It was summertime in northern Michigan. While nothing was funny, there was something that smelled suspicious. A Lansing man planned to travel to Elk Rapids to take his boat out for Memorial Day weekend. The dock is located a few miles north of Traverse City. It had opened its season three weeks earlier than normal due to Covid-19 restrictions. This meant that it was late on a busy holiday weekend. The dock worker told the boat owner that a few days’ notice was insufficient to prepare the boat. He also had a lot of clients. replied that he was the husband of the governor. This will make a difference.
Marc Mallory was the husband of Gretchen Whitmer. His wife had placed restrictions on lake activity in March. No motorized boating, road trips, or travel to secondary homes was allowed. She also issued a statement about the dangers of boating for average Michiganders before the holiday. Whitmer advised that if you don’t live on a lake, you should think long and hard before taking a trip there.
Moments like these earned the 49th governor of Michigan titles such as “Wicked Witch in the Midwest,” “Witcher,” and other five-letter derivatives that I won’t repeat. Thousands made her persona non grata of Michiganders during the pandemic. They pledged that she would only be elected one-term governor. Her judgment day, weeks away from November 8, looks less likely to be an acquittal. What has happened?
Political memory is, however, an oxymoron. So long as they hold the right views, few people are ever permanently exiled. Bill Clinton is still able to attend parties. The Detroit News recently published a poll showing that 42 percent of Michigan voters won’t be considering Whitmer’s Covid-19 response when choosing their voting method. This is a drastic drop from two years ago. A quick Google search for Whitmer’s name or “Covid” will bring up pages of articles about Whitmer’s pandemic response. This is when you know that something is up.
While it is difficult to pinpoint the most frustrating thing during the Covid lockdowns in Michigan, Whitmer’s misuse of her emergency powers is sure to be at the top of the list. In just a few short months, the governor issued hundreds of executive orders regulating everything, from boat usage to the maximum number of people allowed to eat at a restaurant. This rule was still in force in May 2021 when Whitmer broke it to order pizza with 12 friends. Whitmer canceled the rule after the incident. Other executive orders banned the sale of seeds, home gardening supplies, paints, carpeting, flooring, furniture, and other items. There were still abortions and lottery tickets.
Whitmer also banned in-state travel to other homes, even if they were yours. This was another low point in the pandemic regulations. In December 2020, after months of the initial pandemic dust-up, Whitmer banned in-person classes. This seemed to be a particularly harsh move against Hillsdale College, my alma mater. Although she blamed the Delta variant, Hillsdale College was one of the few schools that taught in person at that time.
Michigan was tired by the summer of 2020. Although right-leaning voters were more vocal, it was a cause that united all parties and factions. Many thousands signed petitions. More than 300,000 people joined the Facebook group Michiganders Against Extreme Quarantine. Numerous lawsuits were filed, one from Mackinac Center in May 2020. The Michigan Supreme Court ruled in October 2020 that the governor’s emergency powers were illegal under the state’s nondelegation provision by improperly delegating lawmaking power to the governor. Also, the court unanimously ruled that Whitmer had exceeded her authority when she extended the state of emergency in April without consent from the legislature. The state was charged $200,000 for attorney fees and much more in political capital as Whitmer sought out the health department to make further rulings.
Whitmer was the subject of another story just days after Whitmer’s Supreme Court ruling. Six men tried to kidnap Whitmer, watching her Elk Rapids lakehouse and practicing an attack on the governor before they were caught. The FBI arrested fourteen men as part of the investigation. The story caused some pity for Governor Michigan. Until the investigation revealed that they may have prodded them to act in addition to tracking potential kidnappers and other FBI agents. The promoters of the story grabbed brooms and raised rugs. Two men were eventually convicted of conspiring to acquire a weapon for mass destruction, not for trying to kidnap the governor. The incident became much more than it appeared to be and was a joke for political opponents, including Tudor Dixon, who was running against Whitmer. “Her face was shocked, and she said, “Oh, my god, this is happening. I would instead be kidnapped and held hostage by the F.B.I.
Whitmer ran for governor against Bill Schuette, the former Michigan Attorney General. This was the most costly race in state history, but Whitmer won the election. Reactionary votes from (angry, white, and liberal) women were responsible for the narrow victory in a deeply purple state. They were shocked that Donald Trump had not just won the presidential election but also won over the majority of their relatives and neighbors.
Whitmer is now enjoying a new wind, partly due to the repeal of Roe V. Wade. Proposal 3 is a Michigan state legislative ballot proposal that will boost support for a candidate who may otherwise have been very unpopular. Prop. Prop. 3 would amend the state constitution to enshrine legal rights to “reproductive freedom.” But it goes far beyond abortion. The bill provides a right to abortion, fertility, and miscarriage management. It also eliminates parental consent for minors. This means that a 14-year-old could choose to use hormonal drugs, which can have the same effect as sterilization, without the knowledge of an adult.
Reproductive Freedom for all, a Michigan activist group, sponsored the proposal. This means that elected officials could still approve abortions after fetal viability is reached around 23 to 24 weeks. However, no “medical professional” (even your massage therapist) would recommend the procedure for life, health, or mental reasons.
Michigan’s federal judges have already lifted the state’s 1931 abortion ban. However, in an election year, it is still going on offense. Voters are often turned away by abortion. Whitmer also believes that misdirection is a good thing. If voters are too focused on the tribe’s most important cause after a devastating lockdown, they may forget about the woman sitting on top of the rubble.
