The one question you need to ask yourself whenever the GOP is fighting for something

As Chris has been reporting, Michigan’s GOP is taking the thumping they received on November 6 as a sign they need to become even more extreme by pursuing privatization of schools and a “right to work” for less law.

In their effort to bust unions in the heart of union country, they’ve adopted the slogan “Freedom to Work,” which had previously been used by LGBT groups that actually were fighting for the freedom to work.

Why “right to work” for less? You can guess.

But in case you can’t, I’d like to introduce my Republican Litmus Test to be used whenever you’re wondering why the GOP is doing something. It came to me when I found out that the GOP in the Senate had blocked a disabilities treaty even though a former GOP candidate for Senate and GOP Leader had rolled to the floor of the Senate in his wheelchair to lobby for the treaty.

It turned out that the far right of the party was playing up an aspect of the treaty that Rick Santorum says could have led to the abortion or euthanization of his disabled daughter even though the treaty was modeled after a U.S. law signed by George H.W. Bush.  This specious claim will now deprive disabled people around the basic access to education, health care and employment.

Hence: If you’re ever wondering why the GOP is fighting for something, use The GOP Litmus Test: Does it (a) help rich people or (b) spread abortion paranoia?

In the U.N. disability treaty, the answer is b.

For the “right to work” for less, the answer is a.

Here’s a simple chart from the AFL-CIO to explain why rich people want to break up union workplaces in Michigan and why workers will pay if they do.

Click the image to sign their petition

The good fight was fought

After the devastating result on Tuesday to recall Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, Michigan Rising, the group who organized two efforts to recall Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, has decided to end its signature gathering. It’s a smart decision given the apparent lack of enthusiasm, interest and level of involvement by Michiganders from the highest levels of the Michigan Democratic Party and unions to the ground level grassroots volunteers. A sparse turnout at their kickoff rally was only one of many symptoms of what appears to be a malaise that has infected progressive activists in Michigan. This only became more apparent as they reached June 1st with only a few thousand signatures, well below what would be needed to be successful.

Ending the recall attempt now allows efforts to be focused more intensely on the election of democrats at every level, particularly in our state legislature. It is important to realize that the Wisconsin results had a glimmer of good news. With the victory of Democrat John Lehman over Republican Van Wanggaard in Wisconsin’s 21st state senate district, the Wisconsin senate is now majority Democrat. Because of that, Scott Walker no longer has the ability to do whatever he wishes to do.

The situation is the same in Michigan. If we can flip just a handful of seats from Republican to Democrat, we can turn the House blue and make sure that not a single piece of legislation hits the desk of Rick Snyder that doesn’t have a the Democratic seal of approval on it.

Michigan Rising says they will shift to becoming a “think tank” to rival the conservative think tanks. I’m dubious about such a claim and about think tanks in general. Also, Progress Michigan already fills this niche and it is unnecessary for there to be two competing progressive groups of this nature. It seems to me that their efforts are better spent on the state House and Senate elections that are so critically important to stopping the Republican juggernaut in our state. Perhaps this is what they will do.

My hat is off to them and to all of the volunteers for Michigan Rising and the Committee to Recall Rick Snyder before them. Thousands of you worked hard for an uncertain outcome because you believed in the cause. The lack of success is simply an outcome of the lack of involvement by key parties that could have made a significant difference, the difficulty of the task itself and the lack of experience of those who led the effort. It is not a reflection of the passion, hard work and dedication of the volunteers who gave their time, energy and sweat in the attempt.

Here is the press release from Michigan Rising, released this morning:

Effort to Recall Governor Snyder Enters New Phase as Recall Effort Ends
Michigan Rising has been deeply impressed by the energy and passion shown by the thousands of volunteers and petition signers over the past 15 months. Michigan residents from all walks of life have demonstrated a commitment to one goal: stopping the corporate takeover of Michigan. Michigan Rising attempted to accomplish this goal through an effort to Recall Governor Rick Snyder.

