For those who missed it, there has been a bit of drama happening in Lansing over an anti-affirmative action proposal that supporters want to have put on the November 2006 ballot in Michigan.
The initiative wants people to get government jobs based on their experience, and not because of the color of their skin.
Many elected Democrats are adamently opposed to the measure; many elected Republicans are strongly in favor of the people of Michigan voting on the measure.
There was some question as to whether the 500,000 signatures on a petition were collected honestly; some Democrats claimed that people signed the petition because they thought it was a pro-affirmative action petition and that the people who gathered the signatures misrepresented what the petition was for.
This argument was taken to court, and the courts decided that the initiative should be on the November ballot. It ordered the board of canvassars to certify the signatures of the petition; they refused. They were again ordered to do so following more court proceedings, and here's what happened:
A political group from Detroit arrived from Detroit with a busload of students to attend the meeting; their behavior was awful and they ended up disrupting the meeting. Police were called in to restore order; one person was arrested. The vote was finally taken, and it was two in favor, one against, and one abstained from voting.
They were ordered to uphold the constitution of the State of Michigan; they failed to do so. Now the two Democrats on the panel who voted no or abstained are facing possible contempt of court charges. Their side argued their case against the signatures and lost.
It didn't matter what their personal opinions were by that point; they were ordered to certify the signatures by a court in good standing in the State of Michigan, and that was what they were at this meeting to do.
Governor Granholm should insist that the board members who defied the court and failed to uphold the law resign immediately, or she should expel them from the board (as provided for in the Michigan constitution) and appoint their replacements.
Her appointees aren't DOING THEIR JOBS. And the group that disrupted the meeting should be ashamed of itself for pulling kids out of school to disrupt a government meeting.
Legislation should also be put into place to prevent future occurances of this disgrace; since this is not the first time this has happened, it should be dealt with to put this issue to rest permanently.
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