Will Michigan Voters Sink Roe and Granholm?

At the Michigan Board of State Canvassers meeting Wednesday language for a ballot petition to amend the state constitution was approved. The amendment reads

"A person exists from the moment of conception." 

Dawson Bell at the Free Press writes

Without a decision on affirmative action, the abortion issue took center stage at Wednesday's meeting. Citizens for Life was represented by Cal Zastrow of Bay City, who said the group's petition volunteers plan to begin collecting signatures soon. They need 317,757 signatures from registered Michigan voters to put the issue on the ballot.

Zastrow said the group hopes to form an alliance with the two largest organizations in the state that oppose abortion -- Right to Life of Michigan and the Michigan Catholic Conference -- both of which have successfully put ballot proposals before state voters.

Ed Rivet, legislative director of Right to Life, said Wednesday the group's ballot language appears to be "overall consistent with the goal of our movement." But he said Zastrow's group has not contacted Right to Life and "time is growing short" to put together a ballot campaign for 2006.

Earlier this week I diaried about Planned Parenthood's ambivalence to this petition. Bell, in his usual less-than-astute self, downplays the significance.

But Wednesday's endorsement of petition language may have been the least consequential obstacle the group will face in what would be a long, expensive and uncertain process.

Long - yes. Expensive - maybe. Uncertain - no. Not by a long shot.

But I'll give Bell credit for one thing, he gives us enough information to connect the dots by disclosing that Cal Zastrow is involved. Why he couldn't do this himself is --- well --- incompetence, but I digress.

Cal Zastrow is the president of the US Taxpayers Party of Michigan/Constitution Party, on it's National Executive Committee and the national party's Field Director --- i.e. he paid to do this full time. Don't go away, it's just getting good.

Zastrow was one of the first "pro-life-rescuers" to be prosecuted under FACE (Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act). He was convicted and served 90 days in jail. He's no stranger to petition drives and their obstacles either. He was a driving force behind getting Wisconsin's residency requirement for petition circulators struck down in 2003.

Remember last October when a group called Missionaries to the Pre Born organized anti-abortion rallies and protests in college towns in Michigan and Wisconsin? You guessed it, Zastrow again. And by the way, note the picture about halfway down the page on the right from their visit to the University of Wisconsin - Parkside in Kenosha. Whether Planned Parenthood likes it, or not, they are in this group's cross hairs.

And now, the double whammie for Michigan's 2006 election --- those alliances Zastrow talks about. Right to Life --- they'll do plenty of damage, but they won't be the Democrats biggest problem. The bigger problem will be the Michigan Catholic Conference. They have every intention of squeezing Jennifer Granholm to the point of breaking her pro-choice position. They pressed hard in '02 and will continue to do so. Now they have Jennifer's record to talk about too. To her credit, she has stood firm to date. Expect a spectacle over ex-communication come next fall.

We're in a battle to retain the right to make medical decisions about our own bodies in the privacy of our doctor's office.

We're also in a battle about how much influence the catholic church, and religion in general, will have on our gubernatorial election.

Stop underestimating this group. It's going to get ugly, and ugly fast, folks.

•  Please spread the word

  this is going to be a long, difficult fight for both Granholm and the ballot petition.

  by Cordelia Lear on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 05:01:24 PM PDT

•  Wake up, Michiganders

  The Catholic Conference and Right to Life swing a big bat in state politics.

  It's easy for a group of activists with an axe to grind to get something on the ballot in Michigan.

  And if you think the Right lied about Proposition 2, wait until this legal stinkbomb gets onto the ballot.

  by Dump Terry McAuliffe on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 05:03:19 PM PDT

  •  Though interestingly

    Interestingly neither the Catholic Conference nor Right to Life has really signed on yet.  They've made comments to the effect that they'd like to but starting a petition drive in late December would cause them to drop a number of other things they've got going.  

