I
n
the
2022
midterm
elections,
Michigan
voters
showed
up
in
record numbers. On campus,
students made headlines for
waiting up to six hours after
the
polls
closed
for
last-
minute voter registration. And
ultimately, voters ushered in a
new era of Democratic control
in Lansing. This historic shift
in the legislature’s makeup is
a unique opportunity, which
last happened nearly 40 years
ago,
to
bring
meaningful
change to Michigan. Despite
the excitement around these
electoral successes, however,
it is critical that people do
not
get
complacent
with
Democratic power, and instead
remain engaged and motivated
while Democrats sort out and
start work on their policy
agenda.
This election was marked
by historic wins for Michigan
Democrats.
Gov.
Gretchen
Whitmer beat her opponent
Tudor
Dixon
by
over
10
points.
Whitmer
had
big
wins
in
many
historically
conservative
counties
that
she barely won four years ago.
Democrats at the top of the
ticket were also successful,
with Attorney General Dana
Nessel and Secretary of State
Jocelyn Benson beating their
opponents by large margins.
There was also the passage
of Proposal Three, to codify
abortion into the Michigan
Constitution, which passed by
a significant margin, despite
the
coordinated
opposition
campaign
that
pushed
the
narrative that this bill was “too
confusing and too extreme.”
Overall, one of the biggest
and most historic events in
Michigan this election was the
flipping of both houses of the
Michigan State Legislature.
Democrats won the Michigan
Assembly by 56-54 and the State
Senate by a 20-18 majority. The
last time that Democrats had
control of both chambers of
the Michigan Legislature and
the governorship was in 1983.
Michigan
Democrats
also
made history by selecting a
diverse party leadership. State
Rep. Joe Tate, D-Detroit, will
make history as the first Black
lawmaker to serve as House
speaker. State Sen. Winnie
Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, will
serve as the first female Senate
majority leader.
It is impossible to talk about
the
Michigan
Legislature
flipping without recognizing
the
role
of
the
Michigan
Independent
Redistricting
Commission. In 2018, voters in
Michigan approved a proposal
to
form
an
independent
redistricting commission that
would draw both congressional
districts
and
state
House
and
state
Senate
districts.
This commission allowed for
Michigan districts to be drawn
fairly and not be influenced by
partisan gerrymandering, in
stark contrast to 2018 where,
despite Whitmer winning by
over 400,000 votes, Democrats
still lost both houses due to
the gerrymandered maps. This
midterm was different, as the
fairly-drawn House and Senate
districts are representative of
the will of Michiganders.
With both houses of the
legislature and control of the
governorship, the Democrats
have
the
trifecta
needed
to
implement
important
policies that will help all
Michiganders. Some important
issues that they may address
include infrastructure, school
funding,
gun
control
and
repealing Michigan’s right-to-
work law.
Democrats led by Whitmer
have
sought
to
increase
funding for schools and help
reform the education system
in Michigan. They may make
changes to how school funding
is
calculated
and
increase
funding
for
lower-income
schools. The Democrats have
also
spoken
about
giving
bonuses
to
teachers
and
expanding
early
childhood
education programs.
One issue that Democrats
hope to address, which is
very
important
to
many
young voters, is gun control.
Whitmer has indicated that
implementing common sense
gun control measures is one of
her key priorities for the new
session. Possible legislation
would include requiring adult
gun owners with children to
securely store their firearms
or face a criminal penalty. The
issue of unsecured guns was
seen last year with the Oxford
High School shooting, where
the
teenage
gunman
had
access to unsecured firearms.
Other legislative gun control
policies include red flag laws,
which allow law enforcement
to
remove
firearms
from
people at risk.
Another
important
issue
that will likely be addressed is
right-to-work laws. Michigan
is currently a right-to-work
state. This means that labor
unions are prohibited from
requiring
workers
to
pay
union dues as a condition
of
employment.
Right-to-
work was passed in 2012 by
Republicans
and
supported
by
former
Governor
Rick
Snyder. The law is viewed
by many Democrats as an
attempt to reduce the power
of labor unions. Over the
past few years, we have seen
a growing interest in labor
unions and workers’ rights at
companies like Amazon and
Starbucks as people recognize
the importance of organized
labor. Repealing the right-to-
work law is an important step
Michigan can take to protect
organized labor.
As we look to the future of
the Democratic trifecta in
Michigan, it is critical that
voters stay engaged.
In these midterms, we saw a
surprising rightward swing in
a Democratic stronghold, New
York, showing the importance
of
omnipresent
awareness.
New York had a lower turnout,
and
Republicans
flipped
several congressional seats. It
is possible that in New York,
where people feel safe in their
liberal bubble, constituents may
be less likely to take the time to
go out and vote. For example,
for voters in New York, the issue
of abortion rights may have felt
less relevant since the state
legislature
already
codified
Roe v. Wade in 2019. This was
different from Michigan, where
so many voters were mobilized
by Proposal Three. As we move
into a Michigan with codified
reproductive protections, we
need to remember that voters
cannot get complacent and
unengaged.
