Feeding the dog that bites you

There was a big article in the opinion section of last Sunday's Free Press about the stranglehold the GOP has on the Michigan government. The House, Senate, and Governor (as well as Attorney General, Secretary of State, and a majority of the Supreme Court) are in GOP control. As a result the Democrats in the legislature are reduced to spectators. The paper documents this by showing that of the 625 bills passed by the legislature only 56, or 9%, had Dem sponsors.

GOP House Speaker Jase Bolger calls it progress and the "balance of responsibility."

"This time has resulted in a bright future for the state of Michigan. We came into power [in 2011] with mounting debt and the highest unemployment in the country," he said, nothing that the state's budget is now balanced and the unemployment is on the decline. "We had to push the reset button."

The paper well documents the cost of that balanced budget -- tax breaks for business, huge cuts to education, taxes on pensions, restrictions on abortions, and passage of right-to-work. Put another way, the balancing was done on the backs of the poor for the benefit of the rich.

Alas, Democrat voters tend to only appear for elections that include a president, so the state stranglehold probably won't change until 2016.

Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville, R-Monroe, jokingly said he'd like a 38-member majority in the chamber [there are 38 seats], but he's attempted to reach across the aisle to get Democratic input. However, there's a limit to cooperation when Democrats constantly beat the drum of the sins of the majority.

"At times, it's hard to keep feeding the dog when you keep getting bit," he said.

That sounds like the powerful complaining about the oppressed not cooperating with their oppression. Perhaps it would help to feed the dog more often.