Governor Rick Synder has won a mandate to govern for the second time. A few weeks ago that mandate was in doubt as his challenger, Democrat Mark Schauer, executed a surgical campaign to win the hearts and minds of voters with the mantra that the governor cared more for the wealthy than average Michiganders. Schauer painted Snyder as out of touch with everyday people, including seniors over the pension tax and schoolchildren on the education issue.
But on Tuesday night, voters were either willing to give Snyder another chance to prove his mettle to run the ship of state or Democrats just could not get their machine working for the 900,000 voters who sat out the 2010 election but showed up in overwhelming numbers for the 2012 presidential campaign.
Regardless of where you stand on his re-election, the mandate given to Snyder couldn’t be much clearer on Tuesday. But with elections comes consequences. There is concern about what a second term under Snyder would look like. What will be his agenda? What will be the agenda of the Republican Legislature that has proven to be extreme in the last four years? What will happen to the working class, seniors and those who are traditionally outside of the Republican base?
The lessons of his first term showed us that Snyder can sometimes change his mind. We saw it in the right-to-work legislation, which was not necessary and so far has not proven to be consequential when it comes to attracting jobs. When I asked Bobby Shostak, leader of the Michigan Republican Party, to give me an empirical evidence of where right-to-work really worked in bringing jobs to Michigan, he gave me a broad answer, calling it part of an overall economic package that has yet to bear fruit.
The rape insurance legislation, another culture war issue that was not necessary, took effect under Snyder’s first term. That legislation sent chills down the spines of many women because it reaffirms the narrative of the GOP wanting to decide for women on issues relating to reproductive rights.
Detroit bankruptcy remains consequential for where the city will be headed under a second Snyder administration. The working relationship between Snyder and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, for some, is an indication that Detroit remains crucial to the overall wellbeing of the state. But we don’t know what a second term means for Detroit under the Snyder administration.
There are many unknowns in this second term, especially with a recalcitrant right wing-leaning Republican Legislature in Lansing that will now find itself indomitable and would insist on implementing a right wing agenda because they are dealing with a lame duck governor. This would be the most important dance of the second term. How a highly partisan and sometimes divisive Legislature will operate that has shown in the first term that it is interested in more culture war issues than seriously working to find solutions to the problems we are facing is yet to be seen.
This second term will be the most telling with far-reaching implications. Snyder is in the driver’s seat and we are waiting to see where he will drive us. We can only hope that lesson is learned in the first term and words and principles matter because voters want to see politicians stick to their promises and words, and not break them for convenience or when they are apt to do so.
The election has taken place, and the result in the governor’s race should be accepted by those who did not support Snyder as well. But it still should not disengage them from the political process. The measure of accountability lies in the people demanding from their government what the agenda should be. Real reform comes when politicians take their lead from the consent of the governed.
Bankole Thompson is the editor of the Michigan Chronicle and author of a forthcoming book on Detroit. His most recent book, “Obama and Christian Loyalty,” deals with the politics of the religious right, Black theology and the president’s faith posture across a myriad of issues with an epilogue written by former White House spokesman Robert S. Weiner. He is a senior political analyst at WDET-101.9FM (Detroit Public Radio) and a member of the weekly “Obama Watch” Sunday roundtable on WLIB-1190AM New York. Email bthompson@michronicle.com or visit https://www.bankolethompson.com
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