Big changes to recall process after right-to-work vote enrage Michigan Democrats

[Coyotl]

Source: mlive.com = By David Eggert

LANSING - Legislative Republicans early Friday approved big changes to the state's procedures for recalling elected officials, drawing withering criticism from Democrats who alleged it was an act of self-preservation in the wake of the passage of a right-to-work law earlier this week.

The legislation, approved 22-16 by the Senate around 9:30 p.m. Thursday, has a combined effect of making it more difficult to recall lawmakers, the governor and local officials, Democrats said. The GOP-controlled House, which approved an earlier version of the legislation last week, agreed with the changes on a 65-40 vote after 2 a.m. Friday.

One significant change would shorten the time to collect recall signatures from 90 to 60 days. Officials subject to recalls would have opponents instead of the existing system under which recall elections are an up-or-down vote.

The opponent would be selected in a primary election before the recall ...

Read more: http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/12/legislatures_changes_to_recall.html

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Article is on December 14, 2012 at 2:30 AM, as the Michigan Republicans are working late to burn down the house of democracy.

This has become an assault on democratic government. We should ask why? Partisan politics is why, and that constitutes abuse of power.

Changes that are needed include eliminating lame duck legislating!

Regarding the anti-government movement generally, it has a context too important to ignore. The context to define is "What motivates nefarious players, counter-democratic interests, to want to control politics?" Profit. The largest reserve of energy in the world is under the Western United States, which is about half public lands. Beware those who would destroy democracy to steal it or steal democracy to own it. The people own the country, last time I checked, not a few Plutocrats who write laws like the Halliburton Exception.

[LynneSin]

1. After Wisconsin my thoughts are to focus on 2014

Hopefully the courts will overturn this heinious RTW law and that'll be that.

But I think it's a giant waste of money to recall now especially for those people up for re-election in 2014

[itsrobert]

2. Work towards 2014 and take US House republican members out too.

This is a battle at the local, state, and federal level.

[LynneSin]

5. THe problem is we will never take back the US House even if we poor zillions...

into the race.

I did a study of the PA US House races from 2012 where GOP won 13 of 18 House races. Yet overall more people in PA voted for Democrats to be their representative.
THanks to the 2010 redistricting done by the GOP with a GOP Govenor they like 75% of the democratic voters into 5 districts while making sure it was impossible to win the other 13.

The ONLY way we can take back the house is first make sure we have plenty of democratic governors in 2010. Remember the state house/congress districts are also badly gerrymandered so if the governor is GOP and the congress is controlled by the GOP then we are fucked. If we get democrats in as governor then perhaps we can have more compromise to get these seats set in a fairer manner.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

6. "have plenty of democratic governors in 2010" ... you mean 2020?

Tempus fugit.

I expect Michigan's next Rethug move will be to outlaw re-gerrymandering, in case we have another Democratic governor.

Or, maybe, Michigan's next Rethug move will be to apportion the electoral college delegates, instead of the current winner-take-all method.

Our current Republican House, Senate, and Governor's house create a perfect storm. A Koch-ALEC-Gingrich-Norquist dreamscape.

[LynneSin]

10. PErsonally I want gerrymandering outlawed EVERYWHERE

Sure it might cost us a few seats in California, but overall we'd eliminate this bullshit over House elections stacked so one team wins EVEN when they are very unpopular with the voters.

[heaven05]

12. based

on a national census, the rethugs were allowed to gerrymander districts in their favor even though those districts had more democrat voter than rethug? How? Without a fight? I've got to research this, yet if someone knows, I'd like to know. Methinks there is some nefarious skullduggery is afoot here. One person, one vote, right? I got to research this.

[dragonlady]

20. Here is what happened in Wisconsin

The Republican majority in the legislature hired an outside law firm (Reince Priebus's firm, in fact) to draw up the districts in secret, without Democrats' input. They cleverly made districts so that, for example, Democrats would be making up an 80% majority in one district but not be able to help in a district next door where a Republican could win with 51%. The districts were designed to withstand legal challenge because they have almost exactly the same populations and are acceptable as to the rights of minorities. These maps were challenged in federal court but the court found they met constitutional requirements except for one pair of districts that were changed to improve the prospects for Latinos.

One of our Democratic legislators has been advocating for years to change the law and set up an impartial panel to do the redistricting (like in Iowa) but that never went anywhere.

