Michigan Democrats- go big or go small?
As of this past November 2022 election, the Democratic Party in Michigan will control a “trifecta” of Michigan government for the first time since 1984! Ballotpedia defines “trifecta” as one political party holding the majority in the state house, state senate and the governors office.
Although Ballotpedia doesn’t go back as far as 1984, their graphic for trifecta does illustrate state government control back to 1992- the infamous Engler years. The Republicans had total control of state government for fourteen of thirty-one years.
During these one party control, Republicans passed so-called right to work legislation undermining unions, passed an egregious gutting of the no-fault auto insurance (admittedly with some Democratic support) which literally cost people their lives, undermined the drive toward a liveable minimum wage. Citizen referendums threw out an anti-democratic emergency manager law and Republicans returned with a new tweaked one used to take control of local municipalities and school districts. The emergency manager law led to poisoning of an entire city (Flint Michigan) during the trifecta Republican control under governor Snyder. Citizen referendums passed to implement no-reason mail-in voting and the Republican legislature immediately tried to undermine this. It was only for the veto power of Democratic governor Whitmer that this was prevented.
It should be noted, too, that these are not the ONLY branches of government that can be dominated by one party. The State Supreme Court in April 2020, dominated by Republican jurists, used specious reasoning (the non-delegation clause) to throw out legislation used by Governor Whitmer regarding emergency powers to manage the Covid pandemic. As of the election of November 2020, however, more liberal oriented justices were placed on the court.
The question before us now is: Will the Democratic Party in Michigan uses its power to actually get stuff done- real reform and change? Or will it go small, fearing the all to inevitable accusation from the hollow rightwing of the GOP and electorate, of being “radical,” implementing “socialism,” and other such epitaths? You know what? We will see those accusations and terms tossed around ANYWAY. Wingnuts in the GOP side of the political spectrum have eventhrown such accusations at some middle-of-the-road Democrats- to which those of us on the more aggressive progressive side of the polity find laughable and ironic. And to which I could only say “I WISH.”
My fear is that rather than actually use their power for real good and change, Democrats, fearing some alleged and unknowable backlash in 2024, will instead be tepid and meek, pass marginal legislation and then lose in 2024 anyway having accomplished very little.
Look- the Republicans in this state have shown NO hesitation to use their dominance, when they have it, to pass their own highly radical legislation to remake society into some 1880s image. In my view, Democrats should go down swinging, rather than be lay on the ropes. They can either give a knockout to the insurrectionist, anti-democracy Republican Party, or play nice and let the Republicans still cry about so-called radicalism.
Would you rather lose for going big? Or lose for going small?
