What Do Voters
Really Want?

by John Lindstrom
Gongwer News Service
June 11, 2010

So what is it with politics this year? What do the signs and portents portend? Do we face a total ambush on incumbents and, if so, which incumbents? Who will be left gasping in the dust of the fresh and untested?

How palpable is voter anger? Are they so angry they will induce massive change? Or have they gotten so angry they will pronounce a pox on all and just not bother to show up? Do we want less government in our lives or more government? Do we want lower taxes or higher taxes? Will we decide on the basis of what is happening in our communities and states, or on the basis of what is happening in Washington, D.C. or in a slickery ocean spot?

Is it possible the answer is yes to everything?

And for we in Michigan, can August 3 come fast enough to allow Michigan to finally test out what the voters want, don’t want, can’t decide on, won’t decide on, or would rather not decide on? After all, especially after the pile of primary elections that occurred nationwide this week, Michigan has been the lonely stepchild in terms of voter expression, banished to the figurative corner.

Can’t one just feel the simmering impatience of the voters in Burhans and Idlewild and Paradise, over-anxious to get to the polls? Or is the anxiety more over the idea that they may have to go to the polls at all?

Are there any answers to these questions? Nope, just more questions to ponder as the glory days of summer approach.

Begin with the reluctant decision of former U.S. Rep. and former Sen. Joe Schwarz not to seek an independent run for governor. Again, the issue was not the issues in the race, it was money. Money forced Lt. Governor John Cherry to drop out of the race in January, and money forced Mr. Schwarz to give up his effort.

It was always clear that had he run, his would have been a longshot campaign. There was speculation as to who it might hurt more, the Democratic or Republican candidate. Most observers thought it might hurt whoever the Democratic nominee is. But, anecdotally, a number of Romney/Milliken Republicans have moaned that with Mr. Schwarz out they have no one to vote for come November.

Come November their attitudes may change, but for now they feel they are sans candidate. Who could they reasonably support? Who provides the middle ground they feel is needed to resolve the state’s problems?

Answers to that question did not come from the debate the seven Republican and Democratic gubernatorial candidates engaged in on Mackinac Island during the Detroit Regional Chamber annual conference.

However, for people not used to the absolute daily immersion in politics, the debate was a baptism that truly was revelatory.

Because, my gosh, it was just like TV! These guys were wailing on each other hammer, tong and long knife. What happened, primarily between Attorney General Mike Cox and Ann Arbor business executive Rick Snyder, was direct and brutal. Mr. Cox said Mr. Snyder was an inside trader; Mr. Snyder, as subtly unsubtle as was allowable, called Mr. Cox an adulterer.

These two candidates have a history. In April, Mr. Cox wrangled with Mr. Snyder at a GOP debate in East Lansing and Mr. Snyder was clearly caught by surprise and angry. He was not caught by surprise this time, and gave as good as he got back. (Nor were they the only ones engaging. Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero tried getting in some licks against House Speaker Andy Dillon).

Political insiders know these things happen. What was interesting at the Mackinac debate is that outside politics, people keep up the effort of collegiality. They understand that people trash one another on television, radio, Facebook, Twitter or when you’re standing there all by your lonesome. But that’s not real. That’s indirect, and one can always say that’s not what I meant and, besides, it’s not to your face, because we are all nice people to each other’s face.

Here, however, they all were, live, in the pliable flesh, literally within spitting distance of each other, and they were calling each other liars and immoral right to their faces! They can do that? They do do that? OH MY GOD! The non-political cognoscenti in the crowd were clearly shaken and disturbed. What might that reaction mean to the race? A greater call for civility? Or an entitling sense of discourtesy because, after all, the dudes that want to be your governor can be rude, so…

From that debate, though, Mr. Cox has so far come away something of the winner, having bagged two big endorsements: the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and Dick and Betsy DeVos (he was the 2006 GOP gubernatorial candidate, she was the Republican Party chair). The endorsements praised Mr. Cox’s call to spark jobs in the state. And so far among the five Republican candidates running for the nomination — the others, along with Mr. Snyder, being U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard and Sen. Tom George — he has been arguably the most outspoken in calling for spending cuts and massive tax cuts.

But going into the election, is that what the voters really want? Obviously, the state wants the economy to recover, but what direction will they take to see that recovery?

It was curious in the debate, since both parties were included, that none of the candidates went after the other party. The Republicans ignored the Democrats and the Democrats ignored the Republicans. No argument over which party best represents the ideas, ideals and needs of the people. Given the situation the state is in, with split government always trying to kick-start itself into some gear, wouldn’t those have been questions to ask and answer?

Oh, perhaps. A full and complete look at both the election results that have piled up out of state as well as how the public is responding to the events of the day continues to reveal clear-cut confusion everywhere one turns. How will any of this be resolved?

Consider first the response to the horrific oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Following national Republican talk, one might wonder if anything is happening in the Gulf. Listening to the Democrats, one might wonder if anything else is happening in the world. The Republican take on the world: taxes, deficits, healthcare takeover by the government. The Democrats: oil-slicked pelicans, out-of-work fisherman, once pristine beaches fouled, out-of-control corporations. This simplistic view belies the fact that a number of conservative commentators have raised the warning flags that the BP oil spill could well undo the argument for easing business regulations that they felt they were winning back after the collapse of the financial markets.

On a wider scale it points to the issue of what will the voters respond to in this election? Former Michigan Republican Chair Saul Anuzis recently posted on his Twitter a column that said national issues will dominate the election.

If that is the case, then what issues will predominate with the voters, deficits and healthcare or oil-soaked pelicans? Of course, the next question is will those even be the major issues by November?

Following that is the question of whether Michigan voters will even care about national issues come election day. Will this state election attitude be completely state focused on the economy and what to do to get out of the decade-long funk? Clearly, for now the candidates for governor are making state issues their sole focus.

Assuming Michigan voters do focus on state issues only, where are they headed in terms of what they will support in fixing the state? Are we cutting spending or spending more in some areas at least? Are we cutting taxes or are we worried about essential services?

Because for all the national and state rhetoric about cutting taxes and spending, the public response remains a puzzle. First, voters in Oregon approved a tax increase. Then voters in Arizona approved a tax increase. Then this week, voters in Maine turned down a big tax cut. That’s right, they voted no on a tax cut.

Okay, that’s Oregon, Arizona and Maine. We aren’t Oregon, Arizona and Maine. So what explains the voters in Grand Rapids approving an income tax increase, over the fierce opposition of groups like the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce? Grand Rapids, where Republican values are said to run in the waters, voted for a tax increase. If Grand Rapids would, what about the rest of the state? What does that say about whom the people will vote for governor?

A questioning mind remains an active, youthful mind. So, shall we ponder these questions as we delight in summer’s grace?

John Lindstrom is publisher of Gongwer News Service. For nearly 50 years in Michigan, Gongwer News Service has provided independent, comprehensive, accurate and timely coverage of issues in and around Michigan’s government and political systems. For subscription information, including a free trial, visit Gongwer online.