Image from http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2011/02/snyders_cuts_to_redevelopment.html
Last week, Benton Harbor, Michigan was subjected to a hostile government takeover by a single individual. Just over a month after Republican Governor Rick Snyder signed legislation that gave broad new powers to emergency financial managers appointed by the state of Michigan to run struggling cities and schools and the ability to terminate union contracts, it has finally happened. One of these emergency financial managers fired the entire democratically elected city government and took over as the virtual dictator of the city.
How can one man be given so much power? Because Republicans say so. Republicans are now declaring war against cities they deem unfit for democracy. With the power to wipe away elected officials and the power to basically abolish unions, these emergency financial managers are nothing more than unelected puppets that run cities the way Republican governors want them to. But there’s also a double standard here. The city next door to Benton Harbor is St. Joseph and its budget isn’t much better. Yet the predominantly white St. Joseph still has its government while the predominantly African American Benton Harbor gets taken over. Sounds like blatant racism to me, but it’s worse than that. This is also a vendetta against poor people. The per capita income of St. Joseph is $33,000 while its only just over $10,000 for residents of Benton Harbor. If it’s not clear that Republicans hate poor people and people that aren’t white, it should be absolutely crystal clear now.
But the Governor has eyed Benton Harbor for quite some time now. He now wants to develop the shoreline and to do so he’s basically selling the shoreline to the highest bidder. Plans to build a golf course over the children’s park, for rich people no doubt, are already in motion. Sorry citizens of Benton Harbor, its probably going to be a members only course, meaning only rich white guys can play.
Of course, you know what this means, right? It means Republicans have found a way to declare their sovereignty over whole cities, and one would also assume, any town in the state. Republican governors across the country are, no doubt, are taking notes from Governor Snyder on how to declare yourself King, one city at a time. Republicans have complained relentlessly about government “czars” but in a pure act of hypocrisy have appointed their own, except this time its for real.
We’ve seen people rise to power through emergency powers before. After being granted emergency powers of his own, Adolf Hitler quickly became the dictator of Germany. Governor Rick Snyder and many Republicans like him are using what they term as fiscal emergency to declare financial martial law. What Republicans have done, is strip the power of the vote away from Benton Harbor residents. We like to think that our vote counts, but if you live in Benton Harbor, your vote didn’t mean anything at all. Your elected officials were fired and now your town could be sold piece by piece to developers that will make the town too expensive to live in.
Americans need to wake up and take action against these Republicans that dare to call themselves Americans that love the Constitution. Republicans are going to repeat this action over and over again until they have taken down every city in the country. Even predominantly liberal leaning cities are not safe from this threat. All a governor needs to do is appoint an emergency financial manager who can then singlehandedly, on the governor’s behalf, take over the entire city and rewrite all of its laws. Voting laws can be changed. Zoning laws can be changed. Any city laws can be changed. And you can bet that those changes will benefit Republicans. The GOP is trying to take over at the grassroots level. Are you going to let them raid your city/town? Or are you going to take action to get these tyrants out of our government once and for all? Because at some point, its going to be too late. If a Republican Governor and a Republican legislature can grant individuals sweeping emergency powers, what stops them from granting those powers to themselves? This would allow them to fire governments they don’t like, at will, despite what the voters want. We need to declare our own emergency and immediately fire Republican officials across the country before all is lost. Because this government is for the people, of the people, by the people. We have the power. Not Republican dictators.
Rick Perry as the next Hitler? All too possible, as he is supposed to be dumb enough for the rich to control and arrogant enough to think he’s doing what’s right. . .
No, it hasn’t come down to a complete Fascist takeover of America yet, but that takeover is on the way. When the Republicans vote to begin taxing Americans who make so little now that they fall under the lowest taxable group, while maintaining tax cuts and subsidies for the wealthiest 1%, it will be nearly done. If they get that through, next will be repealing the Minimum Wage and Fair Labor acts, so that they can put 12-year-olds to work in factories again. Which will be easy to do, since there won’t be any more public schooling by that time, and the little tykes will have to do SOMETHING. . .
It’s getting very, very near to being too late. The only thing going for us, the American people, at this point is that there are still more of us than there are of them. Which, of course, is why the Koch brothers mobilized the Tea Party out of the poorest, least educated group in the United States, so they have cannon fodder to throw in front of the angry mobs when the mobs come looking for redress of their grievances.
