Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm is not a perfect progressive. Nor was the situation in Michigan a question of heroes versus villains. Nor have all of the specifics of Michigan’s problems been entirely clear to those of us who are unfamiliar with Michigan politics - and, as Michigan Liberal pointed out, many things were ignored or obscured in the mainstream media’s coverage.
But I admire the Governor’s courage, and I wish the national “leaders” of the Democratic Party would take note of her example.
Cross-posted at The Seminal.
A government shutdown is a complicated step (.pdf) that affects real people’s lives. Employees go without pay and government functions are stripped down to a minimum. In preparation for the Michigan shutdown, for example, campers in state parks were asked to leave. Michigan residents were told to expect a reduced state police presence.
Yet there comes a time when politicians must, if they truly believe in the principles they represent, stand their ground. Right or wrong, Granholm was brave to withstand both local pressure and national scrutiny as she fought for the budget she thought would best serve the people of Michigan.
Congressional leaders have considered a similar step. Many critics, arguing that the 1995 Republican-induced federal government shutdown was a failure for the Republicans, have discouraged the Democrats from pursuing this course. However, Media Matters skillfully highlighted the important differences between the current situation and the situation in 1995. Specifically, the critics omit this:
Just prior to the first government shutdown, which began on November 14, 1995, Clinton’s job approval ratings were significantly higher than Bush’s are now. The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research noted that Clinton had a 54 percent job performance rating in a November 10-13, 1995, ABC/Washington Post poll and a 52 percent job performance rating in a November 6-8, 1995, USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll. By contrast, in a March 23-25, 2007, USA Today/Gallup poll, only 34 percent of respondents said they “approve of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president.”
While Republicans took the blame for the 1995-6 shutdown, Democrats might well fare differently.
To be sure, resolving the budget crisis in Michigan took some compromise. But Granholm made sure she got the essentials she wanted, and in my mind that counts as a victory - something the majority-Democratic Congress has been rather short on lately. Given their success, let’s take the state-level tactics to the national arena and step up the aggression. Support David Obey, force the filibusters, force the Republicans to show the nation how out of touch with reality they truly are - and if they still won’t budge, shut the whole shebang down. What good is power if you never flex it?