Dystopian Politics

I usually let a news story simmer for a few days before I sit down and write about it, but there is something happening in Michigan right now that has me shaken, and because of what is happening in Japan, it may not get the media attention it deserves.

Republican Michigan governor Rick Snyder, along with the state's Republican house and senate, have passed a controversial bill that allows the governor to dissolve the elected governments of Michigan's towns and cities, replacing them with unaccountable "emergency financial managers" who can eliminate services, merge or eliminate school boards, and lay off or renegotiate unionized public employees without recourse. Republican senator Jack Brandenburg -- who supported the measure -- calls it "financial martial law."1

There is something very, very, very sinister and scary about what is going on here, and it isn't simply the dissolution of the unions like in Wisconsin, but it extends to nearly every area of society in the state of Michigan: Society itself is placed squarely in the hands of people who are not only unaccountable to the people, but not even beholden to them.

While Michigan is certainly having a budget problem, and has a long history of financial problems, this does not at all give license to override the rule of law. The potential for malfeasance and cronyism far outweighs any benefit to be derived from such an extreme measure as this.

What is ironic, however, is that an amendment was proposed for a payroll cap of $160,000 a year for the "Emergency Financial Managers," but the amendment failed in the overwhelmingly Republican state legislature. If the Republican government isn't willing to place a limit on what they plan to pay these EFMs, then it is not a little obvious that they don't much care about the government budget after all, and it is likely that their one-party state, blessed with a fabricated "will of the people" will simply employ goons not for the good of society, but for the benefit of their private benefactors. What ever happened to the vindication of the 2010 midterm elections?

Naomi Klein appeared on Rachel Maddow's program regarding this legislation and compared it to Scott Walker in Wisconsin's attempted revocation of union bargaining rights and George W Bush's political profit from 9/11: Using a crisis for a political end in order to pass unpopular legislation. "We were just attacked! We need the PATRIOT Act!" "We're having an economic crisis! We need authoritarian control!"

We are dealing with here a situation that is one of existential proportions, that calls into question the legitimacy of some elected officials. These elected officials--namely the Michigan state executive and legislative branches--are not doing the work of the people. In fact, most--if not all--of those who believed that they were given a mandate against Obama to execute "the will of the people" are patently violating any such possible mandate by attempting to dismantle social infrastructure.

But the power-grab in Michigan goes above and beyond any and all Tea Party initiatives to date as one that is uniquely sinister and frightening. The complete and obvious lack of the possibility of government oversight for Emergency Financial Managers in the state of Michigan, despite being beholden to the legislature--by virtue of its overwhelmingly partisan and hyper-partisan nature--cannot be trusted in any capacity to act fairly and with the appropriate jurisprudence required for such an enterprise. That is, as we have seen in Wisconsin and in our federal legislature, we cannot depend on any Republican-controlled body to behave in such a manner that would respect the rule of law and the established rights of others, for though they were elected (some might suggest that they were not truly elected, given the manipulation I have emphasized continuously in previous discussions of the Tea Party), their interests and their constituents lie elsewhere.

What is happening in Michigan reminds me, as Rachel Maddow not-so-eloquently points out, of one of my favorite genres of literary fiction, but only one comes to mind that matches this real-life situation: Stephen King's Under the Dome. After an alien forcefield isolates a rural town in Maine, its Republican mayor takes the opportunity to consolidate power and persecute those who oppose him. First drafted in 1978, the book reminds me most of the people who came to power in 2010. Stephen King has perfect timing as well as compelling and wonderfully-written characters.

I do not mean to minimize in any way the immense tragedy in Japan by writing this essay. I care deeply about the events surrounding the Fukushima reactors. A note: Daiichi is pronounced Dai Ichi, "Number One," or "The First", as Ichi is "one", and Daini is Dai Ni, as Ni is "two" in Japanese.

One - Ichi
Two - Ni
Three - San
Four - Shi
Five - Go
Six - Roku
Seven - Shishi
Eight - Hachi
Nine - Ku
Ten - Ju

1) http://www.boingboing.net/2011/03/11/michigan-republicans.html Read the full article from the Daily Tribune

2) http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/03/16/6281871-michigan-house-speaker-takes-exception-gets-basically-nowhere