“It has become abundantly clear that Michigan Rising was not going accomplish its goal of recalling Governor Snyder. The results in Wisconsin crystalized how difficult a task it is to recall a sitting governor, even when the unions and the Democratic Party play a significant role in the effort. To quote the words of Senator Ted Kennedy, ‘The work goes on. The cause endures. The hope still lives and the dream shall never die,’” said Communications Director Bruce Fealk.

The recall effort was well short of its benchmark to have 200,000 petition signatures by June 1.

Michigan Rising as of Thursday, June 7, 2012, will no longer be collecting signatures to recall Governor Snyder. The fact that Wisconsin could not oust Governor Walker after 16 months of protests and gathering over 1 million signatures makes it clear how difficult it is to recall a governor and why it has only been successful twice in U.S. history.

However, Michigan Rising is not giving up on the goal of stopping the corporate takeover of our beloved state. Michigan Rising will be transitioning from a recall effort into a long term project to develop a progressive think tank to rival conservative think tanks, and develop progressive leaders and support current progressive legislators.

Corporate interests proved, yet again, that a huge funding gap can influence the ballot box.

Our volunteers aren’t finished. You’ll soon see Michigan Rising volunteers raising awareness of Governor Snyder’s tactics, fighting to protect union rights and working to restore the social safety net and becoming progressive leaders.

Julius Muller, Michigan Rising’s CEO said, “We will continue to forge ahead in this battle against the corporate takeover of Michigan. While our tactics will change and our processes adapt, our goal to preserve democracy remains. I believe our decision to end this campaign is the right one. It will allow Michigan Rising to explore more viable options and free our network of supporters and volunteers to focus on more feasible opportunities through which we can achieve the victories necessary for democracy to ultimately prevail.”

We might be putting down the clipboards, but we’re revving up. We’re going to Occupy This Governor. We want to create a think tank to advance the best ideas for Michigan – not the most convenient ideas money can buy. We’re going to get out the vote in the August and November elections.

Get your democracy on

Michigan Rising, the group working to recall Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, has hit the ground running. According to spokesperson Bruce Fealk, the group already has tens of thousands of petitions in the field in the first few weeks of their signature-gathering drive.

As of this week they have distributed more than 50,000 petitions in 57 of Michigan’s 83 counties.

There are currently eight permanent signing locations in the state in Traverse City, Frankfort, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Mt. Pleasant, Allegan County, Ypsilanti, St. Clair and Macomb County. You can find the exact locations of the fixed petitions HERE.

Michigan Rising will also have a booth at this weekend’s Motor City Pridefest, which brings in nearly 100,000 people to Hart Plaza in Detroit on Saturday, June 2 from 2-10 p.m. and Sunday, June 3 from 12-8 p.m.

Fealk, who has spent considerable time working with activists in Wisconsin to recall Governor Scott Walker, had this to say:

A lot is riding on the recall elections in Wisconsin on June 5th. If Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch are successfully recalled, it will give the Michigan effort a short in the arm.

Wisconsin has our back!

Yesterday’s kick-off rally for the second attempt to recall Michigan Governor Rick Snyder was far more sparsely attended than was hoped but the quality of the speakers was fantastic. The event was emceed by progressive talk show radio host (and my personal friend) Tony Trupiano, shown there at the right. Tony hosts the First Shift morning radio show on AM 1310 WDTW where I “appear” once every two weeks on the Blog Role segment.

The Forward Band from Wisconsin traveled to Michigan for the rally. These people have been performing labor songs in their state Capitol building every day since the effort to recall Scott Walker started.

Perhaps the highlight of the day was the appearance of John Nichols from The Nation magazine and Madison resident who has been a strong ally to Walker recall. He fired up the crowd and let them know that big things often start small and can grow huge when committed, passionate activists get engaged.

Also on the roster was the Reverend Charles Williams II along with many others.

“Not Exactly Rick Snyder”, a local comedian made an appearance and even signed a recall petition.

No rally would be complete without signs and several of them referenced the font fiasco of last week.

