Whitmer, Gretchen Gov D

520 primary on VP /death threats

see stay at home

2018 walker beat, snyder bailled several other blue govs in midwest

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From the October 28, 2025, edition of Newsmax's Carl Higbie Frontline

:{:{CARL HIGBIE (HOST): Yeah, I think every one of those pardons and commutations should be considered void. Just as we said, for the last four years, we were called crazy that there might be even the possibility of a shadow government operating independent of the president — I mean, who appeared to be a vegetable at the time — and all these people said that these investigations were partisan and they were useless and they were a waste of taxpayer — it turns out a so-called conspiracy theorists were right again. These investigations are 100% necessary because why would you wish pardons to people if you didn't think they needed something to be pardoned for?}:

The January 6 committee, at a bare minimum, they deleted the evidence, which is a crime. Worst case scenario, they covered up for the FBI, embedding 274 undercover agents in assets and the crowd that day. Who knows if they were the ones who broke in first, which would make it entrapment, like the FBI did to Gretchen Whitmer's kidnapping case that got thrown out. Covered it up, obviously. They lied about it and then used those investigations to impeach Donald Trump to try to prevent him from running again so that he would never find out about the coup the deep state ran, undermining his entire first presidency.}:

Either way, people should probably go to jail. Doctor Fauci should be buried under the jail for conspiracy against rights. The architect of completely fabricated medical data to remove constitutional rights, like the right to peaceably assemble for, I don't know, church. Oh, and force you to inject an experimental vaccine. Then you got General Mark Milley. Remember, he had discussions with the Chinese counterpart saying that he would warn China if the president was planning any military action. That's like treason to me. Under 18 U.S. Code 2381, reinforcing Article three, Section three of the Constitution. He can be sentenced to death for that. I bet Milley's freaking out right now. And he should be.

:{:{Now, here's a constitutional crisis that this may have actually created, though. Obviously the DOJ should investigate this to the fullest extent of the law. But when these people get hauled in for questioning under oath, how does that go? Because this is unique. Once you've accepted a pardon, you don't have a Fifth Amendment right anymore because that's the right to remain silent to avoid self-incrimination. }:

But if you've accepted that pardon, apparently you can't be incriminated. So what happens if these people — I mean, they have to talk at that point. So what happens if these people disclose information that incriminates themselves in being complicit with a fraudulent pardon? How about did Hunter sell any of those pardons to anyone? Want to ask him that? This has literally never been litigated before. Ever. And the reason it's never been litigated is because no White House was ever arrogant enough to conduct such a fast and loose autopen use procedure.}:

mma

### Donald Trump suggested Gen. Mark Milley deserves to be executed. TV news barely covered it.

09/26/23 12:40 PM EDT

### Broadcast news shows and print outlets largely ignored Gen. Milley calling Trump “fascist to the core”

10/14/24 3:01 PM EDT

### Fox News host Mark Levin attacks retired Gen. Mark Milley for saying that Trump is a fascist to the core

10/23/24

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AN 9 25

Tariffs 'exacerbate the problem': Whitmer rips Trump for damage to Michigan economy

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wapo

Even though the hate group Proud Boys were not early protest organizers, they have shown up at protests to spread their ideas. Members have appeared or spoken at rallies and demonstrations in Michigan, Colorado, Nevada and Florida, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Group members have spread xenophobic messages, including blaming China and Chinese people for the virus.

In Michigan, the protests come as Whitmer, the first Democrat to lead the state in nearly a decade, continues to draw the ire of Trump, whose response to the pandemic she has called inadequate. Trump railed against her on television and in briefings, at one point calling her ungrateful and saying that he had instructed Vice President Pence, who is coordinating some of the pandemic response, to not call “the woman in Michigan.”

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an 1123

in 2020, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was, according to the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) officials, the target of a kidnapping plot by far-right militia extremists. The would-be kidnappers, angry over Whitmer's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, reportedly planned to subject her to a fake "trial" and execute her if convicted.

Altogether, 14 people faced federal criminal charges for their alleged roles in the plot; five were convicted by a jury, four entered "guilty" pleas, and five were acquitted. Two of the ones who were acquitted, twin brothers Michael and William Null, were recently honored by far-right Michigan State Rep. Rachelle Smit — who, the Daily Beast reports, honored them at a late-October ceremony."

In a report published on November 8, the Daily Beast's Kelly Weill emphasizes that Smit and other far-right MAGA Republicans are seriously distorting the facts in the plot to kidnap Whitmer.

At the ceremony, Weill reports, Smit gave Michael and Wiliam Null a certificate that read, "Michael Null is an outstanding example of the kind of person who is not content to sit idly while the forces of tyranny attack our Republic. Through his courageous efforts to expose the government's false-flag Whitmer conspiracy, he has made it clear that we all have opportunities each and every day to put our love of country to good use in helping out our fellow citizens."

The certificate also said, "Michael Null could have given up. His government — state and federal — betrayed him: it sent members of its secret police forces to concoct a plot to 'kidnap' Gretchen Whitmer, and to persecute innocent men in this government-orchestrated conspiracy, for the purpose of political theater and political gain."

But Smit, according to Weill, downplays the fact that nine of the defendants in the Whitmer case were either convicted or pled guilty.

"When the FBI announced the arrests of 14 men accused of plotting to kidnap Whitmer, Michigan’s Democratic governor in 2020, commentators on the right were quick to call it a hoax," Weill explains. "While on the 2022 campaign trail, Michigan Republicans even falsely accused Whitmer of concocting the plot herself. When two men were acquitted in the scheme, a GOP gubernatorial candidate running against Whitmer baselessly asserted that 'the FBI conceived a plot to kidnap Gretchen Whitmer and preyed on Michiganders to push it along.'"