God help us all.
Henry D. Rinehart
What difference does it make that the city is bankrupt. There are other avenues and channels for dealing with this situation. This is clearly fascist all in the name of the all-mighty dollar. Does this sound like the representative government that our country was founded upon? How can the State government dissolve local city governments like this? This is really really intrusive, authoritarian, sit-down-and-shut-up, your-local-elections-don’t-matter, BIG Government…..brought to us by who? REPUBLIKAN Governor Rick Snyder.
BTW, I truly do NOT wish or advocate war or violence. I DETEST physical confrontation. But I will not shy from it when someone puts a gun to my head. I will fight tooth and nail to defend myself and MY country (GOP assholes, you lost your right to citizenship when you created 9/11 and illegally invaded Iraq)
The ‘new’ GOP is a party of hate-mongers, liars and fascists who will do anything to gain further power and profit. It matters not that they already have a lower tax rate than any time in history, or that they own more than the rest of the country combined. Greed is never satisfied. They are committing treason with these new unconstitutional laws, and don’t care, the tactics of bullies. If we try to overturn them in the courts, beside the fact that they own the Supremes, the dockets are so full that it could be years just to get to court, by which time the damage has been irreversibly done, as they intend.
So while I do not advocate violence, I see that it truly is the only way to prevent total authoritarian rule in the near future.
Please, GOP, allow me to be a nice guy again. You won’t like me when I’m angry…
We’re witnessing a fascist takeover of a democracy, much like the Nazi takeover of Germany.
The front lines in this battle are Wisconsin and Michigan.
I’m not from Wisconsin, but the outcome there will set the tone of the whole war since it’s the first, so I’ve been contributing to the Wisconsin Wave to help them fight Republican fascism:
http://wisconsinwave.org/
If we can defeat them in Wisconsin, it will encourage resistance to fascism in every other state.
You’re unfortunately completely correct. This is Civil War. They have fired the first volley, and so far we are just looking the other way. By the time the ordinary folks get the message, the boot heels will be in place, ready to ‘maintain order and control.’
Buy your weapons NOW, while it is still legal.
I love how the “race card” is thrown so easily. I don’t know all the details of this particular situation, yet I wonder all the same what it would be like if I could throw a card every time something happens that I don’t like.
Poor communities do not consist of Blacks exclusively, they actually have a mix of people in them from all types of backgrounds, colors, and ethnic groups.
How about instead of throwing out the “Poor me, this is racially motivated” you look to educate instead? It is a direct result of ignorance that things like this happen. People vote stuff in because they perceive the thing to be good. Sometimes it’s the fine writing or extra crap that is behind the law or bill that bites us in the backside. You don’t believe me? Look at Obamacare past the “everyone gets healthcare” and you would be shocked at the cost, and loss of freedom that the bill actually holds. Here is a shining example of how easy it is to get the ignorant to vote on something like it. Just tell them that with whatever it is you wish to put across that they will get something for free. BAM! your vote is passed.
Quit being sheep and look past the wrapper at what you are actually buying into. Race card my happy backside, how about some personal responsibility here, get smart, get educated. Ignorance is only a bad thing if you don’t correct it.
Brian, you didn’t read the article. If you did, you didn’t comprehend any of what you read. Saying that the state government fired the city government of a small town that is mostly African-American while leaving the neighboring, white town alone isn’t throwing “the race card”. Also, those people DIDN’T vote on this. They elected city government, which was then FIRED and replaced by a dictator (appointed by the governor). So, their town is now being managed by someone who was NOT elected. Essentially, they have no representation in that government now, while the governor tries to sell their town to developers. There is not much they can do to stop it, seeing as how they are very poor and don’t have any government representation. These people are not “ignorant” because their elected government was pulled out from underneath them. Again, they DID NOT vote for this, this was perpetrated on them by outside forces without their consent. It has nothing to do with “personal responsibility” or any other Republican buzz words. This was done TO THEM, by the state government.
If you want an idea of where our politics are heading, read the book, “Empire”, by Orson Scott Card. The polarization of the parties and their demonization of each other could end with disastrous results. Trust me, the book is very close to reality. We could be closer to a coup than you might think.
