You're going after the wrong SOB, dammit!

It’s a shame.

It’s disappointing that leaders at Daily Kos, the powerhouse progressive website that gets 13,000 visits each week, have decided to champion the fledgling Recall Rick Snyder effort in Michigan.

I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again. Using valuable resources to try to recall Rick Snyder is the wrong response to his evil machinations.

If Snyder is recalled, Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley will sit in the governor’s chair for the remainder of the term. (There is no special election to select Snyder’s successor.) I sure don’t want Brian Calley – who was born when “I Just Want to Be Your Everything” by Andy Gibbs was a top hit and I was trying to get the girls in my high school sophomore class to look beyond my acne and see the real me – calling the shots.

Calley was named "Legislator of the Year" by the Small Business Association of Michigan in 2008. He’s a member of the National Rifle Association and Right to Life of Michigan. A former banker, he earned a measly 17 percent score for 2009–2010 on the Michigan League of Conservation Voters scorecard. Who thinks things would be better with this guy signing the GOP’s bills into law?

I’ve written about how evil and wrong Rick Snyder is for Michigan. (It sure would be nice if my blog received 13,000 hits per week.) I’ve addressed his effort to bust unions and bring fascism to Benton Harbor and elsewhere through his emergency financial manager (EFM) scheme. I’ve covered his attempts to rob the poor to give to the rich through his pro-business, anti-everybody else budget proposals. I’ve pointed out that the far-right, Koch-funded Mackinac Center is a key puppetmaster here, pulling Snyder’s strings until he dances the merengue. I’ve revealed that I dislike the Turd Nerd more than I did John Engler, the last GOP governor who used a “scorched earth” approach to public policy development in Michigan. (At least Engler was politically astute.)

But recall supporters need to collect 850,000 petition signatures between now and August 20. And Snyder’s deep-pocketed overlords are already hard at work casting this as a fight between the yucky, self-serving Michigan Education Association and a fresh, honest reformer who’s just trying to rein in those tax-and-spend liberals and put our fine state back on track. Sadly, this is going to be tough – and expensive – to counter.

It makes more sense to go after the composition of the state legislature – where Republicans currently control everything, including the scheduling of bathroom breaks – because less money and fewer petition signatures are required in a district than in a statewide recall campaign. Taking away GOP control of either chamber would provide the brakes needed to slow the Snyder/Calley train wreck. (And would probably elevate the importance of the judiciary, but that’s another blog post.)

It’s heartening to learn that Republican state legislators in several counties – including Wayne, Macomb, Washtenaw, Monroe and Huron – have been targeted for recall because they won narrow victories in 2010 in traditionally blue-leaning districts. There’s clearly a lot of passion and anger out there that needs an outlet. It just seems logical to make the most of it.

I remember when a recall campaign was mounted against Governor Jim Blanchard, my boss at the time, back in 1983 for increasing the state income tax. (Brian Calley was six years old.) The effort failed miserably. However, two state senators, Phil Mastin and Dave Serotkin, did lose their seats for voting for the plan. This gave the Senate to the Republicans and allowed a young backbencher from Mt. Pleasant named John Engler to come forward. He was elected Senate Majority Leader in 1984. The rest is history.

Philosopher George Santayana once said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

Can we stop making the same mistakes over and over, progressives? Can we pretend we’re Republicans and focus on tactics and strategy rather than emotion for just a minute? Please?



Sources: Daily Kos, Blogging for Michigan, National Conference of State Legislatures, Project Vote Smart, Michigan League of Conservation Voters