The MAGA gubernatorial candidate that Weill is referring to is Garrett Soldano.Far-right conspiracy theorist Julie Kelly, Weill notes, has also described the kidnapping plot as a "hoax."

In response to Smit honoring the Hull Brothers, former Michigan GOP Chairman Jeff Timmer told the Beast, "It's this normalizing, inch by inch, of political violence, making what would've previously been intolerable tolerable in the sense that we just have become numb to it. It's not too distant — if it's distant at all — from the Republican Party, its elected officials, and its party officers…. many of whom, prominent members of Congress from Michigan, members of the legislature, members of the elected party apparatus, have ties to these people who were part of the kidnapping plot."

Barbara McQuade, a former federal prosecutor and frequent legal analyst for MSNBC, described honoring the Hull Brothers as "a very dangerous and reckless move."

McQuade told the Beast, "They were acquitted at trial. And certainly, that means that the jury found that the government had failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, and we should respect that verdict. But it's quite another thing to celebrate political violence."

*Read The Daily Beast's full report at this link (subscription required).

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3/23 rtw?

https://www.alternet.org/michigan-repeal-anti-union-labor/

yay!

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921 amanda

The stakes of the California recall election of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom couldn't be higher. Voting, either by mail or in person, ends Tuesday, and if Newsom is recalled, the bluest state in the country will not just have a Republican governor, but Larry Elder, a right-wing talk radio host who is a loon even by the standards of the party that elected Donald Trump.

If Elder wins, he threatens California's fragile recovery from the pandemic, since, like most Republicans these days, he's running interference for the virus. Plus, he would have the power to replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who is literally 88 years old, if she were to leave office — and one name that's being floated is Elder's protege and white nationalist former Trump advisor Stephen Miller.

In a normal circumstance, someone like Elder — he suggested Women's March participants are too ugly to rape and argued that it's the descendants of slave owners and not slaves that deserve reparations — would never have a chance of winning the governorship of a deep blue state like California. Unable to win in a free and fair election, however, Republicans in the state have turned to dirty tricks and shenanigans. The entire Republican strategy is built around suppressing voter turnout through confusing and demoralizing the public. The recall ballots are confusing, and may lead voters to not understand that voting yes on recalling Newsom automatically means voting yes on his replacement being a Republican. Republicans are also counting on pandemic-induced disillusionment to keep Democratic voters from bothering to mail in ballots at all.

In other words, the California recall is a microcosm of what has become the GOP's national strategy.

Republicans have given up entirely on the basic premise of democracy. They no longer think that politicians should try to appeal to a majority of citizens to win power. Instead, their focus is entirely on finding ways to circumvent public will and gain power anyway. In some states, this manifests as gerrymandering, outright voter suppression and even a new slate of laws meant to allow Republican officials to simply vacate the results of elections they don't like. In California, it's about forcing an off-year election in the most confusing way possible, hoping to hoodwink voters into accidentally giving themselves a Republican governor.

Regardless of the state-specific method, what holds all of this together is a widespread rejection within the Republican Party of the right of the people to choose their own leaders. Republicans feel entitled to rule, no matter what, and therefore feel entitled to lie, cheat, and steal their way to power. The technical legality of the California recall election doesn't change this reality. The spirit of the whole enterprise is driven by a willingness of Republicans to find some backhanded way to force a governor on the state that they know very well the majority of Californians do not want.

Ultimately, it comes down to the increasingly rigid Republican belief that most Americans are not legitimate citizens and therefore have no right to vote Republicans are bound to respect. This belief manifests most commonly in the Big Lie, which is metastasizing beyond Trump's false claims that he lost the 2020 election due to "fraud". Already, right-wing pundits and Republican politicians are prepping their followers for the possibility that Newsom survives the recall with an updated version of the Big Lie, claiming the election is "rigged" and that Newsom will only win through "voter fraud."

No real evidence of actual fraud that could swing an election is ever produced with these relentless Big Lie claims, but then again, it doesn't need to be.

"Voter fraud" is not really a literal belief among Republicans, but more a code phrase to convey the larger belief that most legal voters shouldn't have the right to vote at all. To call these legal voters "frauds" is to contest the legitimacy of their citizenship. It functions in the same way as conspiracy theories about Barack Obama's birth certificate did, as a way for conservatives to signal to each other a belief that the first Black president is not a "real" American. With the Big Lie, the group of people who conservatives refuse to admit are legitimate citizens has grown to encompass pretty much anyone who votes for the Democrats.

This notion that most Americans aren't "real" Americans and therefore are "fraud" voters has become a majority belief among Republican voters. A recent CNN poll, which found that 6 in 10 Republican voters said that affirming the Big Lie — which again, is code for the belief that Democratic votes are inherently illegitimate — is an important part of being a Republican. We see this in the support for the January 6 insurrection that has been quietly solidifying among the GOP base. It all goes back to a belief that if Republicans can't win a fair election, they should be able to cheat their way into power — or, if that fails, use violent force.

As Igor Derysh reported last week for Salon, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is facing down a similarly sleazy power grab by Republicans in Michigan. Republicans in the state legislature are trying to pass an anti-voting bill to keep those voters they see as illegitimate — particularly urban residents and Black voters — from casting ballots. To get around Whitmer's veto, they're using the same tactic that California Republicans used to force a recall, exploiting an ill-advised loophole that allows a shockingly small number of petitioners to force the issue.In this case, it's not a recall, but even worse, the ability simply overrule the decision of a duly elected governor. Democrats in the state are accusing Republicans of using a "playbook of losing, lying, and attempting to cheat their way into office."