[Jackpine Radical]

22. Here are the details of the Wisconsin gerrymandering re: House seats.

[heaven05]

25. thank you

[AdHocSolver]

21. I suggest starting your research at the Wikipedia page for coup d'etat.

link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coup_d%27etat

[heaven05]

26. I shall

[bemildred]

3. You can kiss bipartisanship goodbye, this means war. nt

[RoccoR5955]

4. What's next on their agenda, legal dictatorship? n/t

[Coyotl]

8. By all appearances, you nailed it!

[Shadowflash]

15. Yup. Again.

http://sync.democraticunderground.com/10021965076

[Coyotl]

7. House Dems Slam Republicans' 11th-Hour Rewrite of Voter Rights

http://www.housedems.com/news/article/house-dems-slam-republicans-11th-hour-rewrite-of-voter-rights
December 14, 2012

House Dems Slam Republicans' 11th-Hour Rewrite of Voter Rights
Last-minute Republican bill hampers recall efforts, suppresses voters

LANSING - Michigan House Democrats early Friday morning denounced a last-minute Republican effort to squash voter rights by making recalls of elected officials virtually impossible and limiting the ability of citizens to cast a ballot. The measures were introduced to the Senate late Friday evening and passed by the House around 2:15 a.m. in the closing minutes of the 2012 legislative session.

“Republicans should be ashamed of what they are doing to democracy in our state,” Rep. Jon M. Switalski (Warren) said. “Time and time again this week, Republicans in the Legislature have ignored the will of the people and passed bills that citizens do not want. Now, cowardly fearing retribution, Republicans have passed a law that seeks to make them immune to consequences for what they have done.”

The desperate attempt to insulate themselves from the judgment of the people came in the same week Republicans passed new laws that weaken collective bargaining rights, reinstate an emergency financial manager law voters overturned last month and directed taxpayer dollars out of schools and into the building of a private stadium. Later in the overnight session, the House passed Republican-backed restrictions on abortion clinics that will restrict women’s access to health care and put abortion-providing facilities out of business.

“Accountability is a cornerstone of democracy,” said Rep. Barb Byrum (Onondaga). “If politicians are freed from the possibility of recall, then they can — and they will — rule with a complete disregard of what the people want. What Republicans are doing betrays democracy and is un-American.”

Another new law requires voters to prove their citizenship before receiving a ballot and have a photo ID to pick up an absentee ballot. House Democrats vow to fight against the onslaught against democratic principles through any and all legal means.

“Despite what House Republicans believe, the people of Michigan still want to live in a democracy,” Byrum said. “If Republicans are moving to dismantle democracy in Michigan, then the people of the state are looking to us to restore it. We will not rest until transparency, accountability and democracy are the law of the land once again.”

[sinkingfeeling]

9. Michigan GOP: the face of the new American fascists!

[loyalkydem]

11. Is this going to motivate those complaining about President obama

[BE10sCoach]

13. Republicans in Michigan

What a bunch of "Mouth Breathing Scum", not much more to say. If they can't win on ideas, this little minority of fantical pukes try to supress the vote, change the rules and do things in a lying secret manner. Their days are numbered, so let's all remember this. NEVEVR sit aroudn again in off year elections and let this little minority gain power. They should all rot in Hell!

[Iliyah]

14. What comes around goes around

GOD don't like ugly and what the insane party of no is doing can be overturned by the court system in MI. Also, this makes GOPpers look even more deranged and desperate, showing most sane Americans what is in-store for them if they keep voting GOP. Thats why GOPpers are trying to take most Americans voting rights away.

[Auggie]

16. Got to be honest here ...

who would want to live/work in Michigan after all this? What kind of people do they hope relocate there (aside from more of their own)?

I left Ohio and discovered a progressive's dream in the San Francisco Bay Area. I'd never move back.

[Coyotl]

17. One way to alter political control is demographic change.

Be that flight or new residents. These Rs would love to see liberals flee "their" state.

[cascadiance]

19. Might lose them a few seats in the house / electoral college votes

If the state's population goes down.

Unfortunately, if they have power then, they'll use that as an opportunity to remove/merge districts with popular Democratic incumbents in a way to force them out, kind of like Ohio did with Kucinich.

I think it really depends on how the courts decide whether these laws can take effect or not, and there should be battle right now to fight them while they still are in the courts. If the recall rules can be struck down, there should be an effort to recall the governor put back on the front page again. Might be too expensive and tough to recall all of those other complicit legislators, but the symbolic and strategic removal of Snyder seems like a good move to stop this madness, especially if you can get a Democrat to replace him to stop all of this crap from going through subsequently.

Also, Obama should prioritize getting through court appointments for Michigan to happen this coming term that have been blocked by the GOP with new fillibuster rules. And put in some strong justices there that won't take any BS from these fascists!

[llmart]

18. Michigan will become the new Texas.

Bunch of redneck, low information voters who think that corporations will be on their side when they need jobs. Never mind that there's plenty of evidence to show that's not true, when you're a low information voter you are gullible and the GOP preys on that gullibility.

Michiganders better wise up and start right now to formulate a plan to take our state back from the crazies and the influence of money.

[Odin2005]

23. Snyder is a FASCIST.

[santamargarita]

24. Republicans are nothing but chicken shit assholes!

[earthside]

27. We've got a rogue legislature here.

Perhaps we need a federal 'emergency' government act to take over state legislatures the way the governor of Michigan can/could abolish city governments in that state and appoint an 'emergency' ruler.

I wonder how those Repuglican-Teabag legislators and this governor would like that?

[drm604]

28. They have no shame.