4 - Friday, November 2, 2012
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
4- Friday, November 2, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
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IJIE 1M ditian &4ath
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TIMOTHY RABB
JOSEPH LICHTERMAN and ADRIENNE ROBERTS ANDREW WEINER
EDITOR IN CHIEF EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS MANAGING EDITOR
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily's editorial board.
All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
O I-E IA
Vote Johnson,
Kelley and McCormack
ne of the unsung sections of this year's ballot entails the race
for Michigan's Supreme Court. Unbeknownst to many, $10
million has been spent on television ads by the two major
political parties on the Supreme Court race. The current Supreme
Court is controlled 4-3 by conservative justices, so the outcome of
this election will have a major effect on many state decisions, as it
supervises and regulates other courts.
Beyond disillusionment
Since this presidential cam-
paign began 18 months ago,
there's been a narrative that
hasn't seemed to go away. By now,
we're all famil-
iar with the
popular refrain
- the disillu-
sioned youth
who once upon
a time volun-
teered and voted
for President YONAH
Barack Obama. LIEBERMAN
The 2008
campaign was
the first time I really engaged in
politics. I wasn't old enough to vote,
hut I'm proud to say I got caught
up in the empowering slogans of
"Change" and "Yes We Can." I sud-
denly found myself in Richmond,
va. as a community organizer, ral-
lying support from door to door.
Imagine that: a well-off, Jew-
ish, private-school kid talking to
impoverished black people. It was
inspiring work.
But wait! Before you all shove
this paper into the recycling bin,
I promise not to bore you with all
of Obama's accomplishments and
Republican presidential nominee
Mitt Romney's dangerous posi-
tions. That's overdone.
There's an oft-overlooked, yet
important demographic on campus:
people from all backgrounds who
may not vote - those of you who are
no longer inspired by the soaring
rhetoric and incredible atmosphere
of "the first time." That is, the first
time that Obama ran for president.
I know from experience that
many pundits' blanket statements
of disillusionment are entirely
false. I saw it first-hand in Denver
when I was a field organizer for the
Obama campaign last summer, and
I've seen it all across this campus
these past two months.
But, yes, there are many who
have lost faith - who, as the pun-
dits say, are "disillusioned."
Look, I get it. I really, really do.
There are many things I am frus-
trated at Obama for not doing in
his first term. He failed to achieve
immigration reform, fight for the
public option in health care reform,
pull our troops out of Afghanistan,
create more green jobs, reinvigorate
the peace process between Israelis
and Palestinians or close Guantana-
mo Bay. He continued the Bush tax
cuts on the wealthy and increased
the drone strikes in the Middle East.
And yet, my issue isn't entirely
with the president, but with the sys-
tem in which he functions. My issue
isn't entirely with the lack of prog-
teas, but with the institutions in
place that make true progress diffi-
cult. My issue isn't entirely with the
change that we didn't see, but with a
government that makes changes far
too slowly.
Clearly, I have major qualms
with the president's first term. We
shouldn't ignore these issues, and
we shouldn't simply forgive his
transgressions. We should engage
with them.
To engage is to act publicly when
we disagree. This could mean taking
to the streets, lobbying our congres-
sional representatives, writing to the
White House or - as Obama once did
- doing some real community orga-
nizing. To engage is not to check out.
That shouldn't be an option.
Every activist eventually learns
that change is slow. It took 10 years
after the Montgomery Bus Boycott
for the Civil Rights Act of 1965 to
become law. It took 35 years after
the 1969 Stonewall riots for Massa-
chusetts to become the first state to
legalize same-sex marriage.
We live in an imperfect world gov-
erned by imperfect institutions. Our
Electoral College is imperfect. Our
two-party system is imperfect. Our
campaign finance laws are imper-
fect. Our politics are imperfect.
If we want change, throwing up
our hands when confronted with
these imperfections isn't an option.
We need to roll up our sleeves.
