And just because that's not already enough, the bill goes even further (it's a big bill).  Frustrated by the voters annoying little penchant for electing Republicans to the office of Secretary of State (current SoS Terri Lynn Land is in her second term following years of direction under Cong. Candice Miller) they're looking to strip the SoS of the legal responsibility for administering campaign finance law.  Their preference is that an unelected bureaucrat hold this particular responsibility.

Quite the game these guys are playing.  And they're not stupid.  They've attached these items to House Bill 4628, a measure with a host of other campaign finance changes.  No one likes robo-calls so the legislation makes them illegal before 9 am and after 9 pm.  It also expands requirements on the use of disclaimers on radio and television advertising.  But apparently "this message has been paid for by the UAW."

The non-partisan House Legislative Analysis Section provides a rundown of organizations across the state who've made their positions known.

Let's review:

The International Union, United Auto Workers supports the bill.

The Michigan Corrections Organization/Service Employees International Union supports the bill.

American Federation of Teachers supports the bill.

Michigan State AFL-CIO supports the bill.  

Michigan Education Association supports the bill.

The Teamsters support the bill.

The Service Employees International Union supports the bill.

The Michigan AFSCME Council 25 supports the bill.

The Michigan Credit Union League supports Section 42 of the bill.

The Michigan Nurses Association supports the bill.

The Michigan Campaign Finance Network is neutral on the bill.

DTE Energy is neutral on the bill, but supports the repeal of annual affirmation.

The Office of the Secretary of State opposes the bill.

The Michigan Chamber of Commerce opposes the bill.

Ten unions and they all love it.  That alone should tell the critical observer something right off the bat.  The Chamber and the Secretary of State are both obvious opponents.  The really interesting one on the list?  The Michigan Campaign Finance Network.  While MCFN describes itself as a non-partisan organization, readers of the Constitution and proponents of the first amendment often take issue with their positions.  They'd be the first to jump at the robo-call and disclaimer adjustments.  The radical strengthening of the unions' position scares off even them.

Beyond the common sense problems with a bill like this there's an entirely different question that has to be asked.  If this state is, and everyone seems to be in agreement here that it is, in a fiscal crisis and a single state depression do we really need to A) send yet another signal to would-be investors and job providers that in Michigan unions come before jobs and B) play obvious political games while the state's financial house, as it were, falls down on our heads?

I know Sak, Gillard, Valentine and Miller bend over (backwards) anytime the unions come to call but c'mon.  Have some self respect once in a while.