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MI Governor Loses ‘Consent of the Governed’
Gov. Gretchen Whitmore (D-MI)
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s handling of the COVID-19 lockdown has stood out as one of the most severe and arbitrary in the US. Michiganders are unable to purchase gardening supplies but lottery tickets are fine. They can travel to Walmart but not to their cabins in the countryside. They can paddle a canoe but can’t ride a jet ski.
Many officials and citizens have had enough. A group of county sheriffs announced Wednesday that they will not enforce some of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s lockdown orders. At the same time, thousands of Michiganders gathered at the state capitol to protest her actions in a rally they dubbed “Operation Gridlock.”
Sheriffs from four contiguous counties in the northwest corner of the lower peninsula are placing their constitutional duties above the governor’s mandates.
We write today to inform the public for our respective counties of our opposition to some of Governor Whitmer’s executive orders. While we understand her desire to protect the public, we question some restrictions that she has imposed as overstepping her executive authority. She has created a vague framework of emergency laws that only confuse Michigan residents.
As a result, we will not have strict enforcement of these orders.
…Our focus needs to be on reopening our counties and getting people back to work. We also need to be aware that this virus is deadly and that we need to continue to practice social distancing, washing of hands, wearing of masks as well as other medically recommended measures.
Gov. Whitmer has faced an unprecedented backlash from the public due to her bizarre overreach, both online and at the state capitol.
“There is no reason why she can’t be looking at some safe ways to be opening up businesses. Instead of talking about what’s essential and nonessential, let’s talk about what’s safe and not safe,” said Meshawn Maddock, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Conservative Coalition. “Safe businesses and safe workers need to get back to work.”
Officials with the Conservative Coalition said they had instructed all participants to remain in cars and adhere to social distancing guidelines, although video from the scene showed citizens milling about outside of vehicles. Michigan State Police have reportedly been told to stand down and not arrest the protesters for refusing to follow the public gathering ban.
“People are basically being told what they can and can’t buy at stores,” Conservative Coalition member Matt Seely told News 8. “Nothing makes sense. You can buy a bottle of liquor, but you can’t buy a gallon of paint.”
Whitmer (and several other governors, all Democrats) don’t understand that lockdown orders only last as long as officials and the public allow them to. The principle of “consent of the governed” was popularized by John Locke, but has existed forever. Even autocrats who theoretically held absolute power were overthrown when the people had enough. Roman generals shivved unpopular emperors and a Milanese mob swung Mussolini from a lamppost. Mercifully, our political leaders are merely recalled from office or tossed out on election day.
The Declaration of Independence made the US the first nation to enshrine this concept in its founding documents. “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
Aside from political theory, attaining the consent of the governed is just common-sense leadership. Many governors understood this from the start and are leading far more effective responses. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has spent the past three months meeting with healthcare experts, scientists, educators, business leaders, and political leaders from both parties. He shares their views with the public several times a day and telegraphs future orders to prepare everyone ahead of time.
After getting buy-in, he methodically recommended increasing limits on schools, businesses, and other institutions. And the vast majority of these moves were recommendations, not orders enforced at gunpoint. Arizonans, now educated on the issue, willingly chose to follow these guidelines. On Monday, he began preparing the public for a re-opening of our economy.
In response to this steady leadership, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema blasted him on social media. In March, she demanded a total shutdown everywhere, from downtown Phoenix to sleepy ranching towns. She ignored the consent of the governed and insisted on autocratic whim. Worse still, she shouted “take action now!” as she delayed the Coronavirus relief bill a week on the orders of Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi.
Gov. Whitmer followed Sinema’s advice and the expected backlash has begun. If Whitmer wants to keep her job, she might want to read her John Locke. Without the consent of Michigan’s voters, her future COVID-19 orders will fail and she won’t stay in Lansing much longer.
Published in Politics
Does she look like the Wicked Witch, or what?
Inside every Progressive there is a totalitarian screaming to get out. Oregon has been a bit more honest. Oregon has 58 deaths, but health authorities stated that half of those deaths were of individuals that had underlying health issues.
Whitmer’s excuse: “It’s snowing, so you can’t do any of those things anyway.”
Great job of explaining the current situation, Jon. These stories remind us how fragile the rule of law can be, and how many people are prepared to violate it for any number of reasons: few of those benefit the people. Thanks.
I don’t often approve of civil disobedience but, when I do, I like it to look like this: respectful, measured, and worthy of the act.
Eww. My Michigan friends are putting “I Stand With That Woman From Michigan!” banners on their Facebook profiles.
Do they realize how this marks them as lunatics?
This might not hurt Governor Whitmore, although she probably has lost a lot of women’s votes. Husbands that cannot access Home Depot for household repairs, but can still go to the liquor store during stay at home orders will also ensure her divorce attorney votes.
I’m not sure. She’s sure to be crowned Queen of All Karens. And Karens put these people into office in the first place.
