As if it weren’t a big enough travesty that Rep. Paul Scott is asking the state Supreme Court to reconsider their ruling that his recall go on. Now Governor Rick Snyder & Attorney General Bill Schuette are sticking their noses into the matter.
Gov. Rick Snyder and Attorney General Bill Schuette filed requests with the Michigan Supreme Court today, asking the court to delay the Nov. 8 recall election targeting state Rep. Paul Scott, R-Grand Blanc.In documents filed with the court, Snyder and Schuette said the legal tangle surrounding the case – which has been ordered on, off and back on the ballot over the course of the last two months – has left voters confused and in danger of being disenfranchised.
As I said in my previous post, “Any confusion about this recall election in the minds of his District’s voters is entirely caused by Paul Scott himself. Period. If that works in his favor then his mission is accomplished. If it works against him, well, tough rocks, dude. You made that bed.”
The Governor has no business getting involved with this. The Attorney General, as Jocelyn Benson put it so well, is supposed to be looking out for the interests of the voters, not the candidates.
The Detroit Free Press is even more blunt in this morning’s editorial:
Clumsy and nakedly partisan hasn’t been Gov. Rick Snyder’s M.O. so far, but his recent decision, with Attorney General Bill Schuette, to interfere in the Nov. 8 recall election targeting Rep. Paul Scott of Grand Blanc has us reconsidering the limits of his good judgment.State Supreme Court justices, who showed admirable independence in thwarting efforts to derail the recall last week, should waste no time in rejecting this new affront to the democratic process.
~SNIP~
Whatever you think of Michigan’s recall process, it’s a process ordained by law. We have argued that the constitutional grounds for recalling a legislator halfway through his or her two-year term should ideally be limited to serious legal or ethical misconduct. But the current constitution provides recall campaigns with greater latitude, and the Snyder/Schuette effort is an obvious effort to frustrate the constitution’s intent.
Paul Scott is attempting to use the legal system to create confusion in the recall and then claim that there’s too much confusion for the recall to go on. The Supreme Court justices are sure to be aware of this. Given their record on the matter so far, twice denying Scott his appeals, they will rule against him a third time.
Snyder and Schuette should butt the hell out.
UPDATE: Snyder isn’t just intervening on behalf of Paul Scott in this Supreme Court case. He’s also going to campaign for Scott in the run-up to the recall election.
State Rep. Paul Scott says Gov. Rick Snyder could campaign on his behalf on Friday in Grand Blanc as Scott faces a Nov. 8 recall election.Scott said officials are working to bring Snyder to town Friday.
Snyder spokeswoman Sara Wurfel said the governor is trying to make it to the district because he supports Scott and will be in the area for other events Friday.
~SNIP~
Friday’s visit will mark Snyder’s second trip to Genesee County to support Scott’s recall fight. In August, the governor attended a private campaign fundraiser for Scott in a Flushing home.
