LANSING — Though they spoke of protecting paid sick time, the environment and an increasing minimum wage, the protesters gathered at the Capitol building Tuesday were largely united on a single issue:
Lame duck is bad government, and it has to go.
"It just undermines democracy," Abel Delgado, 21, of Flint said. "We don't have a voice."
Delgado was among hundreds of protesters at the Capitol rotunda on Tuesday protesting a host of bills put forward in the so-called lame duck session, the short window between the election and Jan. 1 during which Michigan Republicans will maintain their current hold on the Governor’s office along with majorities in the House and Senate.
Protesters, some wearing knit pink hats like those worn during the Women's March, chanted pithy slogans, like "Shame duck has got to go."
Among them was a woman wearing a "lame duck" costume. She danced and clapped in rhythm as others chanted "hey hey, ho ho, lame duck has got to go."
Although they were gathered to protest the fast-paced lame duck session, many protesters spoke of specific legislation that drew them to the rotunda.
One of the day's protesters, Margaret Parker, of Ann Arbor, said she is especially rankled over SB 1254, which would change Proposal 2, the ballot initiative voters approved to limit gerrymandering.
Voters passed the proposal because they wanted to see it enacted as is, she said. The legislature's rush to change it and other voter-approved initiatives might not be uncommon, she said, “but that doesn’t make it right.”
Sisters Sheila Martin and Betsy Walen described their fury at the legislature’s moves to amend other proposals initiated and supported by voters, such as those increasing the minimum wage and offering paid sick time to workers .
Those measures were adopted by the legislature before they were placed on the November ballot. Now, two lame duck bills, Senate bills 1171 and 1175, call for limiting those increases.
Martin and Walen spoke about their ire as a group behind them sang wry, lame duck-inspired Christmas carols titled “(Lame duck has) gotta go,” sung to the tune of “Let it Snow,” and “The 12 Days of Lame Duck,” of which the first line was “On the first day of lame duck the GOP gave to me/ No chance of a livable wage.”
Over the sound of jingling bells and echoing voices, Walen quoted Michigan’s constitution: “All political power is inherent in the people.”
That means state legislators should listen when voters start and pass initiatives, she said. The recent actions to change them have been rushed, condescending and short-sighted, Martin agreed.
The sisters drove from their hometown, Grand Rapids, to remind those legislators that the people are paying attention.
“To let them know they can’t just do this and slink out in the night,” she said.
Martin and Walen were among protesters who spent the day attending committee hearings and sessions.
Some of those who attended hearings wore shirts in support of their causes, or waited by doorways to ask passing legislators whether their votes reflected their constituents' beliefs.
Check back for updates.
Contact Carol Thompson at (517) 377-1018 or ckthompson@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @thompsoncarolk.
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