This
upcoming
session,
Democrats have an amazing
opportunity to make important
changes
that
will
help
Michigan.
However,
they
only have two years and a
slim majority. While they will
definitely make a major impact,
they
will
need
continued
support to ensure that we don’t
get complacent and recognize
that if we want to create a
better Michigan, we need to
stay engaged. The results of
these midterms demonstrate
that when voters turn out, they
can bring about major changes.
Michiganders understood the
power and importance of their
vote in this election, and that
passion must be sustained.
Wednesday, November 30, 2022 — 13
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
W
hat
many
predicted
would be a midterm
shellacking
à
la
2010 turned out to be the most
impressive
midterm
shocker
in
decades.
The
bad
omens
that typically foreshadow poor
midterm performance simply did
not affect Democrats this election
cycle. President Joe Biden, their
party leader, was saddled with
historically low approval ratings;
inflation and gas prices, which have
dominated the news media and
voter consciousness, continued to
be astronomically high; the stock
market has tumbled since the start
of the year.
A “red wave” of epic proportions
was all but spoken into existence
by pundits from the left, right
and center. Predictions about
the House centered around
the Democrats losing 30 seats,
possibly even more. Republicans
taking the House was treated
by some, including Frank Luntz
(and me!), as all but a foregone
conclusion. Republicans were
favored to take the Senate, with
some major pollsters projecting
53
seats.
Betting
markets
were all in on a Republican
House majority and a more
than
50-member
Republican
Senate Conference. Biden and
the Democrats were expected
to take a beating of historical
proportions. That wasn’t close to
what happened.
Instead of a majority of 30,
40 or maybe even more seats,
Republicans are on track for a
majority of less than 10 seats
in the House. They didn’t gain
three, two or even the one seat
needed to flip Senate control,
and it remained in Democratic
hands. Not only that, but there’s
a better-than-even chance that
Democrats will actually gain a
seat. Throw in the dominance
of Democrats in state legislative
races, and you have results
that would have been close to
unfathomable just last week.
In attempting to hypothesize why
Democrats had such a defiant
night, it is important to understand
that potential explanations for the
surprise are nearly infinite, and
no single issue is to blame for the
GOP’s failure. Many races were
extremely close, with margins that
could be explained by a multitude
of issues. However, I believe some
issues were of special significance.
GOP candidate quality is one. In
statewide battleground races this is
no doubt true. In Georgia, Herschel
Walker, a decades-long ally of the
former president, failed to meet
expectations and earned far fewer
voters than Donald Trump rival
Brian Kemp. In Pennsylvania,
Mehmet Oz lost to Lt. Gov. John
Fetterman in a race that didn’t
end up being all that close. Doug
Mastriano, the GOP gubernatorial
candidate who was in lockstep with
Trump, lost by almost 15 points.
Examples in other states also exist.
But when you consider House races,
the candidate quality explanation
falls short of fully explaining what
happened. Sure, extreme right-wing
candidates like Lauren Boebert and
Joe Kent struggled. But so too did
many more relatively mainstream
House Republican candidates who
were not as closely aligned with
the former President. It also falls
short of explaining another issue
— for the first time since 1934, the
president’s party did not lose a
single state legislative chamber.
A crucial reason that explains
this is that, to my surprise, voters
nationwide correctly decided that
Democrats were not to blame for
issues that were not their fault.
Going into the election, far and
away the biggest concern for
voters, according to polling, was
the economy, specifically inflation.
I do not doubt that the polling
was
accurate.
Near-consensus
thinking was that, as the party
in unanimous power, Democrats
would take the fall for worsening
economic conditions. The GOP
blamed Democrats for rising prices
nonstop.
But in the end, voters did not fall
for the Republican charade that
unfortunate worldwide economic
conditions
were
Democrats’
fault. Given that the issue was
rated as of utmost importance by
voters time and time again, the
likely explanation is not that the
polling was wrong, but rather that
prognosticators errantly assumed
voters would blame Democrats for
the issues.
A big reason for voters’ not linking
inflation concerns to Democrats is
the fact that the Republican plan to
reverse these apparent Democratic
wrongs was nonexistent. While
Republicans have railed nonstop
against Democrats on the issue
for months, they failed to present
concrete ways that they would fix
inflation if they were in power. This
makes sense, of course, since there
is no sound policy to articulate.
Worldwide inflation as a result of
external conditions cannot be fixed
by one American political party.
Moreover, voters had clear evidence
that inflation and gas concerns
were not unique to America —
indeed, many countries are faring
worse than we are. If voters had
no evidence of inflation elsewhere,
then it would have been a uniquely
American problem, and blaming
Democrats would have been much
easier.
Other issues that Republicans tried
to pin blame on Democrats for, like
violent crime, were also ineffective.
Exemptions exist — take New
York, for example — but in places
like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin
where the issue was pushed heavily,
Democrats performed better than
expected. The biggest problem
for Democrats in New York was
messaging and a fear of opining on
the issue, not policy. The reality is
that both of these issues — violent
crime and inflation — are not so
easily pinned on Democrats.