It's not just a fair accusation, but such an obvious observation that it's verging on banal. It's the playbook that fueled Trump's failed coup and is currently fueling Elder's attempt to seize the California governor's office through the back door. Elections are increasingly not going to be contests of two candidates trying to appeal to voters, but a Democratic candidate appealing to voters while a Republican candidate tries to find some way to get around that pesky "democracy" problem. Newsom will probably survive this recall effort, but the country is going to have a much harder time surviving the relentless GOP assault on democracy.

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SoS threatened,

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After a leveling blistering rebuke of President Donald Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, Rep. Cynthia Johnson (D-Mich.) was faced with stark criticism -- and now Michigan House Republicans have stripped her committee assignments including her appointment to the House Oversight Committee. There have even been threats of possible sanctions during the next House term.

However, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) insists the Republican Party has gone too far with their retaliation against Johnson. During an interview with MLive, Whitmer weighed in with her concerns about the attack on Johnson as she revealed she has already appealed to House leadership to reconsider their decision, according to MLive.com.

"I think that removing her from her committees is too far, truly, and I've reached out and asked the incoming House leadership to reconsider that," Whitmer said.

Whitmer added, "The simple requirement that she show up to do her job last week at a hearing with Rudy Giuliani, where she was exposed to COVID, frankly, and everyone who was there was, has now made her the target of a lot of racist attacks and threats on her life."

The Democratic governor also expressed the importance of showing each other "some grace" during this critical time.

"None of this is acceptable. None of it is acceptable," Whitmer said. "And I believe that it is crucial that we show one another some grace right now."

Whitmer's latest remarks come just days after Johnson went viral for her stark rebuke of Giuliani. The House Democrat posted a now-deleted video message to Facebook on Tuesday as she criticized Trump and Giuliani's post-election legal battle.

At one point during the video, she also leveled a warning toward Trump supporters, specifically. Johnson said she had a "warning to you Trumpers. Be careful. Walk lightly." She also says, "And for those of you who are soldiers, you know how to do it. Do it right. Be in order. Make them pay."

Johnson has not yet spoken out about the video message.

FROM YOUR SITE ARTICLES

This is a really, really big deal': Michigan Gov. moves to shut down Line 5 pipeline

Jessica Corbett Common Dreams

November 14, 2020

Environmental and Indigenous activists celebrated Friday after Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer took action to shut down the decades-old Enbridge Line 5 oil and natural gas pipelines that run under the Straits of Mackinac, narrow waterways that connect Lake Huron and Lake Michigan—two of the Great Lakes.

Citing the threat to the Great Lakes as well as "persistent and incurable violations" by Enbridge, Whitmer and Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Director Dan Eichinger informed the Canadian fossil fuel giant that a 1953 easement allowing it to operate the pipelines is being revoked and terminated.

The move, which Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel asked the Ingham County Circuit Court to validate, gives Enbridge until May 2021 to stop operating the twin pipelines, "allowing for an orderly transition that protects Michigan's energy needs over the coming months," according to a statement from the governor's office.

The Great Lakes collectively contain about a fifth of the world's surface fresh water. As Whitmer explained Friday, "Here in Michigan, the Great Lakes define our borders, but they also define who we are as people."

"Enbridge has routinely refused to take action to protect our Great Lakes and the millions of Americans who depend on them for clean drinking water and good jobs," the governor said. "They have repeatedly violated the terms of the 1953 easement by ignoring structural problems that put our Great Lakes and our families at risk."

"Most importantly, Enbridge has imposed on the people of Michigan an unacceptable risk of a catastrophic oil spill in the Great Lakes that could devastate our economy and way of life," she added. "That's why we're taking action now, and why I will continue to hold accountable anyone who threatens our Great Lakes and fresh water."

MLive noted that the state attorney general's new filing "is in addition to Nessel's lawsuit filed in 2019 seeking the shutdown of Line 5, which remains pending in the same court." Nessel said Friday that Whitmer and Eichinger "are making another clear statement that Line 5 poses a great risk to our state, and it must be removed from our public waterways."

The "bombshell news," as one Michigan reporter called it, elicited applause from environmentalists and Indigenous leaders within and beyond the state.

"This is a brave and just decision for the Great Lakes," Mike Shriberg, the National Wildlife Federation's regional executive director for the Great Lakes, told MLive. "It's going to benefit the Great Lakes by removing what is probably the single biggest threat to water quality in the region."

As the Detroit Free Press detailed Friday:

Enbridge was responsible for one of the largest inland oil spills in U.S. history—a major leak on one of its large oil transmission lines near Marshall in July 2010. That spill fouled more than 38 miles of the Kalamazoo River and took four years and more than $1 billion to clean up. Enbridge in 2016 agreed to a $177-million settlementwith the U.S. Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency, including $62 million in penalties, over the Marshall spill and a 2010 spill on another of its pipelines in Romeoville, Illinois.

A similar spill disaster on Line 5 in the Straits would devastate the Great Lakes shoreline communities and the Michigan economy, critics of the pipeline have long contended. Enbridge officials have countered that Line 5 is safe.

"Line 5 should have never been built in the first place," Shriberg told the Free Press. "Gov. Whitmer is now bravely, and correctly, standing up for the Great Lakes."

"This is a legacy-defining action by the governor," he added. "She is standing on the side not only of clean water, but clean energy and the jobs that go along with the transition to a renewable energy economy."

