by Gongwer News Service
October 9, 2009

When the top 10 political stories for 2009 are toted up, high on the list will have to be the surprising developments surrounding House Speaker Andy Dillon (D-Redford Twp.). The first Democrat to run the House in a decade, Mr. Dillon has this year struck an independent course that has left some slack-jawed in amazement, others burning with fury and some doing both.

Given the sharp jabs Mr. Dillon has thrust at Governor Jennifer Granholm this year, one would not be surprised if the governor were one of those both burning and stunned by the speaker’s seemingly sudden change.

Maybe, however, Ms. Granholm played a role in that change. Mr. Dillon seemed to lend some psychological evidence of that this week.

Recall the recent path Mr. Dillon has taken that has drawn alarm, scorn, enmity and bewilderment from many of his fellow Democrats.

This past summer Mr. Dillon proposed a sweeping change to the health insurance system affecting every public worker in the state. The proposal was almost immediately pilloried by unions, teacher and state worker groups and many Democrats, warning it would result in poor benefits to workers who have already had to take hits.

Republicans, business executives, school administrators and others praised at least the intent behind the proposal, saying it could maintain good benefits while saving the state, local governments and school districts hundreds of millions of dollars.

Not all Democrats excoriated it, notably Ms. Granholm — though she did warn folks that if the proposal were adopted it would not save the amount of money eventually projected to be saved in the first year. She was worried in part that lawmakers would be anxious to adopt the proposal in hopes of being able to stave off budget cuts or tax increases.

The next, telling, item to happen was Mr. Dillon’s reaction to Ms. Granholm’s unveiling of her budget solution proposal. His statement was sharp, cynical and a mite personal. He accused her of “showboating,” putting forth something that had no chance of passing.

In perhaps a dig at her former profession, Mr. Dillon also said Ms. Granholm and everyone else should give up on “theatrics” and work at negotiating an agreement.

Quickly, Mr. Dillon became contrite at his comments, but every reporter and prosecutor knows the first words someone says are the true words and the second words are the attempt to make amends. Mr. Dillon was angry, is angry.

Then came the startling news that Mr. Dillon and Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop (R-Rochester) had agreed to run the Senate’s proposed $1.2 billion in cuts to the 2009-10 budget.

That exercise may have been something intended so that both Democrats and Republicans would profit from the budget collapse (Republicans being able to say they got cuts, Democrats being able to say, eventually, they got revenues), but the reaction by Democrats and interest groups to the deal was stark horror. Lawmakers were begged not to adopt the proposal. Ms. Granholm warned she would use her constitutional authority (read: vetoes) against the proposal.

And Lt. Governor John Cherry Jr., the top Democrat running for governor, launched an online petition that, while not naming Mr. Dillon, raised the question of what do Democrats stand for and urging lawmakers to not pass the budget cuts. Mr. Dillon shot back that Mr. Cherry had been missing from the efforts to resolve the budget.

Ahhh, thought some. All Mr. Dillon is doing is politically motivated, trying to establish himself as the new Democrat for his gubernatorial run (should he run for governor) in 2010.

And maybe that is all part of the consideration Mr. Dillon is going through.

But then came the rally on coal-fired power plants held on the Capitol grounds this past week. And with that rally came Mr. Dillon’s astonishing speech ripping Ms. Granholm.

The background, of course, is that the legislature, with Mr. Dillon’s heavy involvement, passed and Ms. Granholm signed legislation setting new electric power portfolio standards. It mandates that up to 10 percent of the state’s electric power be generated by renewable sources, but also would have allowed construction of new coal-fired plants.

Then in February Ms. Granholm issued an executive directive requiring the Department of Environmental Quality to consider alternatives to coal plants. Environmentalists were delighted. Businesses, many union workers and a number of Democrats, including Mr. Dillon, were furious.

So when Mr. Dillon stood at the podium and unloaded his ferocious rant at Ms. Granholm it took everyone by surprise. A reporter out to get some lunch during the break in the House action was stunned by the ferocity of his address; the reporter stopped to make sure the harangue she heard was, in fact, coming from Mr. Dillon.

In possibly his most memorable comment from that address, he blasted the “bureaucrats” who had taken away the coal plant option after so many people had worked so hard to get the legislation through.

“Bureaucrats?” The governor? Head of his party? Mr. Dillon’s address was more than simply angry, it was visceral, appearing Freudian in its explosiveness and direction.

So, here’s the question: is the genesis of Mr. Dillon’s public animosity towards Ms. Granholm and other Democrats rooted in coal? More specifically, is the origin of his ferocity a sense of betrayal by the governor over her directive? Could how Ms. Granholm handled the executive directive in the cold of February now play a role in the October standoff on the budget?

As the state awaits some resolution on the budget, and the potential for more fireworks from the state’s top leaders, there’s nothing wrong with a little entertaining speculation. Might as well speculate on the origins of Mr. Dillon’s pique, after all, since ain’t nobody here going to the World Series.

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