    However, this will not necessarily sink Granholm with it as, while she's pro-choice, it is not as central to her public persona.  Also, Oakland and Washtenaw counties already dislike Religious Righters and this might help.  There aren't a whole lot of votes to be gained in Washtenaw County but there are in Oakland County (where people like L. Brooks Patterson have publicly commented that the pro-life agenda is folly).

    by Mister Gloom on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 05:37:31 PM PDT

    •  I'm concerned about

      western Wayne County. Plenty of people like my mother-in-law who may have looked the other way in '02, but would be afraid of going against the church if they're actively involved in the campaign.

      by Cordelia Lear on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 05:50:26 PM PDT

      •  Western Wayne

        Now, correct me if I'm wrong but Western Wayne is made up of Livonia, Westland, Canton, Plymouth, and the Southern edge townships (Van Buren, etc.), possibly Redford if you wish to push it.  Out of this group the only area that they could really pick-up voters in is Westland as Redford hates the Republicans for other reasons (plus, this is one area that the UAW does have pull in) and the others mostly tilt Republican anyways.  Where this could get ugly is in Macomb as it ties in with the teen-age case that happened combined with Macombs longstanding social conservatism (and, in a different way, Monroe County which has grown fairly quickly and will have a barnburner of a State Rep. race with the passing of Herb Kehrl).

        by Mister Gloom on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 05:55:57 PM PDT

        •  Agree about Macomb

          In western Wayne I'm more concerned with losing votes from moderate republican women who voted for Jennifer because she was a woman.

          by Cordelia Lear on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 06:13:21 PM PDT

          •  A possibility but...

            1.  The petition might not suceed.  Right to Life and the Catholic Conference sounded less then enthused regarding the ballot initiative.  If one of them signs on it will probably make but if neither of them do then things get tricky.

            2.  Re: Sinking Granholm.  Remember, L. Brooks Patterson hates the DeVos's guts (Betsy more than Dick, but he doesn't care for either of them).  He has nothing to fear from the State Republican party and can do anything he wants.  If you combine a pissed off Patterson with Religious Reich driving moderate Oakland County folk toward Dems.  I think we could conceivably be looking at the election in which Oakland could stop being a swing county and move more firmly Democratic.

            3.  I'm not sure about the possibly changeover.  Folks were nearly as pressured in that region during 2004 on gay marriage and yet they seemed to still solidly vote for John Kerry (heck, Monroe County, which is as socially conservative or more only went for Bush by about 1,400 votes and elected a Dem. who opposed Prop. 2).  Gay marriage is just as much of a push to voters as abortion and I don't think that worked in 2004.
               

            by Mister Gloom on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 06:32:31 PM PDT

            •  Interesting take on point 3

              I saw it differently sitting in the pews in Detroit.  I thought Prop. 2 worked effectively to split the Catholic vote.  Many more would've gone Kerry, more than the 50%.  And a shot across Granholm's bow.
              It also primed the pump for overt ugly campaigns against tolerance by the Diocese.  I agree with the diarist: the church is out for Granholm.  It's time for Catholic women to circle the wagons around her.  I don't think men have any balls inside the church to give a rat's ass what the diocese does to either gays or women.
              I don't consider myself either a feminist or a gay-rights advocate (being a male hetero) but believe me witnessing what my church did last year here in Michigan galvanized my sympathies.
              Let's say I took a sabbatical.

              by edsdet on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 08:43:12 PM PDT

•  Where do I send $$$ to fight this?

  Seriously, the Right-to-lifers are the minority, but they are ORGANIZED.  I am sick and tired of these zealots devoting their whole lives to one issue when they could be doing so much more for people.

  Our local Catholic priest here sent high school kids (of course, white suburban kids) to D.C. to show them how to picket and exert pressure on pro-choice Senators and Congress Members.  Talk about brain washing.  Here in Memphis, with the 3rd highest poverty rate of any big city.

  Again, it's all about control to these people and what makes it so utterly addictive to them is that it controls women.  If it controlled the behavior of men - hey, how about going after distributors of condoms?!?!?  They couldn't give a shit.

