Usually in this town, there is one major state capitol news development each week that warrants a deeper dive via an extended column in this news hole.
Not this week. The gov. is out hawking her book to anybody who will listen. The legislature is performing job one back home i.e. running for reelection while the people’s agenda remains on deep pause. So since this news hole must be filled, for fear of breach of contract gripes, here goes with a little bit of this and a little bit of that.
A tip of the hat to the Michigan Secretary of State for planting her feet firmly in the non-partisan lane the other night.
To be sure Jocelyn Benson was in the highly partisan audience at the President Biden Motown/ JoeTown rally but unlike every other Democrat who got a chance at the podium to sing the praises of the prez, when it came her turn she did not even mention his name. Instead she stayed on message about wanting to preside over a fair election this fall. After all that is one of things she gets paid to do.
This is in strong contrast to a former GOP Secretary of State, who will go nameless (Candice Miller) who not only engaged in partisan presidential politics but endorsed one of the conservative contenders on the ballot. So much for SOS neutrality which had been the norm for years in this town up until Ms. Miller wandered off.
Oh by the way, Ms. Benson would love to be the next governor but is smartly staying away from that to focus on election security and fairness. No dummy, she knows if there is even a hint of a botched election, her dreams of residing in the executive residence, after the current governor moves out, could become a nightmare.
Speaking of Michigan House and Congressional members running for reelection, all of them are out there knocking on doors, on the horn raising money or making stump speeches all on your dime. The harshest critics would argue you are subsidizing them while they are doing their business not yours.
Suffice it say that no sitting salon has ever proposed guard rails forcing officer holders, who are also officer seeks during an election year, to work on your stuff from 8 to 5 and then campaign before or after that. Or they could be ordered to return part of their state paycheck docking themselves for the time they are shaking hands for votes.
If you run into one of them, why not ask?
Speaking of the governor, who is busy yucking it up with the likes of John Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and other media stars, she wrote something in her 159 page mini-tome that is worthy of discussion.
The Laws of Nature strongly suggested that self-preservation is at the very heart of human nature. The reason that some cave men and women survived is that they learned to endure mother nature, wild animals, and countless other threats to live long enough to move up a rung or two on the evolutionary ladder.
So when Gov. Gretchen Whitmer opines in “True Gretch” that she would “die for her two daughters,” it makes you stop to wonder if you would do the same?
Would you do that for your kids?
Could it be that there is another Law of Nature that supersedes staying alive, such as parental altruism?
And finally just to slap a ribbon on “this and that” essay.
A whole bunch of voters think that the two major presidential candidates leave something to be desired when it comes to the mental and physical chops to govern.
If that is true, one might ask why then are they voting for either of these two gentleman if they think they are not up to the job?
Just askin’.
