How many signatures will they submit, and what then?
By RightMichigan.com Posted in Breaking News | court packin | George Soros | Jon Stryker | Michigan | MoveOn.org | Petition | RMGN | www.RightMichigan.com — Comments (0) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Cross-posted on Right Michigan at www.RightMichigan.com.
Today is the day. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's Monday, the first day back after (what I hope was) an awesome three-day weekend, a return to the grindstone and the day power finally returned for many Grand Rapids residents after a nasty weekend storm. But that's not what I'm talking about. Today is the filing deadline.
The Bureau of Elections in Lansing will have their hands full with case after case of completed and semi-completed petition forms as groups hope to get their issue on the November ballot. The universal health care folks failed. Many Right Michigan readers have their fingers crossed for the fair tax proposal... and then there are two others.
Mad Scientists United to Kill Tiny People (ok, so I renamed them) are expected to turn in somewhere in the neighborhood of 400,000 signatures to ask voters to legalize an obsolete research method that just happens to destroy human life. How many more than 400,000 they submit will be particularly instructive in determining how to keep the literally pointless practice from becoming legally permissable. The minimum number of signatures needed is right around 380,000. A twenty, even a seventy-thousand signature cushion probably won't do it. It hasn't in the past.
Then there's RMGN, the stealth petition effort born in Michigan Democrats' patented smoke filled backrooms and looking to change two-thirds of the Constitution. Ultra-lefty spokesman Diane Byrum says they'll have all the signatures they need but she's not willing to guess just yet how many. Which shouldn't surprise anyone. She's not willing to tell us much these days. Seems to be a chronic problem with the anti-democracy, pro-bureaucracy, big government folks peddling this manure.
Time, literally, will tell, but don't be surprised if this thing is much closer to the 400,000 number than the stem cell folks. While the mad scientists have been out in the open paying petition circulators for what seems like the better part of a decade they only figure to claw their way to a safe cushion (if they manage that much). The mystery folks behind the stealth petition? Well, who knows? We first got a whiff of them three or four weeks ago and if it hadn't been for our initial coverage here on Right Michigan they still might be working in the shadows.
There are different courses of action depending on the number they submit... and potential allies in interesting places. The Detroit News reports that the Governor and who-knows-how-many other Democrats held a series of uber-secret conference calls about the uber-secret petition drive over the holiday weekend. Allegedly. And it turns out a lot of them aren't happy.
Hunter said he is furious that the proposal was developed "behind the scenes in a stealth fashion."
"I am diametrically opposed to the initiative," (Dem. Senator Tupac) Hunter said, calling it an effort "to totally rewrite the state constitution. It's too sweeping."
Note that Hunter is not approaching the issue from the whole "self-preservation" angle. He brings up two serious issues that cut across party lines and might actually stand a chance of bridging the partisan gap. Remember, even the MichLib folks called this thing a "conspiracy" when if first surfaced, seizing on the back-alley approach to overhaul the constitution in secret. And when I did Off the Record with Tim Skubick this past week one of the lefty bloggers sitting across the table, Lisa Geise, also stated plainly that she opposed the initiative.
When was the last time you were able to say you agreed with folks like Geise, Mark Grebner and Tupac Hunter? But I digress.
Different ways to address these petitions, based on the number of signatures they submit. In my mind and petition gathering experience there's a magic number here. Each group is hoping to change the constitution requiring a mammoth number of valid signatures. 380,000 is no joke and the potential for bad signatures and unregistered circulators is real and significant. If either fails to submit 450,000+ there is more than just potential to knock them off the ballot completely. In fact, the likelihood of a ballot measure with that small a cushion surviving the fine-tooth comb is smaller than the chance it gets bounced.
If we're talking 450,000 to 475,000 there's a little more work to do but it is still doable. If the folks with the resources and the manpower wanted my advice, and they almost certainly don't, I'd implore them to attempt to brake out their QVFs. Disqualification is still a break-even proposition. 475 to 500 it's possible but tougher. I certainly wouldn't argue with anyone starting a challenge. Heck, I'd still encourage it.
If they're anywhere over 500,000 get ready for November (with the mad scientists) or lawsuits (with the liberal stealth drive).
Now, in the event that any group attempts to individually validate these signatures, they're going to need all the manpower they can get so be prepared.
Stay tuned, we should know soon.