Dallas Goldtooth, Keep It In The Ground Campaign organizer for the Indigenous Environmental Network, welcomed the "huge news" in a series of tweets that acknowledged the years of campaigning by tribal nations against the Line 5:

"We are thrilled and thankful for Gov. Whitmer's decision to revoke the easement for Enbridge's pipeline to run beneath the Straits," Bryan Newland, president of the Bay Mills Indian Community, said in a statement from Earthjustice. "Enbridge has consistently shown that it only cares about its profits and not about the communities of the Great Lakes. This is a monumental first step in rectifying the harm that the company has already inflicted upon Bay Mills and other tribal nations for decades."

The shutdown notice is "an enormous victory for the climate, and for incredible organizers who have fought for many years!" declared activist and author Bill McKibben, who co-founded 350.org. After thanking both Whitmer and "the indefatigable organizers," he added that "it's not often enough we Shut Stuff Down!"

Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) also welcomed the development in a statement Friday. Peters, who secured a narrow reelection victory last week, is a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, which oversees the federal agency responsible for pipeline safety.

"There's no question an oil spill in the Straits of Mackinac would have catastrophic and long-term consequences to the economic and environmental health of Michigan and the Great Lakes," Peters said. "Unfortunately here in Michigan, we already know from the Enbridge pipeline leak in the Kalamazoo River just how devastating and costly spills are to our state."

"Given the structural integrity and age concerns around Line 5—particularly in recent years—and Enbridge's failures and inability to be transparent with Michiganders, it's clear that Line 5 poses too serious of a threat and must be removed in the coming months," the congressman continued, vowing to work with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and the State of Michigan "to swiftly evaluate alternatives to Line 5 while continuing to hold Enbridge accountable."

RELATED ARTICLES AROUND THE WEB

https://www.alternet.org/2020/10/michigan-sheriff-implies-that-extremists-arrested-in-plot-to-kidnap-gretchen-whitmer-were-merely-trying-to-arrest-her/

vid

On Thursday, the FBI announced that six men were facing federal charges in connection with an alleged plot to kidnap and possibly kill Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that seven of their allies were facing weapons charges at the state level.

And in a new local sheriff who had appeared at a rally with some of the suspects made an awkward effort to defend them, implying that perhaps they were merely trying to "arrest" Whitmer rather than kidnap her.

According to the FBI, far-right extremists (including members of the Wolverine Watchmen, a militia group) planned to kidnap Whitmer and take her to Wisconsin, where they would conduct a "trial" for treason. The militia members were furious with Whitmer for the social distancing restrictions that she ordered in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. And if they found Whitmer guilty of treason, the FBI said, she would be executed.

But when Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf was interviewed by Fox 17 (a Fox affiliate in Grand Rapids, Michigan), he implied that what the extremists had in mind was not a terrorist plot, but merely a citizens' arrest.

Two of the men facing charges are brothers Michael and William Null, who have been accused of providing support for terrorist acts. Fox 17 aired video that showed Leaf standing alongside William Null at a demonstration in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where both of them protested against Whitmer's stay-at-home order. Leaf was a guest speaker at that event.

Leaf, discussing the Null brothers, told Fox 17, "We can't convict them in the news media here. They do have a right to a fair trial."

Leaf was asked if he had any "regrets" about standing alongside a man who is "now being charged in a plot to kidnap the governor."

He responded, "Well, it's just a charge. And they say a plot to kidnap, and you gotta remember: are they trying to kidnap — because a lot of people are angry with the governor, and they want her arrested. So, are they trying to arrest, or was it a kidnapping attempt? Because in Michigan, if it's a felony, you can make a felony arrest."

Leaf added, "It doesn't say, if you're elected to office, that you're exempt from that arrest. I have to look at it from that angle, and I'm hoping that's more what it is. In fact, these guys are innocent until proven guilty. So, I'm not even sure if they had any part in it."

Leaf's comments are drawing a lot of responses on social media. Twitter user George Schwab, @CpkGeo, posted, "That sheriff needs to go NOW!," and another Twitter user, Eric Brown, @EricBrown1911, wrote, "Words cannot describe the lengths at which people go through to justify ignorance and stupidity."

Detroit-based attorney William Maze, @TheDUILawyer, tweeted, "Insane. But Sheriff Dar Leaf is a member of the far right Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA) and has links on his page to 'Posse,' which can only refer to the right wing hate group Posse Comitatus."

1020

CNN anchor Chris Cuomo on Thursday blasted Attorney General Bill Barr. Cuomo played a video of Rep. Pramila Jayapal questioning the attorney general, which has new importance after the plot to kidnap or murder Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI). In the clip, Rep. Jayapal grilled Barr about widely reported press accounts of the armed takeover of the Michigan state capitol. At least two of the men arrested appeared at the rally. https://twitter.com/ChadLivengood/status/1314332374759542784 "He's damned by his own words," Cuomo declared. "These people were investigating it at the same time. A sitting governor, over a dozen bad guys, months of planning, murderous intent, derivative of the main domestic terror threat we face," he explained. "And he's clueless? How? How is that okay?" Watch:

https://www.alternet.org/2020/05/maga-extremists-worried-about-mail-in-voting-and-obamagate-as-michigan-is-battered-by-coronavirus-unemployment-and-severe-flooding/

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has had a lot to deal with this week, from the coronavirus pandemic and job losses to severe flooding in parts of her state. But where there are real problems, there are also far-right extremists and diehard MAGA voters obsessing over non-issues — and journalist Tim Alberta, in an article for Politico, examines some of the things they have been focusing on in that key battleground state.

On May 21, President Donald Trump visited Michigan — where he hasn’t been shy about offering political red meat for his MAGA base.

