Democracy Restored in Michigan

I can't believe I missed this one Tuesday night.

 

Firedoglake:

 

Yay Michigan x 2! By 52%, MI voters yesterday repealed Public Act 4 of 2011, the oppressive emergency manager law.

Michigan's so-called emergency manager law, designed to help local units of government survive financial crises, did not survive a statewide referendum. 

Public Act 4 of 2011 has been repealed by a vote of the people, pending certification of last night's election results.

With 93 percent of precincts reporting as of 5:46 a.m., Proposal 1 had 2,182,504 "no" votes and 1,983,228 "yes" votes. The 52-48 percent margin compelled the Associated Press and other news organization to declare the measure dead.

 After President Obama's re-election, this is the most important result of the 2012 election.  The emergency manager law literally suspended not just the Michigan constitution but also the U.S. Constitution, allowing the governor to put unaccountable dictators in charge of cities to usurp all governmental authority from elected officials. Local citizens had no recourse, as appointees were not subject to elections or public petitions, reporting only to the governor.


This is exactly the same system of unaccountable royal appointment that drove colonists to rebel against King George.

It would also, if successful, have been a huge step toward the lords-and-serfs system the corporatists and plutocrats are trying to establish throughout the nation.

Michigan voters rebelled and overthrew the dictatorial system, saving not just themselves but the rest of us.