I first encountered my dear friend Michael Rains on the streets of Ann Arbor. He had a cart he has dubbed “the Democracy Machine” and there was a crowd of people around him, waiting to sign petitions to recall Governor Snyder and to repeal Michigan’s anti-democratic Emergency Manager law. If there is a crowd of people in Ann Arbor – and often elsewhere in the state – Michael can often be found there with the Democracy Machine, distributing information and gathering petition signatures for causes he believes in.
Today, Michael is sharing with us his reasons for getting out the vote (GOTV) for the November Election and has information on how you can get involved, too. Whether it’s through the Workers’ Voice Action Center network that Michael writes about, the Michigan Democratic Party’s Coordinated Campaign effort, some other group, or a specific candidate, there are countless ways for you to get involved.
Don’t sit this one out, folks. The election is two weeks from tomorrow and our state cannot withstand four more years of what Rick Snyder and Republican colleagues have planned for our blue state. We simply cannot afford the sort of poor Democratic turnout we saw in 2010.
Please get involved.
Sit down on your debate stool, Governor Snyder. WE have something to tell YOU! We’re going to Get Out The Vote and send you out the door. Here’s why.
The Michigan Emergency Manager law was officially null and void after the November 2012 election when the citizens of our state repealed it by a 52% to 48% margin. Governor Snyder’s answer? He said the voters simply “didn’t understand.” What? I’m sorry, sir. Clearly it’s YOU that doesn’t understand. The Michigan Constitution is very clear. The citizens of the state, by the vote of a majority, have the right to repeal any law they consider to be a bad law. They repealed the Emergency Manager law. Then you defied the will of the people by essentially changing the name of that law and ramming it through anyway. You and the legislators who played along with your game violated the Michigan constitution! From the point of view of any voter who wishes to protect and preserve the right of citizens to repeal a bad law, it follows that every subsequent action by an Emergency Manager under that re-named law is illegal.
The citizens of Michigan have been railroaded! Over a quarter million signatures were gathered in order to qualify to place the EM law repeal language on the ballot. Many thousands of principled and hardworking petitioners hit the streets throughout the summer and fall of 2011.Gathering signatures took a lot of time and determination and trust that enough people could see the EM law as a blatant attack on democratic institutions, like the right to vote, the right to have a representative government, the right to redress government, the right to have a transparent and accountable government, and on and on. They and the citizens who signed the repeal petition earned their right to have the repeal language on the November 2012 ballot. The vote came out in favor of repeal. The Emergency Manager law was NOT repealed. Governor Snyder considers himself above law.
In defense of the Michigan Constitution, we’re going to Get Out The Vote and take Mr. Snyder and his network of anti-democratic thieves out of office.
The Workers’ Voice Action Center network is a multi-union, well-organized, state-wide GET OUT THE VOTE campaign. It is gathering volunteers from all walks of life for the next three weekends before Election Day to turn out the vote for candidates who will support working families!
There are Action Centers spread all over Michigan. Go to http://miaflcio.org/action-center/volunteer to get involved.
Find the one nearest you. Join me!
Photo by Rochelle Noell, used with permission.
