Snyder’s Supreme Court appointment will set the tone for the 2013 legislative session

As I anticipated (rather testily) last month, Democrats are losing a voice on the Michigan state Supreme Court. Thanks to the unethical behavior of Diane Hathaway, whose name will now forever be associated with the betrayal of Democrats and Michigan citizens in general, we went from a 4-3 Republican-to-Democrat ratio to what will be a 5-2 balance once Governor Rick Snyder makes his appointment.

This has many people across the state wondering what Snyder will do with this opportunity.

On the one hand, he could continue his recent trend of appeasing the far right conservatives in his party, cementing the partisan divide that has so intensely polarized our state and that has created warring factions who despise each other.

On the other hand, he could choose a more moderate candidate who is more palatable to Democrats in Michigan. By doing this, the Governor could begin to repair some of the damage that was done when he chose to force Right to Work legislation through during the inflamed duck session and the animosity he created by passing laws that hinder women’s access to legal abortion services in our state.

My analysis after the jump.

Oh, for the love of Goddess… With the election of Bridget McCormack on November 6th, Democrats in Michigan picked up a precious seat on the state’s highest court. These seats are hard-won and, in McCormack’s case, it took the effort of a crack campaign staff coupled with volunteers across the state working their tails off to make it happen. Now […]