  In fact, when IS the last time you saw anyone in the Catholic church give two rips about condoms?  Oh yeah, only when it applied to gays.

  I am THIS close to leaving the Catholic Church.  

  by yankeeinmemphis on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 05:11:53 PM PDT

  •  Appreciate your offer of $$$

    Unfortunately so far as I can tell, the organizations that should be concerned are acting ho-hum about it. I'll be sure to diary and keep everyone posted about the efforts and how they can support.

    by Cordelia Lear on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 05:25:33 PM PDT

  •  I left the Church 15 years ago

    Looks like I beat the rush out the door.

    For the record, I'm now a practicing member of the Church of Baseball.

    by Dump Terry McAuliffe on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 05:45:11 PM PDT

•  Best Answer: a Privacy Amendment

  Use language that goes beyond reproductive rights, to bring in more constituencies. The marijuana movement in Michigan, for instance, is getting pretty good at collecting ballot signatures.

  by ben masel on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 05:26:37 PM PDT

•  We need to watch this one.

  Thanks for making us all more aware.

  by Elise on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 05:32:58 PM PDT

  •  You're welcome

    It's so frustrating arguing with the people who think nothing will come of this.

    by Cordelia Lear on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 05:38:11 PM PDT

•  Monaghan

      Expect Tom Monaghan and his holy stormtroopers to get behind this petition - especially if the Catholic Church gets active. The Republicans will need a big turnout of their base to beat Granholm, so they'll be involved too. Unfortunately, Michigan voters sometimes go for this type  of crap. Remember, the ban on gay marriage was approved 2 to 1.  

  by marvyt on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 05:35:27 PM PDT

  •  Not 2 to 1

    Actually Michigan had one of the lowest people voting for a state ban on gay marriage out of all that state's that passed them.  And according to my election results section of the Detroit Free Press (yes, I saved it sigh) it passed with 58.5% of the vote.  A solid enough win, but a good distance from passing by a 2 to 1 margin.
    

    by Mister Gloom on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 05:40:10 PM PDT

  •  I can think of all kinds

    of crap that has passed as a ballot proposal. Sigh.

    Agreed about Monaghan. He'll have his hand in this. It was his organization that did the picketing to point out Granholm's pro-choice stand outside catholic churches --- including Granholm's before the '02 election.

    by Cordelia Lear on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 05:45:07 PM PDT

•  Well, not to put too

  fine a point on it, but there's a diary for happy stories that went up at 7:30 and has 22 recommends so far.  It's in the Recommended Diaries list.  

  This diary, about real women with real problems living real lives, has 7 recommends and went up a mere 22 minutes later.  

  That.

  Is.

  The.

  Fucking.

  Problem.

  by lightiris on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 05:44:52 PM PDT

  •  You understand

    the problem my friend. Thank you.

    by Cordelia Lear on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 05:54:20 PM PDT

•  Cal Zastrow

  is also a LONGTIME Operation Rescue/Operation Save America participant. He shows up out on the streets.

  by stormcoming on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 06:09:44 PM PDT

  •  which is why I think it's ill advised

    for groups like Planned Parenthood to be ambivalent.  When groups like Operation Rescue target something, they're not about to back off or give up.

    by Cordelia Lear on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 06:16:51 PM PDT

•  You are on the money, Cordelia

  This is not a benign, not-to-be-taken-seriously effort. I am concerned that Planned Parenthood and others aren't worried about this. Neither am I comforted by the "low" passage percentage of the anti-gay marriage ballot initiative in Michigan, as their margin of winning was big enough to win by a mile.

  I'm worried about more than Western Wayne, too. I think there will be a throwing down of the gauntlet to Catholics: you've got to vote for this, otherwise you are promoting pro-abortion!  

  And taken by itself, the proposed ballot statement lends itself to a great deal of misinformation and misinterpretation.

  Thanks very much for posting this here, CL.

  by Kidspeak on Fri Dec 09, 2005 at 07:38:12 PM PDT