Apparently unethical behavior is A-OKAY for Michigan Republicans
I recently asked Eclectablog readers in Michigan to contact their Republican Representatives and ask them to demand the resignation of Jase Bolger from his position as Speaker of the House. After seeing responses from a number of Michigan Republican lawmakers, it’s clear that they are circling the wagons to protect Speaker Bolger. It’s also clear, based on some repeated boilerplate language, that they have been instructed in how this effort. And, interestingly, my own Representative, Mark Ouimet, used his House email account to disparage his Democratic “opponent”, Saline Mayor Gretchen Driskell, in clear violation of Michigan election law.
First, let’s review Bolger’s recent “apology” in the Detroit Free Press:
I recently made a mistake when state Rep. Roy Schmidt left the Democratic Party because of its lack of focus on results. My mistake was being drawn in to political gamesmanship. We lost focus on lowering the unemployment rate, eliminating chronic structural deficits and making sweeping reforms that were needed for state government.
Politics is highly competitive. I sought to compete within the rules. An independent investigation has confirmed that no laws were broken and no rules were violated when Roy Schmidt switched parties. But, looking back now, I realize we should have held ourselves to a higher standard than just following the rules. {…}
I’m disappointed in myself and I apologize to the voters for my temporary lack of focus.
Pay attention to those bolded phrases, “political gamesmanship”, “sweeping reforms”, “no laws were broken”, “a higher standard than just following the rules”, and “disappointed”. You’re going to see them again.
Here’s the response that I got from Rep. Mark Ouimet:
Thank you for contacting me regarding this issue. As your state Representative, I am happy to respond to your concerns.The actions are disappointing. While there were no laws broken, this was political games, and I don’t support political gamesmanship from either side. I don’t believe simply following the law is a high enough standard, as elected officials we should strive to meet the higher standard people expect of us.
But, the focus should return to the sweeping changes that we need to make, to turn our state around, and the accomplishments that we have made.
The Republican leadership continues to meet the demands of the people, controlling state spending, reducing long term debt and fostering Michigan’s economic revival. Political rivalry may always be a symptom of our two party system, but we have also shown that we can work together to bring about the kind of change I believe makes public service worthwhile. Nobody wants to return to the days of reckless spending, special-interest dominance or the relentless tax increases that strained our economy and quality of life.
Under Republican leadership in Lansing, we have gotten state spending under control, we are making Michigan a better place for job providers and job seekers, and we are finally starting to get our long term costs under control. We don’t want to go back to the days of out of control spending and tax increases and that is where my opponent wants to take Michigan.
Thank you again for contacting my office. Please do not hesitate to do so in the future.
The first thing you notice are those same phrases popping up, the ones Bolger used in his “apology”. You also notice that Ouimet is using his House email account to attack his “opponent”. Lawmakers are not allowed to campaign using taxpayer-funded resources like their email accounts. It would give them an unfair advantage as incumbents.
Ouimet has clearly violated that law with that one sentence and, no matter how trivial it may sound, it’s still illegal. Recall that we’re supposed to ignore egregious ethical violations and only focus on the law. Ouimet said it himself in his email.
Here’s a response I had sent to me from someone represented by Rep. Ben Glardon:
Thank you for contacting me regarding this issue. As your state Representative, I am happy to respond to your concerns.The actions are disappointing. While there were no laws broken, this was political games, and I don’t support political gamesmanship from either side. I don’t believe simply following the law is a high enough standard, as elected officials we should strive to meet the higher standard people expect of us. Political rivalry may always be a symptom of our two party system, but we have also shown that we can work together to bring about the kind of change I believe makes public service worthwhile.
If any legislation is introduced to prevent this from happening in the future I will give it my full consideration. My focus is to remain working on turning our state around. While this is a serious matter, I am hoping that me and my colleagues in the Legislature can move forward from this distraction and continue addressing the challenges facing Michigan.
Thank you again for contacting my office. Please do not hesitate to do so in the future.
Glardon and Ouimet actually have entire sections that are identical in their emails.
Here’s one an Eclectablog reader received from Rep. Deb Shaughnessy:
The actions of those involved in this incident are disappointing. While there were no laws broken, this was political gamesmanship that undermines voter confidence in their elected officials. I don’t believe simply following the law is a high enough standard, and as for me, I strive to hold myself to a higher standard that I expect of myself as an elected official. Elected officials are human, and although mistakes were made and poor judgement [sic] was used, those involved have taken responsibility for their actions and hopefully, learned a valuable lesson.With that said, I believe the focus should return to the sweeping positive changes the Legislature has made and will continue to make to turn our state around and secure the future for our children and grandchildren.