It remains to be seen if enough activists will rally to this cause. If nothing else, the rally was a continued expression of our distaste for what’s happening to our state under Governor Snyder. Several thousand folks viewed the livestream and the roughly 300 attendees that came and went throughout the day to sign petitions and support the cause heard some impressive speeches.

Video of the event is below. John Nichols is at around the 9 minute mark, my good friend Brit Satchwell comes at 69 minutes, and my speech comes at the 109 minute mark. Enjoy.

Democracy: use it or lose it

In a perfect confluence of democratic goings-on, I hereby dub May 5th, 2012 Democracy Day in Michigan. Two key events are happening that day. First, from 9 a.m. until noon, Democrats across the state will caucus to choose Barack Obama as their candidate for President of the United States.

Then, starting at 2 p.m., there will be a rally on the grounds of the State Capitol to kick-off the second attempt to gather enough signatures to put the recall on Governor Rick Snyder on the November ballot.

DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS INFORMATION
In addition to choosing our candidate for President, the caucuses give Michigan Democrats a chance to meet, discuss the election ahead, meet local candidates in an easy, conversational setting and to learn about the various ballot measures for petitions are currently being circulated. At some caucus sites, local candidates will give a brief speech about themselves. You’ll likely have petitions available to sign and you’ll get a chance to connect with other Democrats in your area.

Things will get started at 9 a.m. and the registration to vote at the caucus ends at 11 a.m. You must be 18-years old or older, registered to vote (or be eligible to vote in the November election and willing to pledge that you will register to vote by then) and in line by 11 a.m. to vote. You will be asked to sign a statement saying your are participating as a Democrat. Please bring an id of some sort (does not need to be a photo id.)

NOTE: YOU MUST GO TO THE SPECIFIC CAUCUS FOR YOUR AREA ONLY! You can find the caucus locations for every Congressional District (CD) in Michigan HERE. There are around 200 caucus sites around Michigan.

If you are a candidate or represent one of the various ballot initiatives/referendums and wish to participate in one or more of the caucuses in your area, contact the Democratic County Party Chair for your area right away. You can find that information HERE.

SNYDER RECALL KICK-OFF RALLY INFORMATION
The rally starts at 2:00 and thousands of people are expected to attend.

In fact, it’s essential that thousands of people DO attend. The huge rallies in Wisconsin galvanized the activists and volunteers there and we need to do the same here as we fight back against a conservative/corporate takeover of Michigan.

Please plan to attend and help spread the word throughout all of your networks.

Speakers include:

• John Nichols from The Nation magazine
• Tony Trupiano from the First Shift radio show – the Emcee for the rally
• Bruce Fealk from Michigan Rising
• Les Little from Hood Research
• Pat Selby, Director Project Vote Michigan
• Zachary Steve, President Young Dems of Michigan
• Stephanie Terpening, musician
• Mariah Schafsnitz & Paul Barton
• Sarah Lawrence, Poet and Activist
• Mark Boyd (Not Exactly Rick Snyder)
• Rev. Charles Williams, National Action Network
• Chris Savage from Eclectablog (me!)

Here’s the flyer for the event. Click on it for a full-size version.

NOTE: if you are unable to attend the event, you will be able to watch it live here at Eclectablog. The live-stream will begin at 2:00 p.m.

[CC image credit: batcula | Flickr]

This is going to be big

Next Saturday, May 5, 2012 is the kickoff of the second attempt to recall Rick Snyder. It will start with a huge rally at the state Capitol building and you won’t want to miss it. The event starts at 2:00 and thousands of people are expected to attend.

In fact, it’s essential that thousands of people DO attend. The huge rallies in Wisconsin galvanized the activists and volunteers there and we need to do the same here as we fight back against a conservative/corporate takeover of Michigan.

Please plan to attend and help spread the word throughout all of your networks.

