Our governor is a child abuser and a robber!

Last night I was asked by a very aggressive activist to sign a petition to recall Michigan Governor Rick Snyder. I said “NO” and she glared at me in disappointment, disbelief and what I would even call shock (or at least feigned shock). I suspect she believed that anyone patronizing that particular bar would be supportive of the recall effort (or at least could be bullied into signing the petition by her sullen, aggressive countenance).

To show you how out of touch I can be, I didn’t know there was a new recall petition underway. I knew the last one had failed for lack of sufficient signatures (they needed 800,000 but only came up with 500,000), but apparently I missed a few items in the news. The petition language (approved 2-1 by local Democrats) is very entertaining:

“Governor Snyder has abused the children of Michigan. He cut thousands of children off food aid. He robbed $400 million from the School Aid Fund, then slashed school payments. This forced children into crowded classes. Then he signed more laws that privatize services, attack teachers and blame unions. Snyder raised taxes on retirees and low and middle income working people, to make them pay $2 billion a year. At the same time, he gave an 86% tax cut, $1.7 billion, to large corporations. Snyder signed Public Act 4 of 2011, the Emergency Manager Law. Snyder used the law to take over cities and school districts. Snyder removed officials elected by the citizens. Snyder’s agents broke contracts and sold off public property cheaply to corporations.

“Richard Snyder has failed to pass a single law that helps Michigan citizens get jobs. He signed a law that cut state unemployment benefits from 26 to 20 weeks, and caused Michigan workers to lose 16 weeks of federal benefits.”

Wow, so our governor is a child abuser and a robber? I didn’t know that. Local Tea Party activists accuse him of being too moderate for their tastes, and even of being a RINO. But like, if he’s a child abuser and a robber, isn’t that worse than being a moderate RINO “squish” type? I guess it’s getting harder and harder to please people these days.

As to the allegation that he “failed to pass a single law,” it is absolutely true — but as a single sentence, standing on its own. Governors do not pass laws. The legislatures do. Governors can either sign or veto them.

Maybe they’re trying to be cute.

I do find it fascinating that the petition language was too over-the-top for Larry Kestenbaum. He’s a staunch Ann Arbor Democrat, but he voted not to approve it.

Kestenbaum said he was concerned about wording on the petition alleging Snyder had “abused the children of Michigan.” He said he didn’t feel that wording was clear because it was open to interpretation what type of abuse the group was alleging.

“I am usually pretty easygoing about clarity,” but “I really didn’t like that,” Kestenbaum said.

Well, I guess it could have been worse. One angry Ann Arbor resident told me that Rick Snyder is “killing children.”

As to why the petition doesn’t call him a murderer, I don’t know. Maybe they think they’re being moderate and restrained.  But there is apparently no requirement that allegations in recall petitions be true:

Andrea Hansen, an attorney for Snyder, objected to the wording, which begins by claiming “Governor Snyder has abused the children of Michigan.”

“The statement is not only offensive and inflammatory, but it’s really not understandable,” Hansen said. “It doesn’t really say what is meant by the abuse. Which children are abused? How he abused them. … You can’t make false statements like that without specifics.”

But under Michigan law, boards of canvassers are only to review the grammar and punctuation of recall petitions

“There is no requirement for there to be any shred of truth in our statement at all,” said Marion Townsend of Dearborn, who filed the recall language last month.

Well, personally I think the language in the petition helps the governor, but it would have helped him even more had it called him a murderer, so I am a little disappointed.

Still, I didn’t sign. For that I received a certain look that clearly indicated the petition circulator believed me to be a murderous sellout traitor of some sort, and if looks could kill, I’d be dead.

We murderers (and child abusers and robbers) had better stick together.