“I honestly had no idea
it would become such an issue.”
Majority Floor Leader Jim Stamos
That was
Michigan’s Majority Floor Leader Jim Stamos’ response to the fury he and Speaker Jase Bolger faced when they denied
two lawmakers their right to free speech on the floor of the House
of Representatives. The silenced
lawmakers were given no explanation why their free speech was denied nor for
how long. This is particularly egregious in light of extra constitutional
measures granted lawmakers so they can speak freely in the chamber during floor
debate. (Article 4, Section 11, Speech and Debate Clause).
Floor Leader
Jim Stamos took an oath of office to defend the constitution. Yet he was stunned to realize the citizens
expect him to honor his oath.
I was
surprised by his comment until I looked at the goings-on in Michigan over the
past two years. This abuse of power is a
pattern with these two and should have come as no surprise to me or anyone else.
First, there
is the matter of Immediate Effect. Michigan’s
constitution is clear: laws only take
immediate effect if granted so by a super majority. Yet
Michigan’s House Republican leadership illegally disregards this part of our
constitution every day. Even as Michigan
receives national attention about this illegal action, they continue. Their
excuse is “everyone else does it, so we can do it, too.” We don’t buy that malarkey from third
graders. Why in the world should we
accept it from paid lawmakers? The truth is this. They got caught and have been publicly asked
to stop this practice and have refused.
If Speaker
Bolger and Floor Leader Stamos are willing to ignore the constitution in the
face of national attention, of course they would be willing to ban free speech. We should have known.
Secondly, almost
immediately after taking office, and with scant discussion, these two leaders pushed
through a bill to deny large parts of our population their right to
self-governance. Sadly, it was passed
into law. (PA 4)
With actions
like these, we should not be surprised by further erosion of our rights.
And finally,
these legislators see our State Board of Canvassers get away with completely
disrespecting the constitution and instead of defending it, as they promised to
do, they are further emboldened to disregard it.
Recently a
petition that needed a 14 pt. bold font heading and had a 14 pt. bold font heading got denied its certification,
supposedly when it had the wrong size font.
Yes, you read that correctly. Every i was dotted, every
t crossed, yet still the State Board of
Canvassers failed to certify the petition, thereby silencing the voices of over
200,000 citizens. And our legislative
leaders stood silently by.
We should
have known.
Citizens
everywhere expressed their outrage at this latest incident. But Speaker Bolger and Floor Leader Stamos have shown by their actions they will continue
to trample on our constitution. Who will be their next victim? If they deny one person his or her rights,
they would do it to any one of us.
Please join
me in asking our lawmakers to admit wrong-doing, apologize to the silenced
law-makers, and immediately remove the ban on their free speech.
I hope the
citizens of this great state and country will continue to raise their voices –
and raise them louder still. Maybe then
our law-makers will be shamed into defending our constitution.
(To sign a petition asking for the speaker and floor leader to apologize, go to Democracy for America, then click on Stand With the Women of Michigan.)
