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    Who are the NERD fund donors Mr Snyder?

    Raise the curtain.

    To Restore Discipline


    By Kevin Rex Heine, Section News
    Posted on Sun Nov 06, 2011 at 04:26:40 PM EST
    Tags: Decimation, Randy Richardville (Monroe), Roger Kahn (Saginaw), Dave Hildenbrand (Lowell), Judy Emmons (Sheridan), Mark Jansen (Gaines), liberty vs. statism, Michigan Tea Party Patriot Network (all tags)

    The noun decimation, as it is currently used, refers to something causing either great destruction or harm, or a drastic or extreme reduction in population numbers.  However, the source verb, decimate, originates from the Latin decimare (removal of a tenth), which in the Roman Legions was a common form of punishment meted out upon mutinous or cowardly soldiers.  Those selected for punishment would be divided into groups of ten, and the soldier in each group upon whom the lot fell would be summarily executed on the spot.  The message to the remaining nine was clear: get your asses back in line, or join him.

    I'm not sure if it's mutineers or cowards that we're dealing with here (or maybe just a highly contagious epidemic of either weak upper spine syndrome or cranial-rectal inversion disorder), but no matter how you slice it, some high-velocity shoe polishing seems to be in order.


    There is a reason that members of the U.S. House of Representatives, the State House of Representatives, and even the County Board of Commissioners have to stand for re-election every other year.  These are the peoples' houses, and by design, the legislators have to answer for their conduct on a frequent enough basis that the sheer frequency of the election cycle should serve as reminder of that basic fact.  Even though we here in Michigan have the option of directly recalling our legislators, unless the conduct of the representative in question is just that putrid, it's much more cost-effective to remove a squishy incumbent via a primary challenge (or a general challenge, in the case of an incumbent not of one's party-of-preference).

    The Senate is a horse of a whole different color.  By design, the term of a senator (whether state or federal) is longer.  This, at least nominally, reflects the founding intent that the senate is supposed to be a more deliberative and stable legislative body, as specifically opposed to the House (which, because the entire House must stand for reelection every two years, is more vulnerable to the whims of public opinion).

    Even though the 17th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution did away with a critical balance to the U. S. House (the Senate being designed to represent the interests of the several states), the fact that only one-third of the seats are up for election in any given cycle, coupled with a six-year term length, still provides a theoretical stability that counter-balances the theoretical instability of the House of Representatives.

    However, in the case of the Michigan State Senate, because all 38 senators must simultaneously stand for reelection every fourth year, and because of unnecessarily restrictive term limits, we have a legislative chamber that is far more vulnerable to public sentiment than it ought to be.  This creates a problem when a group of senators, who were elected because of the expectation that they would embrace a policy agenda that is wholly different from the one that they currently seem to be advancing, really need to be dealt with by measures somewhat stronger than political paper training.

    In other words, what seems to be happening here is that several republican state senators have "wandered off the reservation" when it comes to advancing the cause of liberty, state sovereignty, and the protection of property rights.  And the Michigan Tea Party Patriot Network is trying to figure out what to do about this.  Something ought to be done to send a message to the caucus that democrat-lite behavior will not be tolerated, and the sense I've gathered is that, by targeting and strongly dealing with just a few true stinkers, the rest will get the message.

    The general opinion that I've heard through backchannel communications within that network is that no fewer than three state senators (approximately one-tenth of the 26-member republican caucus) ought to be subjected to a tea-party-driven recall campaign.  Opinions vary as to precisely which three ought to be targeted, but the names that keep floating to the top of the list are this one, this one, these two, and of course this one (who I'm told, oddly enough, happens to be the first guy's nephew).  However, when it comes to an actual recall campaign spearheaded by a tea party group . . . well, there doesn't seem to be one just yet.

    But for the past six weeks or so, I've been hearing about something else, something potentially far more devastating than a successful recall campaign designed to send a message.  It's one of those things that're so sensitive that I don't dare report on it without at least one source (and preferably two or three) who's willing to go on the record to confirm it.  So that's what I've been doing with some of my time since the Mackinac Conference, and it's been a bit of a challenge.

    The challenge has been that, while so many people seem to know about it, for one reason or another, no one wants to talk about what they know unless they do so off the record.  And I get it, because this has the potential to get really ugly really quickly, so no one with any sense wants to get caught in the "spray area" when the you-know-what hits the fan.

    However, earlier this weekend I spoke with Tony DeMott (Campaign For Liberty - Michigan) and Dennis Moore (Willow Run Tea Party Caucus).  Both confirmed, on the record, that they are aware of a number of very influential grassroots leaders (including tea party leaders) statewide who are currently discussing the possibility and the mechanics of removing Randy Richardville from his leadership position.  This is primarily as a consequence of his opposition to full, statewide freedom-to-work, as well as a history of votes that appear to be advancing a big government agenda.