The sweeping change we wanted
so badly in 2008 may have been
represented by Democratic presi-
dential nominee Obama, but he was
never going to achieve it all with
his hands alone. We cannot sit back
and watch. If we stop working for
change, it drifts that much farther
out of reach.
Take heart, get
out of bed, and
go to the polls.
We shouldn't forgetour emotions
the night Barack Obama became
president-elect. We can't push aside
the hope we felt simply because
change is slow. There's too much at
stake. There are too many policiwes
that still need to be changed.
I refuse to tell my grandchildren
that my generation's strength and
unity dissolved in disillusionment.
I reject the narrative that paints
the 2008 election as the high-water
mark of our movement for change.
There are valid reasons to be dis-
appointed in Obama's first term. But
there's no excuse not to vote for a sec-
ond term. There is no reason why we
cannot come together again as agen-
eration of change-seekers and hope-
mongers, starting with Election.Day.
When you wake up on Nov. 6,
remember how you felt "the last
time." And remember that while
change may be slow, change will
only come if, after we vote, we keep
on working.
- Yonah Lieberman can be
reached at yonahl@umich.edu.
Follow him on Twitter
@YonahLieberman.
4
McCormack is a former faculty fellow at Yale
Law School and the associate dean for clinical
affairs at the University's Law School. She has
participated in the Law School's clinics and
formed her own, the Domestic violence Litiga-
tion Clinic and the Pediatric Health Advocacy
Clinic. McCormack became the Dean for Clini-
cal Affairs in 2002.
McCormack is a teacher of law and an
advocate for justice. In an interview with
Michigan Radio, she said that if elected she
would "apply the law set by the political
branches of government, to provide stability
and promise equal treatment to all of our citi-
zens." McCormack is an advocate of due pro-
cess of law in all cases, and even volunteered
to defend a prisoner held in Guantanamo Bay
during the Bush administration.
She also told Michigan Radio thatshe's "real-
ly committed to the important, independent
role the court plays inour constitutional democ-
racy." Most importantly, however, McCormack
is committed to the community and believes
that the Court has a unique responsibility and
function within it.
Connie Kelley, a veteran of law for 27 years,
serves on the Wayne County Circuit Court.
Elected to the 3rd Circuit Court in 2008, Kel-
ley's term has been characterized by fairness
and consideration of both sides of arguments.
An Oct. 9 article in The Michigan Chronicle
described Kelley as family activist who looks
after the rights of children. As Kelley said dur-
ing the interview, one of the justices retiring
this year, Justice Marilyn Kelly, is the only
justice serving the state of Michigan to have
experience in family law. Kelley also serves as
a mentor for young women at Cody High School
in Detroit. In another interview, Kelley identi-
fied herself as someone who believes in trans-
parency of the law: "We believe that justice
should be for everybody and the justice system
should be accessible to everybody."
Two Republican opponents, Oakland County
Circuit Judge Colleen O'Brien, and Justice Ste-
phen Markman, have made questionable deci-
sions as judges. O'Brien sentenced a man who
raped an 11-year-old boy to one year in prison
and four years of probation; this is clearly not
a harsh enough sentence. Justice Markman
has consistently voted conservatively in many
cases. For example, in Pride at Work v. the Gov-
ernor of Michigan, Markman ruled that Michi-
gan's gay marriage ban also bars same-sex
domestic partners who are public employees
from receiving health insurance benefits.
For the half-term Supreme Court position,
Judge Sheila Johnson is running against Jus-
tice Brian Zahra. Johnson is a graduate of the
University of Michigan Law School.and has
served as the judge of 46th District Court for
nine years. She has worked as both a trial judge
and as a lawyer, giving her experience from
both sides. Justice Zahra was appointed to the
Michigan Supreme Court by Governor Rick
Snyder in 201. Zahra, like Markman, voted to
reject same-sexbenefits.