More boilerplate language from Rep. Shaughnessy.
Finally, here’s a response from Rep. Kurt Heise:
Thank you for contacting me regarding this issue.The actions surrounding Rep. Schmidt in Grand Rapids are disappointing. While there were no laws broken, there was clearly political gamesmanship that simply wasn’t necessary or proper. Rep. Schmidt and Speaker Bolger have both apologized for their actions surrounding this incident; at this point I consider it a local issue that voters in their respective districts will have to decide.
Rep. Schmidt also wanted to switch parties because he had been shut out by the Democratic Party’s leadership in Lansing, which was increasingly out of touch with his constituents’ values and vision. This is not unusual in Lansing today; we have already seen one Democrat House member resign, and others denied leadership positions, because they did not ‘toe the line’ of their increasingly intolerant party establishment.
Also, let’s be honest: getting elected officials to switch sides, running for office under one party banner when in fact you’re aligned the other party, putting candidates in as ‘ringers’ or ‘blockers’ to prevent other candidates from advancing is not new; in fact, it was done to me when I ran for School Board in 2007. These situations are not illegal, but they taint the process, leaving voters feeling cheated and disenfranchised. It’s never proper, and both Rep. Schmidt and Speaker Bolger should have known better.
The focus should return to the sweeping changes that we need to make to turn our state around, and the accomplishments that we have made. The Republican leadership continues to meet the demands of the people, controlling state spending, reducing long term debt and fostering Michigan’s economic revival. Political rivalry may always be a symptom of our two party system, but we have also shown that we can work together to bring about the kind of change I believe makes public service worthwhile.
Thank you again for contacting my office. Please do not hesitate to do so in the future.
Clearly the memo went out to House Republicans: protect the Speaker of the House Jase Bolger and let voters know there’s nothing to see here, just move on. As a single voice they are excusing Bolger and Schmidt’s outrageous election fraud and will do nothing to hold the two men accountable. Yet, at least one of them is willing to break rules about the use of their House account to interject campaign rhetoric into official government communications.
Republicans in Michigan are showing their true colors in this situation. They are willing to tolerate unethical behavior in order to keep their power. It’s time for them to go.
UPDATE: Here’s another response, this one from Rep. Greg MacMaster:
Thank you for taking the time to contact me. I appreciate you doing so.The actions are disappointing. While there were no laws broken, this was political games, and I don’t support political gamesmanship from either side. I don’t believe simply following the law is a high enough standard, as elected officials we should strive to meet the higher standard people expect of us.
My focus continues to remain on the sweeping changes that we need to make, to turn our state around, and the accomplishments that we have made: controlling state spending, reducing long term debt and fostering Michigan’s economic revival.
Political rivalry may always be a symptom of our two party system, but we have also shown that we can work together to bring about the kind of change I believe makes public service worthwhile.
Again, thank you for your email. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future
UPDATE 2: Here’s Rep. Frank Foster on his Facebook page:
Caleb, great question. I have always had a good relationship with Speaker Bolger, and I consider him a friend. Simply put, however, these recent actions are disappointing. While there were no laws broken, this was political games, and I don’t support political gamesmanship from either side. I don’t believe simply following the law is a high enough standard; as elected officials we should strive to meet the higher standard people expect of us. {…}Caleb, I appreciate the response, and I’ll admit that it is hard. I have no respect for the recent actions that were taken, and it has been difficult to watch these events unfold.
The other thing I will say, though, is that despite these recent campaign tactics, our Republican leadership continues to meet the demands of the people, controlling state spending, reducing long term debt and fostering Michigan’s economic revival. Political rivalry may always be a symptom of our two party system, but we have also shown that we can work together to bring about the kind of change I believe makes public service worthwhile. Nobody wants to return to the days of reckless spending, special-interest dominance or the relentless tax increases that strained our economy and quality of life.
Sometimes it’s tough to say “let’s focus on the issues” when it’s your own party that is causing the distraction through political gamesmanship, but I believe that’s exactly what we need to do. I believe that I have always personally ran an honest and transparent campaign, and conducted myself with those same high standards while serving in office. I’m in office for one reason, and that’s to represent my fellow residents up in Northern Michigan, so that’s what I plan on continuing to do.
Cut and paste much, guys???