Speakers include:

• John Nichols from The Nation magazine
• Tony Trupiano from the First Shift radio show
• Bruce Fealk from Michigan Rising
• Les Little from Hood Research
• Pat Selby, Director Project Vote Michigan
• Zachary Steve, President Young Dems of Michigan
• Stephanie Terpening, musician
• Mariah Schafsnitz & Paul Barton
• Sarah Lawrence, Poet and Activist
• Mark Boyd (Not Exactly Rick Snyder)
• Rev. Charles Williams, National Action Network
• Chris Savage from Eclectablog (me)

Here’s the flyer for the event. Click on it for a full-size version.

And they’re off!

In a clear statement that they mean business and are not pulling any punches, Michigan Rising the group setting out for a second attempt at recalling Michigan Governor Rick Snyder begins their petition language with the statement “Governor Snyder has abused the children of Michigan”.

Here is the petition language in full:

Governor Snyder has abused the children of Michigan. He cut thousands of children off food aid. He robbed $400 million from the School Aid Fund, then slashed school payments. This forced children into crowded classes. Then he signed more laws that privatize services, attack teachers and blame unions.

Snyder raised taxes on retirees and low and middle income working people, to make them pay $2 billion a year. At the same time, he gave an 86% tax cut, $1.7 billion, to large corporations.

Snyder signed Public Act 4 of 2011, the Emergency Manager Law. Snyder used the law to take over cities and school districts. Snyder removed officials elected by the citizens. Snyder’s agents broke contracts and sold off public property cheaply to corporations.

Richard Snyder has failed to pass a single law that helps Michigan citizens get jobs. He signed a law that cut state unemployment benefits from 26 to 20 weeks, and caused Michigan workers to lose 16 weeks of federal benefits.

Despite the rather inflammatory nature of the statement, the Washtenaw County Election Commission today approved their petition language. With that move, the effort to recall the governor can begin at any time.

Snyder’s attorney objected to the language, of course, but, in the end that was irrelevant.

Andrea Hansen, an attorney for Snyder, objected to the wording, which begins by claiming “Governor Snyder has abused the children of Michigan.”

“The statement is not only offensive and inflammatory, but it’s really not understandable,” Hansen said. “It doesn’t really say what is meant by the abuse. Which children are abused? How he abused them. … You can’t make false statements like that without specifics.”

But under Michigan law, boards of canvassers are only to review the grammar and punctuation of recall petitions.

“There is no requirement for there to be any shred of truth in our statement at all,” said Marion Townsend of Dearborn, who filed the recall language last month.

Here is video of the hearing:

Recall Petition Clarity Hearing 4-9-2012 from Jan BenDor on Vimeo.

Stay tuned for more information on the recall effort which will begin with a kickoff on May 5th. An informational flyer for the event can be found HERE (pdf).

Second time’s a charm

Michigan Rising has risen like a phoenix from the ashes of the first attempt to recall Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and is giving it a second try. Last week, they submitted petition language in Washtenaw County. They had no trouble getting their language approved last year so there is little reason to believe they will have any problems this time either.

Here is their press release from earlier today:

Michigan Rising has filed new language to recall Governor Rick Snyder. The language was filed on March 26th in Washtenaw County. The clarity hearing will be held in Washtenaw County on April 9th at 1:45 p.m. If approved, Governor Snyder will have 10 days within which to appeal the decision of the hearing, should the language be approved.

If the language is approved and the recall drive is successful, the question of whether to recall the governor will appear on the November 6, 2012 ballot.

Michigan Rising is hoping to build on the almost 500,000 signatures gathered for last year’s effort to recall the governor.

“Governor Snyder is bad for Michigan. Our citizens cannot afford to wait another two years to get rid of this corporate monster; the recall will chop off its head. Snyder and his cronies are destroying our cherished democratic institutions and democracy itself.

“Governor Snyder has abused the children of Michigan. He cut thousands of children off food aid. He robbed $400 million from the School Aid Fund, and then slashed school payments. This forced children into crowded classes. Then he signed more laws that privatize services, attack teachers and blame unions,” said Jan BenDor, election specialist for Michigan Rising.

