Novel Idea: Let’s Ask Michigan Voters What THEY Want!

This “Right To Work” debate in Michigan is making me nauseous like last week’s chili. The liberals seem to be under the perception that the conservatives in the State Senate are pushing legislation through because of political agendas and not because the people support “RTW.” Oh wait, maybe the truth is that the Democratic party doesn’t want it, but that’s for you to educate yourself and decide.

My thought is that if people are voting for Republican state senators that they are mandating that things need to change. People are not stupid, regardless of what elected officials think. People realize that a vote for a Republican is a vote against unions. The liberals, who arguably feel they are losing their union stronghold, seem to be oblivious to a simple fact. People are disenchanted with unions in Michigan. The people of Michigan want to be the 24th “Right to Work” state.

Who could blame them? Detroit was once the symbol of all that was right with our economy. Large automakers provided jobs and a lot of civic pride to this town. They resulting paychecks were responsible for a lot of meals for a lot of families in the great State of Michigan and the great City of Detroit. Things have changed.

It is no secret that Michigan has economic problems. As of October 2012, Michigan ranked 46th in statewide unemployment, at 9.1%. People in Michigan are an example of what we should all be…They are simply demanding results and if “Union Shops” are not the answer then they are looking for an alternative that will work. Imagine that? People are mandating change. That puts a smile on my face. That’s what it’s all about…people standing up for their rights.

I talked to a friend from Michigan, Thursday on twitter. He is just one man but I happen to think that his opinion is important. He told me that he felt his union left him high and dry and he no longer supported labor unions. This conversation came out of something we had in common. I am from Missouri but I have a very similar story. If you care to read it, you can go here (opens in a new window). I will warn you that the story is an emotional one for me and I use some colorful language. I do want you to understand that I am not without bias on this issue. I am a “Right To Work” proponent and much like the gentleman from Twitter, my opinions come from life experience, not political ideologies. I have real world experience which many legislators lack. I think this makes me the expert, to a certain extent, and I can’t respect their “lab rat” ideas when they have not been in the trenches. Time to calm down and support my argument with facts. That’s a tough thing for me to do on this subject.

OK, two guys do not make a majority, especially if one of the two is from Missouri. I admit that. Here is the rub. I have seen polls all over the internet. I checked 5 different polls today. ALL of them support that Michigan voters favor “Right to Work.” The problem is that most of these polls asked less than 1000 people and in a perfect world we would have a higher sampling. One was only 47%-46% in favor of RTW. All of the other margins were much larger, so I am doing what anyone who is willing to research would do. I looked at the facts and my strong presumption is that most Michigan people favor RTW. Click here for another example of one of those polls that shows very strong support for “Right to Work in Michigan.” This poll shows overwhelming support on all questions asked. Most of the polls I looked at showed strong support. I am led to conclude that a majority of Michigan voters do support RTW because the smallest margin I could find was still in favor of it. I try to look at all scenarios because ultimately I believe the people deserve what they want, not the political parties. I believe that people deserve what they want, even when I do not agree with the majority. Michigan was still part of America the last time I looked. That is the American way.

We can only use the numbers we have and I have not found any polls that support that the people of Michigan oppose RTW.  If you find any, please leave them in the comments section because I’d love to study them. I simply find no evidence that Michigan people oppose it.

Right now there is a union proponent reading this that would say that 47-46 is not a mandate. I put that number out there to show the truth. This was the worst supporting number I found, it is still support. If you want to twist numbers to fit your agenda…you will probably do that.

I believe in the truth…don’t just quote from one poll, look at all of them like I did, and please tell your readers about the 58-37 margins out there as well. Full disclosure!

So here we go…everything I hate about American Politics is happening once again. Unions are organizing for protests on the capital. Politicians who think they are above their constituents are posturing and playing their normal games.

Oh yes, did you hear about this ass-clown named Gretchen Whitmer? On second thought I have never called a woman an ass-clown and that may not be politically correct. Would it be “Ms. Ass Clown?” I’m not sure. Excuse me, I am half redneck and I struggle with proper terminology sometimes. I blame it on lack of education. I am from Missour-uh and we don’t rank very well on fancy edu-ma-cation and such.

Whitmer is calling out to Obama to withhold funding from her own state to punish the people who don’t agree with her. If Obama doesn’t comply then what we all fear may come to fruition this time. Gretchen Whitmer could potentially take her ball and go home. Hopefully it will not come to that.

 

This is a serious story even though I am having a little fun with it. She is proposing the withholding of funds for a new international bridge to Canada and a badly needed mass transit system in ailing Detroit. OK, so let’s punish the people of Detroit if we have to, so long as we can punish the Republicans at the same time. Those are my words, not hers. However, what else am I supposed to think? Here are her words:

“We are hoping that when President Obama comes to Michigan next week, that this is going to be on his radar screen, that he’s going to say Michigan doesn’t care about their middle class, [so] why should we be bending over backwards to make sure that this governor is able to deliver on his promise,” said Mrs. Whitmer in an interview with local radio station WWJ.

With all due respect to Gretchen Whitmer I must painfully now retract my accusations of her being an ass-clown. No one could take my opinion seriously with such mud-slinging. I was wrong. Name calling gains nothing.

In the spirit of fairness I will simply state that I believe Gretchen Whitmer is exactly what is wrong with politicians in America. I realize that it may hurt your campaign war chest if the unions leave, but I think this needs to be about what your constituents support and not about YOU. Holding a bridge and transit system hostage may hurt the feelings of a few republicans but it might also hurt the people who voted for you. Shame on you. You are a symbol of everything that is wrong with American politics.

It’s not about YOU, it’s about the people. I would say the same for the Republicans who pushed this through, if, and only if, I could find evidence that they were not giving the people of Michigan what they wanted. Everything I am reading supports that the great people of Michigan want “Right to Work,” so I would respectfully suggest that you get over yourself and give the people what they are asking for.

I realize that sometimes our representatives think we are too stupid to know what is best for us, but I also realize that they are duly bound to support our wishes. They are our public “servants” nor our masters.

I, for one, applaud the people of Michigan and I sincerely hope that Missouri will follow suit.