So this is what Andy Dillon's majority is stooping to?  A report in the print edition of the Macomb Daily this morning highlighted the fact Macomb area Representatives were told by the Speaker and his leadership team that unless they vote to raise the income tax their districts will be specifically targeted for specific draconian cuts.

Macomb Community College, for one, was singled out as being on the chopping block without a pro-tax vote.

The report, filed by Chad Selwski (not necessarily regarded as the most conservative reporter in the state), quoted Democrat Rep. Fred Miller as claiming the threats represent the fact "politics is a bare-knuckled business, and it's come down to that."

Still, one could reasonably question whether or not MCC would be on the chopping blocks anyways.  I mean, contrary to what my friends on the left might think, I'm a pretty reasonable guy and I try to give people the benefit of the doubt.  

When I first heard about the article I didn't post anything about it, opting instead to try to track down a little more information and to figure out if Rep. Brian Palmer was off base when he referred to the threat as "blackmail."

And boy if there isn't more information out there.  Turns out the six Republican Reps and Senators in Macomb County all received the threat and they weren't alone.  Reps. Phil Pavlov, Bill Caul and Goeff Hansen all claim that the Dem. Leadership team also threatened to cut funding to specific local programs in their districts.

Now all of this begs the question... why does Dillon need Palmer, Pavlov, Caul and Hansen's votes to raise the income tax?  The Democrats have the majority in the House and can pass whatever the heck they want provided they have a unified caucus.  

The ONLY reason you'd start making these threats is if your own caucus isn't in order.  If it's fractured.  If you don't have all of your soldiers marching in lock-step.  Now lets do some math...  legislation requires 56 votes to pass.  With 58 Democrats and 52 Republicans in the chamber the majority could see two members defect and still have the votes they need.  So they're down at least three votes.

Who's refusing to support a tax increase in the Dem caucus?  I'm hearing there are at least four, maybe as many as six.  Grand Rapids own Robert Dean, Jackson area Reps Simpson and Griffin, Muskegon Rep Mary Valentine along with Marc Corriveau and Terry Brown each sit in vulnerable districts and are doing everything they can to avoid a vote that would certainly hurt them come next November.

Not that they don't support the Governor and the concept of higher taxes... those are the issues they ran on and those are the issues they've advocated for thus far.  They just don't want to have to explain that to voters.  

If each of the six voted NO then Dillon would need to round up four GOP members to vote yes.  He's got Mike Nofs and Dick Ball.  They've almost certainly gone over to the dark side according to every source you could think to ask (including Ball himself in statements to the media).  

Now Dillon's running a gambit to pull two more into the fold, granting each of his vulnerable members an out and an excuse to disregard their tax-and-spend principles.  

That's the why.

The how?  Blackmail.  Not sure yet if it violates any specific rules of the House (such threats are expressly prohibited at the federal level) but it certainly doesn't hold up to any positive ethical standard.

I'd say Dillon should be ashamed of himself but I'm actually grateful.  Everyone now gets to see, clear as day, what sort of a majority he's operating.  It can't control it's own membership.  It's mean.  It's vindictive. And if you live in a Republican district it's coming after your healthcare and schools.  They're on record now... not even politics as usual.  They're looking for a bareknuckle fight and want to use your local schools as the punching bag.  Swell bunch of guys, huh?