“We are trying to recall Governor Snyder again because you must chop the head off the beast and slay the dragon before you start rebuilding the village. If you try to rebuild the village while the dragon is still around, he will just burn the village to the ground again,” said Marty Townsend, Michigan Rising’s Public Chair.

“I have spent lots of time in Wisconsin and the energy there has been amazing. If we can bring the energy and enthusiasm from Wisconsin to Michigan, this effort will be successful. We need at least 10,000 volunteers and $500,000 to make this work in Michigan. There are even more reasons to recall the governor this year than last year. A recent report gave Michigan a failing grade on the corruption risk report card,” said Bruce Fealk, Communications Director for Michigan Rising.

Those interested in donating or volunteering can visit www.MichiganRising.org.

Kickoff Rally To Be May 5 From 2-5 p.m. at The Capitol In Lansing

The rally will feature local liberal talk show host, Tony Trupiano, Washington Correspondent for The Nation Magazine John Nichols and Wisconsin State Senator Lena Taylor. Taylor was one of the 14 Senators from the Wisconsin legislature that left the state in order to slow down Governor Walker’s legislation to do away with collective bargaining for public employees. Other speakers will include Michigan residents that have been negatively impacted by the policies of Governor Snyder and the Republican legislature.

Let’s try that again, shall we?

Inspired by the success of Wisconsin Democrats (though lacking the support of the state-level Democratic Party), Michigan Rising is gearing up to take another shot at recalling Michigan Governor Rick Snyder:

During our last petition drive to recall Rick Snyder we collected nearly 500, 000 signatures. We did this with very little material support, even less money and at a time when political tensions in Michigan were arguably less strained than they are today. Nonetheless it meant that our signature count came up short and the effort had to be abandoned at the end of October last year. But we’re back. In fact, we never went anywhere.

We spent the last seven months regrouping, reorganizing and re-evaluating our position and we believe that our organization is smarter and stronger now than it was before.

The Next Step
This week we will be filing new language for a new petition to recall Rick Snyder. The Washtenaw County Election Commission is required to meet sometime between the 10th and 20th day after the filing to conduct a clarity hearing in order to determine whether the language is of sufficient clarity. After the hearing is held and the determination made, Gov. Snyder will have 10 days to appeal the decision. If he does not appeal we can commence petition printing.

Given the gap between the time printing will be completed and the expiration of the appeal time, and the amount of organization that still needs to be done after language is approved, we have decided to begin signature collection in May. Though that date is wholly dependent on the level of support we have – both financially and in terms of volunteers. We will have 90 days to collect roughly 807, 000 valid signatures. We believe it can be done.

What it will take
This is a massive undertaking. When we look at the successes in Wisconsin, Ohio and elsewhere it’s easy to see where we need the kind of improvement that would make a difference in the outcome. More important, we need improvement where it is feasible and reasonable to expect it.
In order to launch a successful drive to recall this governor we need people who are willing to get involved. Lack of volunteers was the most significant hurdle we faced in the last campaign and in order for this drive to be different, that needs to be different.

For Michigan to recall its Governor, you need to Sign up to Volunteer to Collect Signatures. You also need to do more that that. You need to spread the word, forward this email to your friends, family, neighbors and acquaintances. If they need a reason to recall Snyder, you can find The Top 10 reasons to Recall Snyder, Right Here in Printable Format so you can also spread that around as far and wide as possible.

If you signed up to volunteer during the previous campaign, you will need to Sign Up Again. We did not transfer your information from our old system to our new one and of course we’d love for you to join us again.