“Just 24 hours before he arrived in Michigan,” Alberta notes, “the president launched a dangerous disinformation campaign, accusing the secretary of state of going ‘rogue’ by illegally sending absentee ballots to every Michigan voter. He threatened to block funding to Michigan — a state beleaguered by multiple converging disasters, including one that was unfolding just as the tweet was sent: ‘if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path!’”

At a time when coronavirus and flooding are a double whammy in Michigan, Trump and his hardcore MAGA base are worried about mail-in ballots being a source of voter fraud in the state. But truth be told, voting by mail is something that Republicans have a long history of supporting. And as Alberta explains, Trump is promoting fear over a problem that doesn’t exist.

In Michigan, Alberta writes, “Voters were sent applications to vote absentee, a practice consistent with a newly adopted Michigan law — a law that exists in other states, red and blue alike. The Michigan GOP has itself sent out applications. There is nothing sordid or illegitimate going on; both parties here understand the rules of the game and are attempting to master them before November. But Trump is playing his own game.”

Politico interviewed an abundance of MAGA voters in Michigan on May 21, and found that they bought into Trump’s bogus voter fraud claims.

“In conversation after conversation with voters here Thursday,” Alberta reports, “Trump supporters repeatedly — and completely unsolicited — say Democrats are attempting to steal the election from the president.”

Michigan is also where far-right wingnuts have been holding raucous anti-shutdown rallies, declaring that Whitmer’s stay-at-home order is an anti-Trump conspiracy and that she is exaggerating the dangers of coronavirus. “Obamagate” is another non-issue MAGA voters are buying into.

But according to polls, most Michigan residents approve of the way Whitmer has handled the coronavirus crisis.

A statewide poll by the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, released May 20, found that 86% of Michigan voters believe that COVID-19 is a threat to public health — not a hoax. The poll also found that 69% of Michigan voters believe that the recent anti-shutdown protests in Lansing sent the wrong message and that only 11% of Michigan voters refuse to wear a mask in public when they go out.

The poll found 64% approval for Whitmer’s coronavirus response; that figure includes voters in general, but the number leaps to 96% approval among Democrats. Among independents, the number was 65%.

Recent polls have also found Trump trailing former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, in Michigan by 6% (Public Policy Polling), 3% (Change Research) or 8% (Redfield & Wilton Strategie

roberts says 2nd time state legis closed by guns, 1st Oregon]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-14/michigan-cancels-legislative-session-to-avoid-armed-protesters?sref=Zd9D2evu

may 14

Michigan closed down its capitol in Lansing on Thursday and canceled its legislative session rather than face the possibility of an armed protest and death threats against Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

The gathering, meant to advocate opening the state for business despite the coronavirus pandemic, followed one April 30 that resulted in pictures of protesters clad in military-style gear and carrying long guns crowding the statehouse. They confronted police and taunted lawmakers.

The shutdown was done with little fanfare at the end of Wednesday’s State Senate session. About 4:30 p.m., lawmakers in the Republican-majority chamber simply adjourned until Tuesday rather than call the next previously scheduled meeting for Thursday morning at 10 a.m. The Michigan State Police are closing the buildings due to the coronavirus, said spokesman Lieutenant Brian Oleksyk.

For the past week, lawmakers have been debating how to safely enable lawmakers to work and vote in session while the state’s laws allow people to bring firearms into the capitol building. The debate grew more tense in recent days as some lawmakers read about threats to the governor’s life on social media, which were published in the Detroit Metro Times.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel issued an opinion on May 11 saying that the State Capitol Commission -- a body of six lawmakers who oversee the building and its grounds -- could ban firearms. The commission voted to study a ban this week, but took no action.

Thursday’s protest, billed as “Judgment Day,” was organized by the right-wing group Michigan United for Liberty, which is protesting the state’s extended stay-at-home order. Whitmer pushed the order to the end of May while giving automakers, their suppliers and other manufacturers the green light to go back to work. On its Facebook page, the group posted a memo asking that protesters remain peaceful.

[pix: Protesters gather outside the doors of the chamber room at the Michigan Capitol Building on April 30.

Photographer: Matthew Hatcher/Bloomberg]

Still, lawmakers feared a repeat of April 30, when armed protesters entered the Senate Chamber and stood above them in a visitors gallery during the session.

State Senator Dayna Polehanki, a Democrat, on Tuesday proposed a bill to ban firearms in the capitol building. The bill has heavy support from her party.

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/y3makv/protestors-with-guns-and-no-masks-swarmed-the-michigan-state-capitol-to-protest-the-coronavirus-lockdown

no lnx pix

People With Guns (and No Masks) Swarmed the Michigan State Capitol to Protest the Coronavirus Lockdown

Some state legislators, anticipating the possibility of violence, had even come to work that day wearing bulletproof vests.

By Tess Owen

Apr 30 2020,

Hundreds of protesters — including heavily armed men — crowded into Michigan’s state Capitol building Thursday as Republican House legislators were voting to sue the Democratic governor over coronavirus lockdown measures.

Some legislators, anticipating the possibility of violence, had even come to work that day wearing bulletproof vests.

Earlier in the day, the demonstrators, many in MAGA hats or carrying signs promoting QAnon slogans or bizarre coronavirus conspiracies, stood outside in the pouring rain by the Capitol. Hours later, the group — most not wearing masks — moved indoors and crowded into the hallways, where they jostled for space and demanded to be let in to the legislative chambers. One reporter covering the protest was accidentally hit in the head with a rifle. (She’s fine, but she was shocked by the lack of attention to social distancing).