McCormack, Kelley and Johnson have the
skill to maintain jurisprudence in Michigan.
Both have opposed unprecedented campaign
contributions that took place in the 2010
Supreme Court elections and onward after
the Citizens United case. vote Bridget Mary
McCormack, Judge Connie Kelley and
Judge Sheila Johnson for Michigan Supreme
Court. Kelley will provide the necessary expe-
rience with regards to family litigation, McCor-
mack brings academic reflection to the judicial
bench and Johnson brings experience from her
range of careers.
I
I
I
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
Kaan Avdan, Sharik Bashir, Eli Cahan, Nirbhay Jain, Jesse Klein, Melanie Kruvelis,
Patrick Maillet, Harsha Nahata, Timothy Rabb, Adrienne Roberts,
Vanessa Rychlinski, Sarah Skaluba, Michael Spaeth, Gus Turner
LIZ RODRIGUES WPI NT
Support collective bargaining
4
F ROM T HE DA ILY
Vote Dingell, Stabenow
Jn a partisan campaign of Super Bowl proportions, former U.S.
Rep. Pete Hoekstra is the Republican challenging Democratic
incumbent Sen. Debbie Stabenow to represent Michigan in
the U.S. Senate. Hoekstra is adamant that his initiatives are a vast
improvement over his contender's. In an interview with The Michi-
gan Daily, he summarized five key items that form the focal point
of his candidacy: achieving American energy independence, revis-
ing our tax code, privatizing our country's health care industry,
improving our educational system and balancing the budget.
Hoekstra's goals mark a good starting point,
but he failed to sufficiently explain the means
by which he plans to achieve them in the Sen-
ate. Most troubling were his presumptuous
statements about the current quality of the
American health care system.
"America's health care is imperfect, but
imperfect as it is, it's still the best health care
system in the world, and I don't want to put it
in aposition where it's controlledby the federal
government," Hoekstra said.
While it's true Americahas excellenthealth
care, it's by no means the "best health care
system in the world," even compared to some
of our closest neighbors. Per-capita health
care spending in the U.S. is nearly twice that
of Canada's and exceeds any other country in
the world. In spite of the high expenditures,
however, the World Health Organization
ranked U.S. health care 37th worldwide, well
below the other industrialized countries and
some developing countries.
When asked whether he and his Repub-
lican cohorts had earned back their seats in
government in the wake of the Bush admin-
istration's missteps, Hoekstra pointed to the
current administration as an example of a
more recent failure.
This is a striking example of Hoekstra's
tendency to take the path of least resistance,
harping on the shortcomings of his opponents
rather than emphasizing his own campaign's
strengths. Thiswas evenmore clearly observed
in hiswidely panned, racially insensitive Super
Bowl campaign advertisement, which criti-
cized Debbie "Spenditnow" for her alleged sup-
port of moving jobs overseas.
Stabenow's interview with the Daily
focused more on her efforts to strike a com-
promise between parties. She has made a
positive impact with her position as chair-
woman on the Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition and Forestry. She also underscored
her role as a "champion of advanced manu-
facturing and new technologies," a support-
er of the national auto industry and a chief
figure in a $23-billion reduction of wasteful
spending in the agricultural industry.
Though her voting record lacks perfect
consistency, Stabenow is the most qualified
candidate for U.S. Senate not only for her
abstention from extreme rhetoric, but also
due to the firm precedent she's set with a
12-year tenure as a senator. vote Sen. Debbie
Stabenow for U.S. Senate.
In the U.S. House of Representatives, Rep.
John Dingell faces Cynthia Kallgren to con-
tinue his record-long service as congressman.
Dingell's 57-year career, the longest in House
history, is studded with remarkable contribu-
tions, including his crucial role in uncovering
numerous cases of political corruption and
fraud. Duringa candidateforum at Weber's Inn
on Oct. 10, Dingell was able to cite numerous
examples of political service, while Kallgren's
only managerial experience is derived from
her role as a consultant for a company called
Creative Memories. Dingell's record speaks
for itself -vote Rep. John Dingell for the U.S.
