Comrade Snyder Voids Elected Officials Of Benton Harbor, Michigan

[MrScorpio]

A city, incidentally, with one of the largest African American populations in Western Michigan.

It won't be any time now before the "Financial Manager" that he appointed starts to liquidate and sell off the town's public assets to some gaggle of GOP cronies.

Welcome to the Union of Soviet Socialist Counties, formally known as the Great Lakes State. (And you can bet, dollars to doughnuts, that he's going to try and sell off the Great Lakes too).

Tea Party Michigan Governor Rick Snyder Adopts Soviet-style Authoritarian Powers Over Michigan Cities

We talked about Scott Walker's Orwellian rhetoric yesterday, but Michigan Tea Party Gov. Rick Snyder leaves Walker in the dust when it comes to turning the book "1984" into a reality.

Snyder recently signed a bill that gives him powers to unilaterally take over local governments by appointing "emergency financial managers" with near absolute powers to supersede decisions made by democratically elected officials.

If this strikes some as an example of the type of governmental tyranny that the Tea Party deplored (but never existed before in a state as far as we know), that is because it is.

The Tea Party - and the Republican Party - have shouted to the rooftops that local government and individual liberties are the true "patriotic" freedoms in America.

Yet, they elect a governor in Michigan who - as one of his first pieces of legislation - empowers himself to take those rights away, nullifying the will of the voters in a given town or city.

Snyder just made Orwellian Tea Party history when his appointed "emergency financial manager" for Benton Harbor, Michigan, prohibited elected officials of that city from making any decisions or otherwise carrying out their duties.

As an outraged Michigan blogger observes:

This is a complete disenfranchisement of an entire community, an entire city in my state. The voters are now denied the ability to be governed by the people they elected in a democratic election.

This is nothing short of an abridgment of democracy in raw form.

So where are the Tea Party's "Down With Tyranny" signs when you need them?

http://blog.buzzflash.com/node/12610

[MichiganVote]

1. Communist Michigan. So much for the PURE MICHIGAN campaign

[drm604]

2. Wisconsin may be next.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4816921

Interesting coincidence isn't it? (Actually no. It's no coincidence. It's called ALEC.)

This is becoming increasingly alarming.

[inademv]

3. I don't understand how this is legal

[damntexdem]

7. A court challenge is necessary but not enough.

Local elected officials need to refuse to accept the edict, refuse to vacate their offices, continue to make and implement decisions. Let the guv try to use state police to enforce his edicts. He won't have enough if he tries to take over many localities. IN any case, citizens need to take to the streets to support their own elected officials.

[socialist_n_TN]

28. That's called dual government and it DID work..........

back in pre Bolshevik Russia right before the 1917 revolution. The Soviets actually had the power because THEY WERE ACTUALLY ELECTED BY THE PEOPLE and not appointed by Kerensky. So consequently, the people actually followed the orders of the Soviets and NOT the "official" government appointees.

It's worth a shot, along with MASSIVE and ROWDY protests locally.

[Scuba]

18. Simple. Pass a law that says it's legal. Make sure any court challenges...

...eventually come up to a court you "own".

[inademv]

24. Sorta how they're "overturning" roe v wade?

[ThomCat]

4. We all knew it would only start with poor mostly-black districts.

But it won't stop there. x(

These HYPOCRITES in the tea party swear they are all about the will and intent of the founding fathers. Can you imagine any of the founding fathers Ever agreeing that all the elected officials in any town should all be wiped aside by some appointed official?

That's crazy?

Can you imagine any of these tea party HYPOCRITES being happy about this if it was happening in their own neighborhood?

But they are find with this, and cheering it, as long as it only happens in poor black areas.

How can anyone not see the racism in this?

[TxVietVet]

8. Walker will go after Milwaukee County because of it's large African American population.

The board of supervisors and the unions fought against Walker. It's payback time from der fuhrer, Walker.

I hope all the white union members who voted for the fascist f*ck gets their's too.

