Who knows? By the time this cartoon is published, maybe Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey and Governor Gretchen Whitmer will have worked out the state budget for 2020. But I doubt it. For the very reasons why the budget was not really done on the October 1st due date: Political posturing has priority over actual work. The pollsters, the advisors, the party insiders are making the decisions.
Let's not be naive -- these folks have always been part of the process. It's politics, after all, right? And it's not necessarily dirty politics. Partisans gonna partisan. They are going to advocate hard for their sides and they won't have any problem stepping over (or even slowing down for) lines that divide civility from zealotry. It's just that, ideally, they shouldn't be in charge.
And over the past decade, they have not only been put in charge, they've been supercharged. It's been a deeply cynical, highly orchestrated national phenomenon, and Michigan is taking cues. Party over country. Bias over law. Campaigning over legislating. Control over constitution. Special interests over general good. And without exception, the end justifying the means.
I don't think there is a term for this. But my suggestion is that henceforth we refer to it as McConnellism. What do you think? Credit where credit is due.
John Auchter is a freelance political cartoonist. His views are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Michigan Radio, its management, or its license holder, the University of Michigan.
