Sallow
The Big Bad Wolf.
Well it seems that the autocratic plans for the country are being proven out in Michigan. Republicans won the legislature and have used emergency rules to fast track laws as BAU. They've taken over towns and tossed out local officials while ramming through un-popular bills without taking a vote. It seems that although they have a majority..they don't have the 2/3rds majority necessary to fast track. And it seems that the vote count might not have been "accurate". We've seen these sorts of things take place in other states, but none so brazen. Michigan is in the process of liqudating towns they don't like..and voter suppression.
Rachel Maddow said, Under the Michigan constitution remember again you can only make a law take effect immediately if you have a 2/3 majority, if you have a super majority. Michigan Republicans dont have that. In the House they dont have a 2/3 majority. In order to get 2/3 on any vote, House Republicans would need the help of almost a dozen Democrats. You need 63 lawmakers on your side, before you get what the state constitution says you can have if you want that immediate effect right. You need 73 votes to take effect right away. So for the emergency manager law for example, Democrats voted against that law in a bloc. Republicans did pass it with their 62 votes and 62 votes is enough to pass it, but its not nearly enough for it to go into effect immediately, but regardless they just attached immediate effect to it anyway.
Maddow pointed out that Republicans are claiming immediate effect passed with a 2/3 majority, but it didnt happen that way. She pointed out that the emergency manager law and possibly the rest of the 500 bills the Michigan Republicans passed and used immediate effect may have been passed in violation of Michigan constitution.
She showed video evidence of Michigan Republicans violating the constitution and illegally passing bills, and discussed the Democrats lawsuit against the Republicans over their abuse of immediate effect. The court case matters because Michigan Republicans are trying to pass a law to make it harder to vote, and they are also trying to pass a law making it harder to put a referendum on the ballot.
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The phased Republican murder of democracy in Michigan has never gotten the attention that it deserves. Michigan has taken a backseat to Wisconsin and the SB 5 drama in Ohio, but something is happening in Michigan that is more important than what is going on in those other states. For the first time in our history, a political party in a state is systemically eliminating democracy in order to create one party rule.
When Republicans ignore their own state constitution and violate the democratic process in the state legislature, that is call autocracy. When Republicans strip power away from voters and representatives and hand it to a non-elected appointee of the governor that is a democracy killing behavior.
Rachel Maddow Eviscerates Michigan Republicans for Circumventing Democracy