The End Game
We maintain, as we did one year ago this month, that the only way for Michigan and its citizens to win this fight is by recalling Snyder. No other measure will come close to defeating the now perpetual attacks on both working Michiganders and the weakest among us. The impact of this administration’s reign will be felt for generations across social, political, racial and economic spectrum in this state.
From tax increases on the working poor and retirees, to full-blown disenfranchisement of voters across Michigan, the onslaught brought on by this administration is overwhelming. The reaction needs to be even more so.
Ohio had 10,000 volunteers who collected 1.3 million signatures in repealing HB5. Wisconsin had over 20,000 and collected over 1 million signatures. In the last campaign Michigan had around 1,500 active volunteers and we collected almost 500,000 signatures. That speaks to the level of dedication by our state’s volunteers who were willing to put themselves out in public. Once again we cannot thank you enough if you participated in the last campaign, but we need your help again.
Michigan needs your help. You have the power to act. The time for action is now.

Sign up here.

Regards,
Michigan Rising

The links there all work. You know what to do.

[Image credit: Michigan Rising.]

After reading a number of disparaging comments on the Facebook page of First Shift with Tony Trupiano, aimed at the organizers of Michigan Rising (formerly known as the Committee to Recall Rick Snyder, CRRS), I thought it would be a good idea to dig deeper and sort out truth from fiction.

I have a piece up today at A2Politico titled “Michigan Rising: Aiming to Recall Snyder—While Disgruntled Former Volunteers Target Michigan Rising” that is the result of my inquiries.

In the process of preparing the article, I met with most of the core organizing committee for Michigan Rising. I spoke with folks from Daily Kos and Fieldworks who helped them in the latter stages of the first recall effort. I spoke with former CRRS spokesperson Tim Kramer who was let go from his position last summer and I reached out (unsuccessfully) with some of Michigan Rising’s detractors.

What I found was that, as is typical of any large scale grassroots organizing effort, there are some people who felt the effort was not being run properly. Many of these people put in long hours and lots of hard work and, understandably, came away disappointed. In some cases, people felt they were lied to or treated shabbily, and some of these people are now taking to the internet to undermine the organizers, particularly CEO Julius Muller and Public Committee Chairperson Marty Townsend.

However, I found nothing unethical, illegal or out of the ordinary on the part of Muller and Townsend or any of the other organizers.

What I did find is a rejuvenated recall team. They have spent the past few months preparing training materials and strategic plans for the second recall attempt and are now working to raise funds for the new recall attempt.

Here is a snippet from my piece and I encourage you click through to read the rest and share it widely.

Michigan Rising’s detractors claim to be part of a large number of unhappy former volunteers. The facts suggest otherwise. While their complaints about being treated poorly may be valid, none of their accusations center around anything illegal or unethical. The worst offense one can accuse Muller and Townsend of is being novices and, perhaps, of having somewhat poor management skills.

These disgruntled former volunteers frequently talk about their passion during the recall and how hard they worked. Given what they put into the effort, an effort that was ultimately unsuccessful, it’s understandable why they feel as they do. What is unfortunate is that they are now seeking to discredit and, arguably, derail a second recall attempt.

Before my meeting with the Michigan Rising organizers ended, I asked them why they were doing this again. Why, with the odds stacked against them and a small group of former allies who seem determined to undermine them, would they willingly do this again? Muller has since left Michigan because of the economy, but remains committed to recalling Snyder. He puts it this way: “My experience in South Africa showed me what can happen when those in power disenfranchise their citizens. Governor Snyder and the Republicans have done more damage to Michigan in one year than has been done in the past 60 years. Anyone with an interest in Michigan knows we can not afford to wait. There is no time to waste.” [...]

The name Michigan Rising may turn out to be a very aptly-chosen moniker. Muller, Townsend and the other core team of organizers are clearly much better positioned this time around than they were last summer. They have a clear strategy, have developed comprehensive training materials and are diligently working to raise funds. They appear poised to rise again—this time armed with knowledge and experience that will aid their endeavor.

I will be supporting Michigan Rising as their recall effort moves forward and encourage you to do the same.

UPDATE [1/25/2012]: There are allegations that I did not “lend equal time or attention” to the people who are working to discredit Muller, Townsend and the other members of Michigan Rising. The facts are otherwise. I reached out to a number of people who were posting negative comments on Facebook about the group. Except for Tim Kramer, none of them would respond to my attempts to contact them. I just wanted to be clear about that.