[roguevalley]

17. I would shoot the fucker that tried to take away my town.

There will be shooting before this is over. I hope the t-bag fuckers lurking here try and explain this stalinism to us as patriotic and american. TRY IT!

[EC]

20. It'll be his way of removing Democrats from office

like Mayor Bennett. That's his agenda...removing Dems from office by coup...and isn't it sweet that the Mayor is the one that ran against him?

[shraby]

5. Benton Harbor now has taxation without representation.

Patently against the constitution. Now that the first volley has been fired and a person/town has standing to bring it into court, I fully expect a challenge to the law and it will be overturned.

[The Hitman]

11. HAHAHAHAHA

Tell that to D.C.!

[Angry Dragon]

6. The dictator has declared martial law

[reformist2]

9. States rights on steroids! Someone ask Snyder about the Confederacy.

[EC]

10. I can't believe this is sitting well with the libertarians and

militia types...having "outside strangers" occupying their towns.

[jimlup]

12. The teabaggers of Michigan are too stupid to notice...

And I say that as a Michigan resident of 40 years.

[EC]

21. The mayor is a Democrat

isn't he? Start a list of all Dems in office there in Michigan and you'll have his agenda, wipe out all Dems. This can't be legal, it's wiping out one party by edict.

[jimlup]

26. In Benton Harbor this would almost certainly be true

A little pocket of blue surrounded by flaming red...

[Odin2005]

15. Most "Libertarians" are hypocrites.

[Takket]

13. Well well well!

Look at this little tidbit I found while looking for news about the EFM's takeover of Benton Harbor........ Me thinks Snyder's attack on the city must be related......

http://articles.wsbt.com/2011-04-07/religious-leaders-rally_29395141

[Odin2005]

14. Welcome to Fascism, folks.

[MattBaggins]

16. Does Michigan have a method for impeachment in their constitution?

[onethatcares]

19. this all started with that "eminent domain" decision

ten or so years ago, where a city was allowed to take possession of homes or neighborhoods if they found a more tax producing buyer.

That little decision is coming home to roost in a big way.

[Ikonoklast]

22. Not One Penny In Tax Money.

An unelected entity has been appointed sovereign over elected officials.

If this stands, say good-bye to this country, the Democratic Experiment has failed under the onslaught of the Billionaire Class.

Welcome to serfdom.

[etherealtruth]

23. Not the first time this has happened in Michigan

Highland Park comes to mind. From wikipedia (I realize its Wikipedia, but its a good point to reference the overall situation there)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highland_Park,_Michigan

Highland Park is governed under the council-mayor form of government wherein an elected mayor is the chief executive and administrative officer of the city, and the council its legislative body. The mayor appoints city officers such as the city clerk, attorney, treasurer, and finance director, though, the council has the power to refuse or accept the appointments. The city council consists of five members elected at large who serve terms of four years. The highest vote getter becomes council president for that term.<10>

However, using the Public Act 72 of 1990, Governor John Engler appointed a emergency financial manager to take over the financial operations of the city in December 2000, effectively rendering the mayor, city council, and other elected public officers to advisorial roles. Ramona Henderson-Pearson was appointed the city's first emergency financial manager.<11> In December 2001, the city police department was formally disbanded, at which time the Wayne County Sheriff Department took over policing the city.<12> The Highland Park Police Department was re-established on July 1, 2007.<13> The city was returned to local control in July 2009 by Robert Mason, the city's last emergency financial manager.<9>

[Keith Bee]

25. My 666th post

:evilgrin: (maniacal laughter) }(

[MedleyMisty]

27. I have to say that I hope Walker does this in Wisconsin

I don't know why Michigan didn't fight it, but Wisconsin's already organized and mobilized and I've seen the Twitter chatter. This may be enough to get them off the recall/legal/work within the broken corrupt dead system thing and on to actually doing something.

Come on Walker. Do it. Start the revolution.