| Remember when Ari Adler said Lisa Brown and Barb Byrum had to be deprived the opportunity to speak on the grounds that they were offensive (shrill) persons? Jase Bolger says the real crooks are Democrats, whose corruption inspired Roy Schmidt's desperate flight from their party. Also, he didn't lie. He simply didn't answer MIRS' question. Bolger said he was approached last spring by Schmidt, a longtime Democrat who told Bolger he wanted to switch to the Republican Party because, Bolger said, Schmidt was "tired of the Democrats' partisanship and political games." But Schmidt, who has represented the 76th House District since 2008, worried that switching political affiliation might threaten his re-election, Bolger said. So the two decided that Schmidt wouldn't announce the switch until the last minute — and Schmidt would recruit someone to file as his Democratic opponent.
In other words, they conspired to rig an election. Also, the number of people who believe that horseshit story about changing parties because of partisan games number exactly two -- Magic Frank and Henry Payne. Maybe Schmidt, because he's had to practice it so often that he might now actually believe it. Every adult capable of fogging a mirror and who can add 1 and 1 saw a district made more competitive for the general election, and understood that Schmidt had two paths to re-election -- the hard one by running on his record, and the easy one by selling his future votes, and selling out his constituents and party. If Bolger were really taking responsibility, he wouldn't be talking about how corrupt, partisan Democrats forced Schmidt's hand, and if he really wanted to put people before politics he'd quit on the grounds that he'd disgraced the House Speakership and was guilty of contributing to our poisoned politicis as a result. Update! ... Skubick whacks Bolger. Oh my goodness how the legislative process has changed, and not for the better. Years ago when lawmakers hung around long enough to figure what to do and how to do it, (they called it experience) the committee chairs were given wide latitude by the Speaker of the House to do pretty much as they pleased.
He goes on to illustrate that the Speaker is calling all the shots in the state House. And, isn't that precisely what the state of Michigan needs most right now ... an autocratic House Speaker who doesn't know what the fuck he's doing. |
