2008 General Election Statewide Ballot Proposals

(Information on other ballot initiatives is coming soon.)

Reform Michigan Government Now Ballot Initiative

Current Status: This initiative has not been approved for the ballot yet; there is a legal challenge to the State Supreme Court as to whether it can be placed on the ballot.

Partisan Motivation for Ballot Intiative

Under the guise of advocating smaller government, the Reform Michigan Government Now (RMGN) initiative is a clandestine move to allow liberals to take over state government.

In a presentation offered to UAW Region 1-C union leaders, the mask was pulled off the initiative. In clear and unmistakable language, the power point presentation laid out the goals for and the motivation behind the initiative: reduce the cost of government while making it easier for Democrats to take control of the House, Senate, Governor's office, and Supreme Court.

Read the presentation here:
http://www.mackinac.org/articlewef.aspx?ID=9668

Trojan Horse for Liberal State Control

Playing off the discouragement of Michigan citizens, RMGN lays out a series of very attractive goals:

• Reduce the salaries of executive branch officials, legislators and judges
• End free lifetime health care for lawmakers and bring their retirement benefits in line with other state workers
• Increase transparency by requiring elected officials to disclose their income and assets every year
• Decrease the number of members in the House and the Senate
• Reorganize the court system

The last two points are key to their goals. By reducing the number of members in both the House and the Senate, RMGN will essentially call for redistricting and, in the hopes of the bill’s supporters, make it easier for Democrats to take control of the Legislature. The main thrust of the court reorganization scheme is to eliminate two conservative Supreme Court judges and six Appeals Court judges - all are Republicans.

While this initiative looks good at first glance, upon closer inspection it is obviously nothing more than a Trojan Horse designed to help liberals take control of Michigan, not through elections and the democratic process, but through a bloated and partisan constitutional amendment that relies on the votes of citizens who desire to reduce government spending during an economic crisis.

Some Democrats Also Oppose RMGN

From an MLIVE article online:

"In the Senate Democratic caucus, aides say, there is near uniform opposition to the proposal, including among African-American legislators who fear a loss of minority representation in the Legislature. "We had no part in this," Basham said. "This is Mark Brewer and gang."

From MichiganLiberal.com:

"...as much as I would love to see Democrats in control of the House, Senate, Governor's Mansion, and state Supreme Court, I can't support a proposal that seeks to rig the system through our state's constitution."

One of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed to block the proposal is even a Democratic State Representative!

Proposal Blocked... For Now

From the Kalamazoo Gazette online:

"...a three-judge panel ordered elections officials to keep it off the November ballot. The panel said Wednesday that the Reform Michigan Government Now measure, supported by an estimated 415,000 valid signatures, was a general revision of the Michigan Constitution that could only be achieved through a constitutional convention, not a petition drive."

It is possible that RMGN will appeal the decision to the State Supreme Court, so the ruling could still be overturned and the initiative could make it to November's ballot.

To preserve conservative values in the court system, we must continue to work against this proposal, as well as vote "NO", if it is placed on November's ballot. Economic reform can and should be achieved through the proper governmental channels, not through a bloated, partisan constitutional amendment.

Please forward this information to your own networks, and encourage others to stay informed by joining Clergy for a Conservative Court.

Additional Information

Reform Michigan Government Now Website
http://www.reformmichigangovernmentnow.com/

Full Text of the Ballot Initiative
http://www.reformmichigangovernmentnow.com/Portals/17/rmgn_initiative.pdf