It appears that the gales of November have come early as the aftermath of COVID-19 reveals a trail of bruised and battered Democrat governors in its unsympathetic dissipation. Near the big lake they call Gitchi-Gami comes the wreck of the politically progressive darling, Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The hard fall from grace did not take long at all for the gal who was once the subject of a kidnapping plot by radicals, and now a whole new group of folks wants her to disappear from public office.
Michigan’s Board of State Canvassers first approved six petitions to recall Whitmer and Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist. Of course, they were contested – but this week, the Michigan Court of Appeals has approved those petitions, and the recall efforts move forward.
Chad Baase led the initial effort to remove Whitmer, arguing that she violated the separation of powers clause in the state Constitution. The petitions claim that Whitmer exceeded her authority by imposing various COVID regulations, recognized as some of the harshest in the nation.
On several occasions, the court of appeals noted that Whitmer ignored her own health department’s edicts and continued to issue restrictions well after the Michigan Supreme Court in October tossed her orders aside.
Whitmer was also recently caught violating her own orders, socializing at a bar without donning a mask. “Whitmer’s continued actions which show an ‘It’s OK for me but not for thee’ mentality is not the mentality of an effective leader to bring Success and Growth to Michigan,” Baase pointed out.
Democrats Love Redefining Words
The quickest way to deflect an argument in the Democrat handbook is to make up definitions of words or call into question the use of others' difficult-to-describe words. Former President Bill Clinton wrote this particular chapter after being caught in a compromising lie when questioned about the hanky-panky goings-on in the Oval Office with someone other than his wife. He stared down the empaneled grand jury and, with all sincerity, said, “It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is.”
Now over two decades later, the Whitmer-Gilchrist defense seems eerily familiar. They thought strategically and brilliantly argued that the petitions do not “adequately describe the authorities cited as reasons for the recall.” They then went full into word meanings without skipping a beat: Whitmer claims the language in the recall requests was woefully unclear. In response to one petition complaining about her executive order "closing indoor service at bars,” the governor suggested the word “bars” was unclear.
The appeals court responded that this was a bunch of hooey. To be more precise: “Any person invited to sign the petition would very likely envision a reference to a conventional tavern, where people can purchase and consume alcoholic beverages.” And the court didn’t pull any punches:
“We conclude that although the governor relied on the appearance of a string of nonsensical characters to support her challenge to the clarity of the petition language, the governor’s hasty conclusion about a word-processing irregularity does not arise often enough to compel reading the petition as featuring some gibberish in place of several normal characters that appear the rest of the time.”
No doubt there will be a new chapter added to the reference book that covers “word processing irregularities” and what to do when “gibberish” and “nonsensical” strategies fail miserably. The Whitmer political operatives have expressed disappointment, blamed Republicans, and threatened to appeal the court’s decision.
If this process is to move forward, it must do so before 2022. In 2012, Michigan passed a law that prohibits a recall in the last year of an elected official’s term.
The Disease Is Contagious
Whitmer is yet another high-ranking politician who seems to have caught the contagion – the superiority complex that seems to spread amongst the elites. The rules only apply to peasants – not those who make the rules and picture themselves above the fray, ensconced in ivory towers. Certainly not in public spaces or bars and such with the citizenry.
The list of embarrassed and beleaguered governors in the path of an electorate storm keeps growing: Under investigation for his own questionable judgment is New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. On the other coast, another elite politician – California Governor Gavin Newsom – faces a special recall election, and New Mexico’s top dog is being battered by a hail of unsettling questions from the drive-by media. And it’s all due to that crazy pandemic, COVID-19. Do they have a vaccine for that unpleasant aftertaste yet?
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