AFter years of Republican claims that they want smaller govenment and less government spending, a panel of Republican judges has torpedoed a proposal to overhaul the Michigan Constitution.
A three-judge panel of Republicans on the Michigan Court of Appeals said the Reform Michigan Government Now proposal is too sweeping to be on the ballot. Peter Luke has the story.
One of the judges who made the ruling stands to lose his job if the proposal passes. And that's a good bet if it gets to the voters because polls show widespread support for it -- especially among Republican voters. Yet William Whitbeck stayed on the bench and ruled on the case rather than recuse himself.
This proposal would save Michigan taxpayers millions of dollars a year in unnecessary salaries for judges on the Court of Appeals and Michigan Supreme Court, which both have seen their caseloads fall in recent years. It would trim salaries of judges and top officials of state government, reduce the size of the Legislature, and limit the number of state departments.
It is everything Republicans have said they were for -- smaller government, less spending, less bureaucracy. There is a real disconnect between Republican leaders who want to protect their own jobs and Republican rank-and-file voters.
Next stop for the proposal is the Michigan Supreme Court -- headed by Supreme Court Justice Cliff Taylor. Taylor is up for re-election this year. He should keep in mind the wrath of voters before he decides to follow the marching orders of party bigwigs to take the fate of this proposed constitutional amendment out of the hands of the people.
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