While the protest was happening, the Republican-led Michigan House voted against an extension of the pandemic-related emergency declaration and prepared to sue Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The Right has villainized her for the steps she’s taken to contain the spread of coronavirus in Michigan.

Some of the protesters even chanted “Lock her up.” And when Republicans came out to tell the crowd about the outcome of the vote, the demonstrators cheered.

Thursday’s “American Patriot Rally” was organized by a group called Michigan United for Liberty. Facebook removed their event page for the protest last week. Its members had organized one of the first anti-lockdown protests, on April 7, which was much smaller in size. Since then, more than 90 anti-lockdown protests have gone down in 46 states, according to an analysis by VICE News.

On Wednesday, a judge had ruled that Whitmer’s measures were constitutional. She wanted to extend the emergency declaration, which expires late on Thursday, for another 28 days. The vote won’t impact Whitmer’s stay-at-home order, however, which remains in effect until May 15.

“Governor Whitmer understands that this is a frustrating time and that many people are angry,” her office said in a statement. “The governor supports Michiganders' right to free speech and the right to protest, but those participating should not put themselves or first responders at risk.”

“It’s disappointing to see people congregating without masks, and without practicing social distancing,” it added. “ This kind of activity will put more people at risk, and it could mean that more people will die.”

Guns are allowed inside the Michigan Capitol, which has no metal detectors. But protesters aren’t allowed to carry signs or posters in case they damage the historical interior.

Michigan has the third-highest death toll from coronavirus in the country. So far, 3,800 people have died, and nearly 42,000 have gotten sick. The U.S. hit a grim milestone on Wednesday, surpassing 60,000 deaths.

Cover: Protesters try to enter the Michigan House of Representative chamber and are being kept out by the Michigan State Police after the American Patriot Rally organized by Michigan United for Liberty protest for the reopening of businesses on the steps of the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing, Michigan on April 30, 2020.

https://www.the GUK .com/us-news/2020/apr/18/coronavirus-americans-protest-stay-at-home

no lnx many pix

Thousands of Americans backed by rightwing donors gear up for protests

Conservative activists to demand governors lift stay-home orders – and movement has been driven by wealthy conservative groups

Adam Gabbatt

@adamgabbatt

Sat 18 Apr 2020 06.00 EDT...

Many of the rallies have been inspired by a protest at the Michigan state capitol.

Many of the rallies have been inspired by a protest at the Michigan state capitol. Photograph: Matthew Dae Smith/AP

Thousands of people are preparing to attend protests across the US in the coming days, as a rightwing movement against stay-at-home orders, backed by wealthy conservative groups and promoted by Donald Trump, continues to take hold....

5. ‘Tyranny’ depends on who governs, not how

In many of the events across different states, protesters objected to what they called “tyranny,” and held up the Revolution-era “Don’t Tread On Me” Gadsden flag to symbolize their resistance to government rules. They were not objecting to President Donald Trump’s April 13 declaration that, as president, his “authority is total” over the nation.

Instead they were objecting to governors’ lockdown rules, which they highlighted as overreaching their power. Many protesters likened the government’s behavior to Nazis, with protesters adding “Heil” before Democratic governors’ names.

No male governor was targeted as viciously and overtly as female Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. A widely circulated poster depicted her dressed as Adolf Hitler, giving a Nazi salute beside a swastika. Other demonstrators talked about Whitmer as though she weremothering them instead of governing them, like one who insisted, “We’re not her children!”

Michigan governor slams Betsy DeVos for her ties to a far-right anti-lockdown protest group

Alex Henderson

Americans still support social distancing measures — 83% of Democrats, 72% of independents and 62% of Republicans, according to an Axios/Ipsos poll released this week.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gretchen_Whitmer

Gretchen Esther Whitmer (born August 23, 1971) is an American politician serving as the 49th governor of Michigan since January 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as a Michigan state representative from 2001 to 2006 and a Michigan state senator from 2006 to 2015.^[1][2] Whitmer won the gubernatorial election on November 6, 2018, defeating Republican nominee Bill Schuette, and was sworn into office on January 1, 2019.^[3][4]

Early life and education

Gretchen Whitmer was born in 1971 in Lansing, Michigan, as the eldest of three children to Sharon H. "Sherry" Reisig and Richard Whitmer, who were both lawyers.^[5][6] Her father served as head of the state's Department of Commerce under Governor William Milliken and was the president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michiganbetween 1988 and 2006.^[7] Whitmer's mother worked as an assistant attorney general under Michigan Attorney General Frank Kelley.^[8] Her parents divorced when she was 10 years old, and she and her siblings lived with their mother in Grand Rapids. Her father traveled from his home in Detroit to visit the family at least once a week.^[9] She graduated from Forest Hills Central High School, just outside Grand Rapids.^[10] She received a BA in communications from Michigan State University in 1993 and a JD from Detroit College of Law at Michigan State University in 1998.

State Legislature

Whitmer was elected to the State Senate in March 2006 after serving as a member of the Michigan House of Representatives from 2000 to 2006. As a state representative, she served for four years as the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee. In the Senate she served on the following committees: Government Operations (ranking Democrat), Judiciary, Health Policy, Agriculture, Legislative Council and the Senate Fiscal Agency Board of Governors.^[citation ^needed] Because of term limits, Whitmer could not run for reelection in 2014.