Republicans often try to argue that
violent crime is more prevalent in
areas of Democratic control in an
effort to blame Democrat policies
for the problem. But lots of evidence
exists contrary to this point. Take
the fact that Oklahoma’s murder
rate is nearly 50% higher than
California and New York’s. Or that
Republican-led Jacksonville has
had more murders than liberal
San Francisco. Or that, as of 2020,
Donald Trump won eight of the
10 states with the highest murder
rates. While it is true that crime has
gone up in Democrat-controlled
regions, it’s risen in Republican
regions as well. Violent crime is an
extremely nuanced issue that can’t
simply be chalked up to the party
ID of mayors or governors.
DEVON HESANO
Opinion Columnist
Democrats won Michigan, now it’s
time to keep it up
O
n Oct. 28, the Ethical
Investment
Front
published an op-ed in
The
Michigan
Daily
calling
for the University of Michigan
administration to cancel Young
Americans for Freedom’s Nov.
15 speech with Ben Shapiro at
Rackham
Auditorium.
Though
the authors cited “threat(s) to
safety” as justification for their
demand, their piece was clearly an
attempt to stifle the free speech of
conservative students on campus.
They
compared
Shapiro,
an
Orthodox
Jew
who
has
experienced some of the worst
kinds
of
antisemitic
attacks,
to Richard Spencer, the neo-
Nazi and white nationalist. It is
hard to find a more mainstream
conservative figure than Shapiro.
With the authors calling his
visit
“regrettably
reminiscent”
of Spencer’s attempt to speak at
the University and claiming his
“presence will only cause harm
to our campus and communities
in Ann Arbor,” one has to wonder
what conservative commentator
they would deem acceptable.
The
Young
Americans
for
Freedom’s board had a discussion
about how we should respond. We,
as well as Shapiro, took to Twitter
to publicize our disagreements, but
we wondered whether we should
do something more, such as write
a counter op-ed. In the end, we
concluded that the best response
was to prove the authors wrong.
We decided to focus our energy
into putting together a successful
and safe event that bettered the
political discourse of the campus
community. On the night of Nov.
15, we did just that.
Over a thousand people, most
of
them
students,
filed
into
Rackham to hear from Shapiro.
People who got their free tickets
on Eventbrite lined up on the east
side of the building and were let in
first. Though we gave out nearly
1,100 tickets, fewer than 500 of
those who reserved them put them
to use, presumably because of
leftist efforts to suppress turnout;
as expected, Nota Fascist, a
registered attendee whose email
is notafascist@conservativessuck.
com, did not intend on coming to
the event.
Once the ticket line dried up, we
let in the line of standbys, who were
unable to order tickets in time but
came in the hopes of seats opening
up. That line wrapped around the
block, and the people in it braved
the cold temperatures, rain and
snow for a chance to see Shapiro.
Thanks to their enthusiasm, we
filled the venue.
In between the two lines were
a dozen or so protestors, holding
signs
and
chanting
various
slogans. There was some jawing
back and forth between the line
occupants and protestors, but
nothing ever escalated.
Only one attendee was the
slightest
bit
problematic.
A
woman decked out in leather and
sad clown makeup attempted
to take a bag of frozen condoms
into the event. After they were
confiscated, she vandalized one
of the restrooms with graffiti
that read, “BEN SHAPIRO GOT
POUNDED IN HERE.” Thanks
to the security at Rackham, she
was escorted out to prevent any
disruption.
With all attendees seated, the
speech began on time. Shapiro
came on stage to give his speech,
“Exposing the Great Reset,” about
the World Economic Forum’s
(WEF) corporatist plan to revive
the world after the COVID-19
pandemic.
Though the 20-minute speech
was edifying, the highlight of
the night was the question-and-
answer portion. Shapiro allowed
a full 45 minutes to discuss with
students the important political
issues of our day. Due to his usual
policy of allowing those who
disagreed with him to cut to the
front of the line, we found three
people willing to discuss their
disagreements
with
Shapiro’s
ideas. They brought up the policies
of the WEF, transgender issues
and abortion. Each person did so
respectfully, and their discussions
were pleasant and productive.
After the Q&A ended, the
attendees left the venue, and the
members of our chapter celebrated
an immensely successful event at
which we furthered the campus
dialogue in a responsible manner.
Rather than making a bunch of
noise over the Ethical Investment
Front’s op-ed, we provided a
higher rebuttal. Our actions spoke
louder than complaints about the
calls for censorship ever could.
When I introduced Shapiro,
I called him one of the great
spokesmen
of
the
American
conservative
movement.
The
work of our chapter members
demonstrates that our campus
is thirsting not only for visits
from these spokesmen but for
conservative and other heterodox
opinions more broadly. Young
Americans for Freedom at the
University of Michigan is made up
of incredibly dedicated students
ready to provide that, and we
know there are people here who
want to listen.
Letter to the Editor: Don’t be afraid
of conservative voices on campus
ISABELLE SCHINDLER
Opinion Columnist
JENNA HICKEY/Daily
CHARLES HILU
Opinion Contributor
Democrats shocked the political world.
Clear-eyed voters are to thank for it.
Opinion
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