In one of the boldest, brashest moves seen in Michigan in quite some time, Ken Braun the recently 'former' Managing Editor of CapCon at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, has threaten Republican Governor Rick Snyder to either join the "Right to Work" (for a lot less) forces, or be circumvented by 'citizen' introduced legislation that will completely bypass the Nerd using the Tea Party Republican majorities in the Michigan State House and Senate and a loop-hole in the Michigan Constitution.
Just out from Ken Braun of the Mackinac Center:
Michigan's tea party activists are suffering right to work envy while watching the Indiana governor march his Legislature relentlessly to the finish line on that issue. Our Republican governor recently said right to work is too divisive and he doesn't want the Legislature to send a bill to his desk.
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Article 2, section 9 (of the Michigan Constitution), provides citizens (like the Tea Party) with the power to initiate laws and send them to the Legislature for approval. If both chambers vote by simple majority to approve the bill within 40 days, then it becomes law.
The governor has no role in the process and can neither sign nor veto the measure.
What? Read Braun's FULL POSTING HERE.
Within the posting(s) are links to articles on Rick Snyder’s statements on his reluctance address any "Right to Work" (for Less) legislation, saying he doesn’t want it 'on his desk' and that the issue is 'too divisive'.
Also mentioned in the piece are references to the efforts of the Michigan "Tea Party" to recall Michigan Republican Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville for his statements on the controversial legislation also being pushed through in Indiana by Republican Governor Mitch Daniels.
Richardville is characterized by Braun as being too ‘skeptical’ and ‘outright hostile’ on the issue, which if brought up this year would certainly put just about everything on anyone’s agenda but the already troublesome, dictatorial “Emergency Manager” Law out of sight and mind completely.
The ties between the Mackinac Center, American for Prosperity (AFP), both with shared funders, supporters and participants, and their ties to various “Tea Party” organizations in Michigan are well documented, and no secret. The head of AFP in Michigan, Scott Hagerstrom, claims to be supported by, or is providing support to dozens of Tea Party groups in the state.
Ken Braun, while at the Mackinac Center, personally has been seen and actually videoed leading wayward Tea Partiers during marches in Lansing. The Mackinac Center media outlet Capital Confidential is wall-to-wall with "Right to Work" (for Less) articles and content.
Some have speculated about Snyder’s relationship with the Mackinac Center before, and the Mackinac Center has both privately and publicly attempted to lay down the law to Snyder.
It is getting more and more clear that Snyder Administration is the "first totally irrelevant 'Republican' Administration in Michigan history", but this strategy of completely ignoring the governor to pass any bill they please… well, that’s a new one.
Driven by Heritage Foundation subsidiary in Michigan, the Mackinac Center and Americans for Prosperity, funded and led by mega-wealthy individuals like Koch, Olin, DeVos and business interests in the State, supported by tons of out-of-state, pre-written legislation by the Koch funded American Legislative Exchange Council or ALEC, this tactic could really mean "Prefabricated Corporate Michigan (Government) Courtesy of Koch & ALEC" with or without Snyder’s involvement at all.
Braun’s piece appeared on the Detroit News neo-conservative web portal (which feeds Mackinac Center content), the Michigan View on the morning of January 26, 2012. A link at the bottom of the posting goes to the personal blog of Ken Braun “Charlie Marlow’s War” which has this disclaimer tagged to it:
"These are the rantings of Ken Braun alone and do not necessarily represent those of his employer, friends, family, and so forth. (However, one of his dogs is convinced he can do no wrong.)"
Charlie Marlow is a character in Heart of Darkness a novella written by Joseph Conrad published in 1903 about an Englishman’s travel during the Belgian colonization of the jungles of the Congo at the turn of the century.
Ken Braun has definitely entangled himself with this one, and just may be up the water of the Zaire without a paddle… or is he? Maybe he’s bored with his 'puppy training' of Michigan politicians which he suggested in this Braun classic "Politician Puppy Training: What the tea parties can learn from the dogs":
"Training legislators, as with training puppies, must be done with care and common sense. Puppies don’t learn to bark before going outside because their masters have set an example by peeing in the backyard themselves. That type of “communication” would just confuse a puppy (to say nothing of the neighbors). Instead, an external system of rewards and punishments is used to guide the puppy toward doing the right thing."
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"Like the trained puppy, your lawmakers will follow the training that has been driven into them beforehand. Trying to teach these at the last minute is usually as effective as racing out and peeing on your own back yard as soon as you see the puppy lift his leg on the rug. Representative democracy, like puppy training, means you teach the big idea well in advance and then trust the politician or the puppy to do the right thing with the specific details when the big moment arrives."
Is this some lap dog with years at the Mackinac Center that has got a case of rabies and is working alone in some sort of stupor, OR is this really the thinking and planning of the brain trust of the Mackinac Center in Midland, who knows.
One thing is certain, we all will know soon enough.