Senate Minority Leader

On November 5, 2010, Whitmer's Democratic colleagues unanimously chose her to be the Senate Democratic Leader, making her the first woman to lead a party caucus in the Senate.^[8]

Ingham County Prosecutor

On May 11, 2016, it was announced that the judges of Michigan's 30th Judicial Circuit Court had unanimously selected Whitmer to serve the remaining six months of the term of outgoing Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III^[11] after he was arrested on March 14, 2016, and charged with 11 counts of involvement with a prostitute and four counts of willful neglect of duty.^[12] In a letter dated March 29, 2016, Dunnings announced he would resign effective July 2.^[13]

On June 21, 2016, Whitmer was administered the oath of office as prosecutor by Ingham County Circuit Court Chief Judge Janelle Lawless. She said her top priorities during her six months of service would be to determine if any other officials in the prosecutor's office knew about Dunnings's alleged crimes and to change how the office handled domestic violence and sexual assault cases.^[14]

On July 22, 2016, Whitmer issued an 11-page report on whether Dunnings's alleged criminal activity had affected cases handled by the office. The report concluded that employees "were never asked to compromise a case or look the other way" and that she had "...full confidence that any problem that had existed in this office left with Mr. Dunnings."^[15][16] Whitmer's term expired on December 31, 2016.

Governor of Michigan

On January 3, 2017, Whitmer announced she would run in the 2018 Michigan gubernatorial race.^[17]2018 election

On August 7, 2018, Whitmer became the Democratic nominee for governor of Michigan.^[18] She won all 83 counties in the state,^[19] a first for a Democratic primary victor.^[citation ^needed]

In July 2018, Republican officials accused Whitmer of supporting the movement to abolish ICE, a claim Whitmer disputed. She said that if elected she would focus on improving Michigan's "fundamentals", such as schools, roads, and water systems.^[20]

Whitmer's main opponent was Republican Bill Schuette, the term-limited Attorney General of Michigan. The two candidates met for a debate on October 12, 2018, in Grand Rapidsat WOOD-TV. A second debate was held at WDIV studios in Detroit on October 24.^[21]

Whitmer defeated Schuette in the November 6 election by nearly a 10-point margin.^[22]

Electoral history

...

https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-environment-watch/michigan-gov-gretchen-whitmer-halts-action-line-5-tunnel

Michigan Gov. Whitmer Halts Action on Pipeline Tunnel Under Great Lakes -Bridge Magazine
LANSING – Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday ordered state agencies to halt action on a proposed tunnel to encase the controversial Line 5 pipeline in a tunnel. Whitmer’sexecutive directive came minutes after a fellow Democrat, Attorney General Dana Nessel, issued a legal opinion claiming that a law creating a state authority to oversee construction of the tunnel is unconstitutional.

“I agree with the conclusion reached by Attorney General Nessel,” Whitmer said in a statement. “The Great Lakes are our most precious resource in Michigan, and because of their significance, I’ve instructed state departments and agencies to halt any actions in furtherance of this law.”

Nessel’s opinion was her first since taking office Jan. 1, and it came in response to a request from Whitmer to review the law. Last year, both campaigned on shutting down the 66-year-old oil pipeline, and they opposed compromises including a tunnel.

The move puts Whitmer and Nessel on a collision course with Republicans that could likely end up in court.

"An AG opinion is exactly that, an opinion. It’s not binding. It's not final. And it's certainly not without cause to challenge," said Senate Majority Leaker Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake.

"The Senate will pursue its options in order to advance the very important work and purpose of the energy tunnel. This is the fastest, safest, and most economical long-term solution for Michigan. It’s very important to our economy."

House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, called the tunnel plan "the right thing to do for our state, our waterways, and for our future."

"It is well past time to put aside political talking points and campaign rhetoric and just do the right thing. This administration needs to protect the people of our state, secure our critical Mackinac Straits and approve the tunnel project immediately," he said in a statement.

Whitmer's move was cheered by environmental groups, who have repeatedly said a leak in the line could create havoc on the Great Lakes.

“Governor Whitmer’s leadership today ... should be immediately followed by implementing a process to decommission Line 5,” Anne Woiwode, chair of the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter, said in a statement.

“Every day these oil pipelines remain in the Mackinac Straits is a day when Michigan’s future can be drowned in a sea of oil,” she added.

For its part, Enbridge said it was "surprised and disappointed" and wants Whitmer to clarify the path forward.

“Enbridge worked in good faith with the Michigan government on the tunnel project,” Chief Legal Officer Bob Rooney said in a statement Thursday night. “We disagree with the attorney general’s opinion and continue to believe in the benefits of the tunnel.”

Nessel's opinion kickstarted a new chapter in the short, but complicated history of Enbridge’s plans to encase Line 5 in a $350 million to $500 million tunnel below 100 feet of bedrock.

During his final weeks in office in December, Gov. Rick Snyder signed Public Act 359 to create the Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority to oversee construction and operation of the tunnel. The Republican immediately made appointments to the authority’s three-member board, which approved a series of tunnel related agreements with Enbridge.

Republicans, Enbridge and other supporters have called a tunnel the best way to protect the Straits while keeping energy flowing to the Upper Peninsula.

The legislation’s passage, the board’s creation and its signed agreement with Enbridge came in a matter of days, leading to complaints from Democrats and environmentalists that language in the law and was poorly vetted, if lawmakers had any time to read it.

Initially, Snyder’s plan hinged on the Mackinac Bridge Authority, an independent state agency that oversees the iconic bridge, owning the 4-mile, 12-foot in diameter tunnel and leasing space to Enbridge for 99 years.

That prompted fierce opposition, including from former bridge authority memberswho worried it would distract from oversight of Mackinac Bridge.

Rather than scrapping the original bill, Republicans — to save time during the fast-moving lame duck session — re-wrote it, keeping the Mackinac Bridge Authority in the bill's title as a body authorized to acquire the new “utility tunnel."

