380,126 signatures that must be collected by July 7 to put the measure on the November general election ballot.

“Part of my job is to get petitions to the various groups out there and have them returned them to me,” said John Freeman, chairman of the of the ballot committee.

The petition drive really got going during the Jan. 15 Michigan Presidential Primary election, and it was the best opportunity to get that many registered voters in one place.

“We had people on the street during election day,” Freeman said. “They were all registered voters, so it was a good opportunity to get the signatures we need.”

Petition drive to guarantee Michigan health care gets off the ground

Beginning with the presidential primary Tuesday and continuing through the summer, people can expect to see an army armed with blue petition forms seeking signatures to give Michigan residents affordable health care.

Health Care for Michigan is a coalition of labor, religious and activist groups that wants to amend the state constitution to require the Legislature to pass laws to ensure that "every Michigan resident has affordable and comprehensive health care coverage through a fair and cost-effective financing system."

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. That comes out to 380,126 signatures that must be collected by July 7 to put the measure on the November general election ballot.

The groups have already started collecting signatures, and they have 90 days between when the first and last signatures are gathered to turn the petitions in to the Secretary of State. To ensure the group has enough signatures that can withstand challenge, the coalition hopes to get 425,000 signatures. The group held press conferences across the state last week to help create a buzz, and members are busy training people to circulate petitions and to act as representatives for the drive.

“We are certainly creating a lot of excitement across the state,” said Valerie Przywara, a field organizer with Michigan Universal Health Care Access Network, a statewide network that promotes comprehensive health care.

John Freeman, chairman of the of the ballot committee, said political leaders in Washington and Lansing have failed to deal with a broken health care system. The constitutional amendment, he said, would require that state leaders craft a "Health Care Security Plan" that ensures that people who currently have health insurance won’t lose it, provides health insurance coverage for those without it and controls and reduces health costs.

“Far too many people are one serious accident or a pink slip away from bankruptcy and losing their health care, and that’s wrong,” Freeman said last week. “No one that works hard and plays by the rules should have their families or business cast into financial ruin because they don’t have access to affordable health care.”

The petition drive has picked many supporters, including Gov. Jennifer Granholm. Also supporting the drive are more than two dozen organizations, including the Service Employees International Union, AARP Michigan, Michigan Unitarian Universal Social Justice Network, Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS), Michigan Disability Rights Coalition and the Michigan Osteopathic Association.

U.S. manufacturers, especially automakers, are finding it hard to compete globally because of the high cost of supplying health care to employees and retirees. Foreign governments are helping foreign auto companies compete by providing health care for employees to make their cars cheaper and U.S. cars more expensive. There are also an estimated 750,000 to 1 million Michigan residents with no health care at all.

The main opposition is coming from business groups like the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, which say they are concerned with the cost of providing government health care.

“We are, of course, preparing for opposition, but we really don’t see any major opposition,” Przywara said. “We believe the petition drive supports both a private and public solution to a major problem.”

Every election season Michigan residents are bombarded with petition drives, and this year voters may see petition drives aimed at allowing use of medical marijuana, allowing anyone 18 and older to use cannabis on private property, calling for a part-time Legislature, make Michigan a so-called Right to Work state and even a measure to put every tax increase on the ballot. Many critics say it is far too easy to get something on the ballot, and it takes away the concept of representative government in favor of mob rule. They also say any legislator can introduce a bill for universal health care at any time. But proponents say the petition drive, if successful, would give the Legislature the ability to craft its own health proposal.

“The constitution is the highest authority,” Przywara said. “We are simply telling the Legislature what we want with this petition drive, and we will hold them accountable.”