House of Representatives.
If you're a Michigan voter, you
have an important decision to
make on Nov. 6. Will you stand on
the side of working families and
on the side of democracy, dignity
and fairness for all workers by vot-
ing yes on Proposal 2?
We, as your GSIs and as officers,
stewards and members of the Gradu-
ate Employees' Organization, have
worked hard to ensure you are able
to make this decision for our state,
rather than the CEos and politicians
who have launched dozens of legis-
lative actions stripping workers of
their right to organize and bargain
collectively. We urge you to vote yes
on Proposal 2.
You might have seen a few of
the attack advertisements that
circulate outright lies about what
this constitutional amendment
will mean for Michigan. These
commercials try to portray edu-
cators as evil criminals out to
harm children and steal taxpayer
money, instead of folks just try-
ing to take care of their families,
be treated fairly at work and make
our communities a better place
to live. These advertisements are
examples of the most basic kind of
discourse that does not even both-
er to rise to the level of informed
debate - you couldn't get away
with argumentation like this in
your English 125 essays. But the
adverts aren't fooling the people
who matter. Parents and informed
citizens know that collective bar-
gaining builds our communities
and protects students. That's why
groups like the Michigan PTA
have endorsed Proposal 2.
Before you make your decision,
you might have a few questions.
What is collective bargaining?
In a political climate that vilifies
working people, it's easy to for-
get that collective bargaining is
simply when two or more workers
come together with their employer
to negotiate hours, compensation
and working conditions. Work-
ers democratically decide among
themselves what to bargain for and
often address safety, quality stan-
dards and due process in hiring and
firing in their contracts. Many of
the basic workplace rights and pro-
tections we take for granted today
are the result of decades of collec-
tive bargaining efforts: the basic
40-hour work week, the weekend
break, minimum wage and child
labor laws.
Maybe your question is, "What
does the right to bargain collectively
have to do with me and my future?"
You might not be a union member
when you graduate, but your work-
ing conditions will be affected by
the standards that bargaining sets.
All workers gain because the wages,
benefits, working conditions and
safety procedures laid out in collec-
tively bargained contracts become
standards that other employers must
meet to stay competitive. Our com-
munities grow stronger because fair
wages allow us to support local busi-
nesses, fund our schools adequately
and keep safety services strong. Con=
versely, when workers don't have a
voice, we all lose. Politicians are roll-
ing back current laws that protect
wages, hours and safe working con-
ditions. We can't wait until our rights
are completely gone - we need to
protect them now.
There's a classic labor movement
* song that you might have heard
played at our rally with lecturers and
other community members support-
ing Proposal 2 last Friday. The lyrics
ask a simple question: Which side are
you on?
As we teach you in our dis-
cussion sections, rarely is such a
reductive question the right one
to ask. There are multiple sides to
every issue - and that's exactly
why teachers need a seat at the
table when decisions that affect
the quality of their students' edu-
cation are being discussed. Nurses
need to know they can't be fired for
raising safety concerns in hospitals
that are increasingly run for profit
at the patient's expense. All work-
ers need a seat at the table when
wages and benefits are being dis-
cussed. Collective bargaining gives
workers a say in these crucial deci-
sions that directly affect the lives
of their students, their patients and
their communities.
Yet in a time when the basic
democratic rights of working
people are under attack by politi-
cians and CEos who rake in record
profits for themselves while keep-
ing wages stagnant, the question
before you is simple: Which side
are you on? A vote for Proposal 2 is
a vote for the right for workers to
have a seat at the table, to have a
say in their working conditions and
to be respected for the labor and
skills they-bring to their jobs every
single day.
This viewpoint was written by Liz
Rodrigues and other members of the
Graduate Employees' Organization.
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