When the FUCK are you cowed asshole ‘citizens’ going to DO something? Take this fuck DOWN, hard and public, on national TV if possible. Do it now before they have the entire Army under their control. If you don’t you damn well deserve what is coming.
But I don’t. I’ve warned you dozens of times. Fight while it is possible. VERY soon it will not be without massive loss of life. This IS a fascist coup, and if you let it happen the next protest will be met wit government-generated violence. This is civil war. Make NO mistake. The GOP is out of control and will not stop till we stop them.
Remember what happened to the Sheriff of Nottingham…
Just saying.
What laws exist for taking out the Emergency City Managers and nullifying THEIR actions?
They ONLY answer to the congress, which is controlled by Republicans.
Why is there an ad for Breitbart’s new book on here?
Honey, web sites don’t get to choose what advertisements show up on the page. It’s usually randomly generated using keywords on the page, or it’s custom tailored to each individual who visits based on their browsing habits (tracked via cookies).
Rome is burning
According to Rick Ungar, Forbes Magazine: Following the lead of Michigan GOP Governor Rick Snyder, (Wisconsin Gov) Walker is said to be preparing a plan that would allow him to force local governments to submit to a financial stress test with an eye towards permitting the governor to take over municipalities that fail to meet with Walker’s approval.
Walker has denied the report. Keep your eyes open, Wisconsin!
You know what’s amazing? This sounds like a plot of one of those 80′s movies, where the evil developer tries to subvert the town council to take the city park away from the children to build a shopping mall … except this time it’s true.
Benton Harbor needs a legal defense fund or something. The Constitution guarantees a democratic form of government. Where are the NAACP and ACLU?
I worked in Benton Harbor for a few years, or as the nice rich folks in St. Joseph call it “Benton Harlem”. There are books written about the bridge (literal and metaphorical) that divides these two cities. Benton Harbor was once a jazz mecca, drawing people from Chicago, Michigan and Indiana to clubs and restaurants. Now it’s a shell, with one half empty mall, horrible roads, vacant homes and a deep sense of despair. But rather than find ways to help the residents of Benton Harbor, the new Koch-purchased governor will continue the proud tradition of demoralizing and eventually diminishing the proud traditions of this once lovely town. Want to see the future of Benton Harbor? Visit Eatonville, Florida.
Benton Harbor is practice for Detroit. Not that Detroit doesn’t need help and new ways of thinking (and a lot of new politicians), but a hostile takeover and a suspension of constitutional rights? I don’t think so.
Are we living in a dictatorship? Who gave the governor the right to summarily dismiss a duly elected government?
First, the Repugnants capture power in 2000 by getting their stooge appointed by a Kangaroo Court and now this!!!
Surely, the Repugnant Party is converting US of A into a Third World type dictatorship!
Are we living in a dictatorship? Who gave the governor the right to summarily dismiss a duly elected government?
First, the Repugnants capture power in 2000 by getting their stooge appointed by a Kangaroo Court and now this!!!
Surely, the Repugnant Party is converting US of into a Third World type dictatorship!
When was it right for government officials to stop listening to the people? We cannot let the Republicans do this. I agree it is starting to feel like a Hitler type control. We need to speak out and let the White House know this can’t happen.
The Repubs. has riged the electons and put there people in charge of the voting places and the registry, until that is fixed we no longer have a voice.
Don’t just blame the Republicans. The Democrats were in complete charge of DC for two years, yet they did nothing to get rid of the fraudulent touch screen voting machines.
This is not a Democratic vs. Republican fight, this is a “We the People” vs. the Democratic-Republican Party, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Wealthy Elite, Ltd.
Thanks Kevin,
I agree completely,
Only a matter of time before this madness spreads. Just wait.
We’re going to get it right up the poop-chute if people don’t get these control freaks out of office. Because once one red state gets away with it, all the other red states will start lining up to give it a try.
I’m shocked we don’t have it here in Texas yet. But then, I’m just waiting for the inevitable.
Yet another shot in the Republican War Against Americans.
We as individuals must rise up and prevent a Hitler-like take over of our Democracy. Please don’t tell me that it’s too late, we have become brainwashed into thinking there is nothing we can do. I am doing everything that I can think of to keep this from happening. But unless we rise up, Democracy will go by the wayside.
Reminds me of Mugabe…..