Since the 2018 midterms ended, the GOP has proven what sore losers they can be. In Wisconsin, outgoing Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) is signed into law a bill to strip the powers of the incoming Democratic governor. In Kentucky, Gov. Matt Bevin (R-KY) called a special, emergency, pre-Christmas vote to strip teachers of their pensions before the state Congress reconvenes in January and is controlled by Democrats. In Pennsylvania, Republicans tried to block a senator from taking her seat by claiming she didn’t meet the residency requirements.
A victory for campaign finance transparency: A Senate @GOP power play proposal to shift campaign oversight from Democratic Secretary of State-elect @JocelynBenson to a new political commission is poised to die in the Michigan House. https://t.co/eNw6AFnanp
— DASS (@DemsOfState) December 19, 2018
In Michigan, however, those attempts finally went too far. When outgoing Gov. Rick Snyder attempted to strip the power from incoming Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, even the GOP congressmen were reluctant to support it. Now, the bill appears to be dead without enough support to get it passed.
Think Progress reports that:
‘In Michigan, the Republican-controlled legislature already cancelled a popular minimum wage increase and weakened the state’s paid leave policy in the final days before Democrat Gretchen Whitmer replaces Republican Governor Rick Synder. But it appears their effort to strip Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) of her powers may have been a bridge too far for the state’s House.’
Michigan Republicans are mad voters stood up to partisan gerrymandering, so they’re trying to make it even harder to pass ballot initiatives https://t.co/vmwEXEulGp
— Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (@TheDLCC) December 17, 2018
The bill that Gov. Snyder tried to pass would have taken away the regulations around transparency in campaign finance oversight. Instead, Snyder wanted the FEC to provide that oversight.
‘A bill to take away campaign finance oversight from the new Secretary of State, proposed by Republican state Sen. Dave Robertson, passed the Senate earlier this month. His proposal would have created a bipartisan committee, like the dysfunctional and frequently deadlocked Federal Election Commission, to oversee the issue. Robertson himself has been under an ethical cloud given his history of campaign finance fines and an ongoing criminal investigation into embezzlement by his former campaign treasurer and chief of staff.’
Yesterday, I spent the day on the floor of the Michigan House during a #LameDuck #MiLeg session. I watched in awe as the legislature passed yet another piece of legislation that is in direct opposition to what the people desire from their government. 1/https://t.co/T9ibxyXese
— Rep. Mari Manoogian (@MariManoogian) December 19, 2018
As if the endless and widespread gerrymandering in red states wasn’t enough, stripping the power of the incoming secretary of state would effectively end the voter’s right to information about how campaign funds were being used.
‘State Rep. Aaron Miller (R) said Wednesday that the House Elections and Ethics Committee, which he chairs, would not consider the bill during the lame duck session, due to “lack of support.” That likely means the bill is dead; in a statement Benson praised the committee’s decision to stop “hyper-partisan legislation that would have effectively ended the enforcement of Michigan’s campaign finance law.”’
ALERT: Senate GOP power play bill to shift campaign finance oversight is ‘DEAD’ in Michigan House; Story coming soon at https://t.co/oVQTqAIfw2
— Jonathan Oosting (@jonathanoosting) December 19, 2018
For now, the bill has been shot down. The attempts to circumvent Democratic power after the 2018 blue wave, however, is far from over.
Featured image screenshot via Twitter