I think those thousands of protesters in East Lansing today had way more fun than most of us did today. This is a sign of the future if things don’t change very soon.
That’s quite a “Let me speak to your manager” face she’s got.
Just a satirical look at essential v. non-essential decisions. My wife and I have increased the 6-foot Social Distance Rule to 10 feet. I did earn some points when I told her I hope shopping malls reopen-soon.
What a fool. This is seed-starting season. And a perfect time to do indoor home repairs.
She probably has people to do those jobs for her.
She probably thinks fish is born already frozen into squares in cardboard boxes too.
Half-Whitmer.
People can start some plants indoors.
And unless your home improvement activities regularly draw crowds, I don’t see how preventing the sale of drywall and nails advances social distancing.
I used to wonder “whatever is she thinking?” Now I look for evidence that she can.
This Michigander is ecstatic at the size of the protest in Lansing today. She has gone too far. The rules make no sense except as political theater. Speculation is: She’s auditioning for VP.
Looking back, it is now generally conceded that America was on the brink of defeating the epidemic of 2020 until a defiant mob of Jet-Ski riding amateur horticulturalists from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan ignored sensible restrictions and launched the second great wave of Wuhan Flu.
Thinking more about the role of civil disobedience or at least organized protest in this situation, I think back to the early days of the Tea Party movement when I joined around a million of my fellow conservatives for a march in Washington that was a joyous celebration of patriotism but didn’t lead to much change. That is the way protest usually works. I don’t see wide spread protest happening for a while yet, and I doubt if it ever will, because whatever you think about Trump, you have to admit he understands the mood of the country as well or better than any president since at least Clinton.
Great response, Hank!
Thirty of the decedents have been over 80 and another sixteen over 70. That is more than 75%. The Oregon Health Authority doesn’t release about care facilities, but the Oregonian reports that a significant number of cases are from those
Re: comment 3
Is she all there ?
She doesn’t really care about the rural areas. In October she line item vetoed 147 items, one of which was funding for rural hospitals. Traverse City hospital is close to the sheriffs above location. The Republican legislature sent a funding bill back to her, which she then signed. She is fixated on “fixing the daxx roads”. It has been her mantra.
She’s terrible as is the Attorney General. I never vote for a Democrat, and even hesitate to vote for a woman( I am one), because of the emotive reasoning. The pattern in MI is Democrat trashes, Republican fixes: Blanchard brought Engler, followed by Granholm, that gave us Snyder. Now that he fixed the mess up, we get to mess things up with Whitmer. I signed the recall petition, that is circulating, but I bet she gets her 2 terms.
She has a tin ear. She is smug and snarky. But she cares. Baloney. She cares about herself, looking for that VP spot.
I’m glad we have Trump. Real Men don’t make a show in public of crying over people they don’t know. They do take action to solve a problem, and get the mission accomplished. If that isn’t caring, what is.
I don’t know…..I think closing the nail salons borders on draconian.
That is right up there with the arrogant lady mayor of Chicago, who was caught getting her hair cut and styled. She explained with quite a bit of passion over her prominent position in society and so “I need to look good,” while the rest of Chicagoans are, I guess, just too unimportant to be allowed to care for their hair.
With California rivaling Michigan in terms of having a deficient person as governor, we well might have protests here very soon.
Especially since word is getting out that a governor in California can issue all the Executive Orders he or she wants to, but they re only suggested policies and have no weight of law. Additionally, the local county public health officers do possess the Calif Constitutional authority to quarantine a person or persons who have been determined to be infected. But no county public health officer has the right to lockdown an entire county of people. It simply is not allowed, and legal precedence would go against any county public health officer attempting to justify his or her decisions about lockdown in a court of law.
No.
The western states not including CO and NM appear ready to handle new surges in cases and ought to be permitted to resume work. The only thing I would like to see before going back to work is getting face masks (cloth) stocked in the grocery stores or available for free distribution to the public. We’ve been advised that they intend to distribute them at work, but to expect they won’t necessarily have enough for everybody, so bring your own. I’ve made my own, improvised from stuff at home because Amazon delivery dates even for ‘in stock’ masks were out into May thru early June.
You say Lunatic, I say Michigander.
We voted this moron in.
This is the fundamental difference. Democrats seek total control of everyone because some fools won’t behave sensibly. Nothing new except Republicans are starting to go along with it. All the creative good stuff comes up from below and that will necessarily come to an end if we continue to move to this top down nonsense. It never comes down from above. The President’s daily press conferences symbolize the fundamental error. Now the trick is to get out of the controls which are taking credit for what sane people would do anyway.
This country was founded on civil disobedience (Stamp Act, Tea Act, etc.)
The civil rights act 1964 was preceded by civil disobedience.
The roaring 20s, the jazz age was the period of Prohibition.
Thoreau, Gandhi, MLK
These restrictions are not sensible – otherwise people in Michigan wouldn’t protest like this
I bet Gavin Newsom has a 18 month supply of hair gel