    Now this isn't merely a recall campaign, though both Moore and Al Bain (Monroe County GOP) have confirmed that they are aware of a recall campaign that will start after the turn of the year, which will have several tea party groups providing the ground crew.  No, what DeMott and Moore are talking about (among several tea party leaders statewide) is something arguably even more damaging, career-wise, than a recall.

    The Republican Senate Caucus of the 96th Michigan Legislature consists of 26 state senators, exactly enough for a numerical 2/3 super-majority.  A mere 14 members of that caucus (the bare minimum for a simple in-caucus majority), if they were to operate in concert, could summarily remove Senator Richardville from his leadership post through the mechanism of a no-confidence vote.  If we are to believe the off-the-record conversations amongst the various organizational leaders within the Michigan Tea Party Patriot Network, then there are no fewer than 18 such senators who would support that move, and vote in the affirmative.  All they need is one of their number to be willing to step up and call for that vote.

    A no-confidence vote would immediately remove Richardville from his post as Senate Majority Leader, and the republican caucus would then have to convene and elect a new majority leader.  I have no word on whom is being considered as a replacement.  The advice, I'm told, from the tea party leadership to the senators considering this no-confidence vote is to act quickly.  The recall campaign that is now being organized in the 17th Senate District is going to happen regardless, with or without the vote, and to have Senator Richardville in a leadership post while awaiting a recall vote would not be a good thing.

    I say that this is arguably more devastating to Richardville's career because, should this actually happen, he would be forced to serve out the remainder of his final term in the state senate with every single one of his colleagues on both sides of the aisle knowing that he's now no more formidable than any other paper tiger.  Of course, if the no-confidence vote is followed by the successful execution of the recall campaign, then the combined two-step removal may serve to end his career in a permanent stain of political, professional, and personal disgrace.

    And if that doesn't send a very clear tea-party-driven message to the rest of the big-government progressives on the republican side of the senate aisle, then I don't know what will.


    < Upton & Camp Ready For This? | Cain-Gingrich Debate >


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    A fish rots from the head down (none / 0) (#1)
    by Corinthian Scales on Mon Nov 07, 2011 at 09:48:46 AM EST
    So, the TEA movement is gonna make a token slaying of the bootlicker but leave the boots.  Yessiree, once again the TEA folk illustrate exactly why it's just a movement with a labyrinthine methodology for addressing problems and/or vetting politicians.

    Gee, maybe if Randy's lame duck pee-pee gets whacked, the A2 Nerd somehow won't look to another Progressive with an R after his name to push his Big Government reduced business tax shift Granholm agenda forward.

    Ya, that's the ticket.

    Very Interesting (none / 0) (#3)
    by Pogo on Mon Nov 07, 2011 at 11:56:33 AM EST
    Let  the Ides of March come early. I hope that gets a little agenda time (or at least a mention) on the 12th.

    On a much lesser but related note, CapCon shines a light today on another Republican Senate leader pushing forced union dues. Excerpts:
    .....
     "Based on emails obtained by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy through the Freedom of Information Act, lawmakers, particularly Senate Appropriations Chair Roger Kahn, R-Saginaw, have been pressing behind the scenes to keep the MQC3 going. The agency's continued operation has kept the dues flowing to the SEIU.

    Judy Hendrixson, a home health care worker in Roscommon, said she was amazed that the SEIU dues are still being taken out of her checks.

    "This never should have happened in the first place," Hendrixson said, referring to the forced unionization. "And now that it (the MQC3) is supposed to be gone, there's no way they should still be taking dues out of our checks."
    .....

    "Here's a Republican lawmaker doing this? How can he justify it?" Zahdeh asked, in reference to Sen. Kahn. "I thought lawmakers take an oath of office to uphold the constitution."

    http://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/15977

    Richardville .. Safe at Home (none / 0) (#12)
    by Corinthian Scales on Wed Dec 14, 2011 at 04:49:36 AM EST
    Guess who's looking over their shoulder (none / 0) (#16)
    by Pogo on Thu Dec 15, 2011 at 09:36:40 AM EST
    From CapCon:

    "A resolution has been introduced in Lansing that would strip voters of their rights to recall public officials for policy decisions.
    .....

    The bill, Senate Joint Resolution S, states specifically, "The discretionary performance of a lawful act or of a prescribed duty by an elective officer does not constitute a reason to recall that elective officer." This would mean that lawmakers couldn't be recalled for political reasons.

    The measure then lays out the reasons for which an elective official could be recalled. They would be limited to those guilty of felonies or a misdemeanor involving a breach of a public trust like those who have misappropriated resources or committed "any other official misconduct."

    SJR S is sponsored by Senate Majority Floor Leader Arlan Meekhof, R-West Olive, and co-sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville, R-Monroe."

    http://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/16155?utm_source=Mackinac+Center+Publications&utm_cam paign=be48044ca0-MichCapCon_12_1312_12_2011

    Bump for 2A and CF (none / 0) (#21)
    by Corinthian Scales on Wed Oct 10, 2012 at 08:15:09 PM EST
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