Michigan Senate cave dwellers vote to cripple Great Lakes protection, strip governor's powers

SB 272 sponsors

Back in the 1970s Lake Erie was dying and Michigan’s waterways were choked with weeks and algae. Phosphorus from laundry detergents was identified as a major culprit in the problems. But the state legislature and federal regulators – under intense industry pressure – were paralyzed with inaction.

Michigan Gov. William Milliken put on his big boy pants and took a stand in 1976, using his power to ban phosphorus. It was the beginning of a steep decline in Great Lakes phosphorus and the recovery of Lake Erie. Other states followed suit. It wasn’t until 2008 that Michigan’s legislature affirmed the Milliken-era ban.

Now Michigan Senate Republicans – under the treacherous guise of reducing regulatory burdens – want to strip Michigan’s governor of his power to protect the lakes and other natural resources. Senate Bill 272 was passed last week. It forbids the governor's environmental regulators to exceed any federal environmental standard. 

That means Republicans believe that water protection laws in places like Arizona and New Mexico are a good fit for Michigan, where we are stewards of the greatest freshwater resource on planet Earth. It means Republicans, erstwhile protectors of state’s rights, believe Washington bureaucrats know what’s best for Michigan. And it means they want to strip Michigan governors of a key power they’ve held for decades.

The bill is part of an onerous package of legislation that seeks to intimidate state regulators into tepid enforcement of environmental laws. 

Here’s hoping that – if these cavemen and women get their way in the State House of Representatives – Gov. Rick Snyder will veto the bills. If he cares about the lakes, he will. And if he’s offended that the legislature is seeking to strip him of the power to enforce the law, he will too.

You can help. Find your state representative and tell them a vote for SB 272 and the rest of this package ensures your vote will go to someone else in 2012.

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Michigan's "Meatgate": You can't handle the truth!

When sudden crisis threatens Michiganders, it’s critical to have a profession team of elected officials ready to respond like an efficient and deadly force of Navy SEALS.

Such was my gratitude yesterday when Lansing politicians dropped routine matters like school funding and budget balancing to react to Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s declaration that Saturday be “Michigan Meatout Day”: http://bit.ly/9zwk8L

State Senators went berserk and spent an hour debating the threat. Sen. Ron Jelinek said it was like telling Michiganders “not to buy Fords or Chevys.” Sen. Liz Brater stuck up for The Gov, and for “fruits, grains and vegetables” grown in Michigan.

The Michigan Farm Bureau was apoplectic. The Michigan United Conservation Clubs hastily created a “Meat Eaters Day” Facebook group that had almost 900 members before the end of the day: http://bit.ly/daGLp7 (“I’m a meatasaurus!” declared one Facebook friend)

The vegetarian group that created Meatout Day plaintively protested that “meat has no phytochemicals.”

Gubernatorial candidates gleefully piled on. The story went national. When CattleNetwork.com weighed in, people knew it was a big story.

My first reaction to Meatgate was indifference. As the furor grew I began to doubt. Perhaps I was just naïve? Blind to the threat of Meatout?

Then, the words of Col. Nathan Jessup in the movie “A Few Good Men” began echoing in my head: “You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use then as the backbone of a life trying to defend something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said "thank you," and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest that you pick up a weapon and stand a post.”

I stand humbled. All I can say is, Thank You Lansing.

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