The bill was written so that the Mackinac Bridge Authority would immediately transfer all of its initial powers over the tunnel — including acquisition construction and operation —to the newly created corridor authority board.

In doing so, Nessel wrote in her opinion, the Legislature violated the “title-object” provision of the 1963 Michigan Constitution, which is meant to give lawmakers clear notice of what they’re voting on. The provision says “no bill shall be altered or amended” after passing either legislative chamber “so as to change its original purpose.”

The far-reaching power transfer to the corridor authority board "comes without fair notice and is a surprise" to lawmakers, Nessel wrote, because it is not mentioned in the bill's title.

“Michigan law is clear that where the body of an act exceeds the general scope of what is expressed in the title, the offending provisions violate” the Constitution, Nessel wrote.

Her opinion came two weeks after Michigan Court of Claims Judge Stephen L. Borrellofound another part of the corridor authority law unconstitutional. The law granted six-year terms to the board’s members, even though the constitution bars terms greater than four years.

That ruling came in a lawsuit filed by a nonprofit called A Felon's Crusade for Equality, Honesty and Truth. The term-limit issue was the only challenge in that lawsuit, and Borrello wrote that the corridor could continue to operate.

In her review, Nessel wrote that courts would likely see the separate “title-object” violation as too large to keep the corridor authority intact.

“It cannot be concluded” that lawmakers would have passed the law had they known of the constitutional violations, she wrote.

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/05022019/michigan-whitmer-office-climate-change-energy-filnt-water-policies-climate-alliance

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan signed orders on Monday to revamp the state's environmental policy apparatus, becoming the latest newly elected Democratic leader in an industrial swing state to pick up the reins of action on climate change.

Whitmer is creating a new office of climate and energy that will coordinate efforts across state government to address climate change and will ensure that climate change is a consideration in the vetting of new policies.

She also signed an order to join the U.S. Climate Alliance, a group of governors who commit to upholding the principles of the Paris climate agreement. Michigan is the 20th governor to join, following similar actions by others who came to power after running green campaigns and toppling Republican incumbents. In the past few weeks, the governors of Illinois and New Mexico have also joined.

Michigan stood out as a fulcrum of Donald Trump's narrow electoral victory. It's an economic monument to the internal combustion engine, but also a place where the urgency of confronting environmental challenges, including climate change, can't be ignored.

"We see this as part of a larger trend we're seeing across the country with new governors who ran on climate, who ran on transitions to 100 percent clean energy," said Sara Jordan, manager of the League of Conservation Voters' Clean Energy for All campaign. "I think you're seeing a lot of these governors not wanting to be left behind in this transition."

Pam Kiely, director of state climate policy for the Environmental Defense Fund, said the flurry of activity at the state level is tied to widespread frustration with the Trump administration's deregulatory agenda.

"We are at a moment in time when state leadership is not going to wait for the climate crisis to be solved in Washington," she said.

A few other states have climate change offices, including California and New York.

New Offices, But No New Funding Yet

The full list of changes Whitmer announced is long, and most of the new functions and offices will be part of an expanded Department of Environmental Quality, which is now renamed the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy.

This includes three other new offices: Office of the Environmental Justice Public Advocate, the Interagency Environmental Justice Response Team, and the Clean Water Public Advocate. Each of these touch on the fallout from the lingering lead poisoning crisis in Flint, and a desire to better address these kinds of problems.

For now, the new offices will need to ramp up with existing state employees, because this type of order does not come with additional funding. Both chambers of the legislature are dominated by Republicans.

Whitmer also is eliminating advisory panels that gave businesses a prominent voice in how state environmental rules and permits were handled. The panels were created by her Republican predecessor, Rick Snyder, and criticized by environmental advocates.

'We Make Decisions Based on Science'

Whitmer said at a news conference that her actions communicate "that we take this very seriously, that we make decisions based on science and that we are going to do everything we can to mitigate human impacts that are warming the globe and changing our climate forever."

She said the urgency to act is underscored by the wild swings in weather the state has seen in the last week. The daytime high was more than 50 degrees in Lansing on Monday, well above normal for this time of year. "I know you all remember that just five days ago we had a wind chill of negative 52 in the Upper Peninsula," she said.

Erratic and extreme weather can be exacerbated by climate change and can threaten the state's economy, she said.

The National Climate Assessment describes several more risks that climate change poses to the Midwest region, including to the Great Lakes, forests, agriculture, infrastructure and human health.

While extreme cold was the experience last week, extreme heat is a larger concern, as outlined in a new report on Michigan's climate risks from the Natural Resources Defense Council. The report also points to flooding and the spread of mosquito- and tick-borne infections, both of which can be exacerbated by climate change.

Most of the climate-related problems touching Michigan are also affecting other Great Lakes states. Whitmer is one of a new crop of governors in those states, most whom are pledging to make climate a high priority.

PUBLISHED UNDER:

Michigan's New Governor Puts Climate Change at Heart of Government

BY: DAN GEARINO

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued a series of climate directives, including becoming the 20th governor to join the U.S. Climate Alliance, committing to the Paris climate principles.

The 7 States that Flipped from GOP Governors to Democrats

Four of the seven states that switched to Democratic governors are in the Midwest, partially reversing the region's swing toward Republicans in 2014.

In Michigan, Democrat Gretchen Whitmer, a former state legislator, defeated Republican Bill Schuette, the state attorney general. Whitmer had support from environmental advocates because of her criticism of Enbridge's Line 5 fossil fuel pipeline and her support for moving to 100 percent renewable energy. Republican Gov. Rick Snyder had reached the state's term limit.