And everyone agrees next year will be worse.
So, you’d think it might be appropriate for the state’s politicians to put off worrying about the next round of elections, at least till they get our current financial mess resolved. My guess is that none of us could care less whom any of them want to see elected next time.
Certainly we don’t even want to hear about which politician is backing which other one until they have done their jobs. Until we know that our schools and universities and police and state parks are going to be able to keep operating for the next couple of years.
That, however, is not how the political class thinks. So while the state teeters on the brink of another shutdown, we’ve been treated in the last week to the exciting news that L. Brooks Patterson, the Oakland County executive, is endorsing his local sheriff, Mike Bouchard, in the Republican primary for governor.
Keep in mind that babies who have not yet been conceived will be born before that primary occurs. I find it hard to believe that men and women rushed home from work the other night and threw open the door to share the breathless announcement with their spouse.
“Darling. It’s happened. Brooks Patterson has dropped the other shoe. He’s endorsing Mike Bouchard.” Overcome with emotion, Camilla faints and collapses on the sofa.
No, I don’t see that happening. The Democrats don’t intend to be outdone, of course. In fact, it was only yesterday that I was able to tell my sweetie that Carmella Sabaugh was endorsing Jocelyn Benson for secretary of state. If that doesn’t mean much to you, you must be normal. Sabbaugh is the Macomb County clerk.
Benson is a law professor at Wayne State University. The ironic part is that even if you cared about this endorsement, it is utterly meaningless. You don’t get to pick the nominee for secretary of state.
The political parties do, at their state conventions next year. What’s going on here is largely a bunch of political maneuverings under the general heading of, “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours,“ coupled with a few paybacks for previous scratches.
Whether political endorsements have any effect at all is debatable. The old saying is that it was like wetting your pants while wearing a dark suit; it gives you a nice warm feeling, and nobody notices. However, it may not feel so good after a while.
Somewhere, there may be somebody who voted for someone because another politician suggested they do so. I just have never met that person. However, if any of the current crop in Lansing can stand up and lead their fellows to a rational resolution of this budget mess, I may not necessarily vote the way they want me to.
But I might go out and build a statue to them instead.
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