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Posted on Wed, Jun 6, 2012 : 4:27 p.m.

Failed recall effort in Wisconsin a victory for Snyder in Michigan

By Steve Pepple

Leaders of a recall campaign against Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder are taking a hard look at their effort here after Wisconsin’s Republican governor survived a recall election on Tuesday, the Detroit News reported.

060712_scottwalker.jpg

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, second from left, and Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch are greeted by the governor's cabinet and staff at the state Capitol Wednesday, a day after Walker beat Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett in a recall election.

AP Photo | Andy Manis

The group, Michigan Rising, planned on holding a conference call Wednesday night to discuss their next move after the failed effort by labor unions and Democrats to unseat Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Bruce Fealk, spokesman for anti-Snyder group, told the News.

"We'll be deciding on our path forward," Fealk said. "In light of what happened in Wisconsin, we are reassessing how we go forward and whether we go forward." The group needs more than 800,000 valid signatures from voters to make the ballot.

Meanwhile, MLive Media Group writer David Eggert says Walker’s victory Wisconsin is a win for Snyder.

Eggert predicted that Snyder is safe, if he were ever in any danger, from the recall effort here.

It was also a win for Grand Rapids billionaire Dick DeVos, the Amway magnate, who donated $250,000 to help Walker fight the recall, Eggert said.

The big losers, Eggert said, are labor unions. He said Wisconsin could spell trouble for efforts in Michigan to change the state constitution to ensure every worker can collectively bargain.

Read Eggert’s column.

• Read the full Detroit News story.

Comments

Mike

Thu, Jun 7, 2012 : 1:09 p.m.

Recalls should not be allowed unless the elected official does something illegal, otherwise we'd be recalling Obama for jamming his health care legislation down our throats even though more were against than for it.

lumberg48108

Thu, Jun 7, 2012 : 12:50 p.m.

Michigan group abandoning effort to recall Gov. Snyder @ Tim ----how about a "left" leaning paper like the Freep? http://www.freep.com/article/20120607/NEWS06/120607010/Michigan-group-abandoning-effort-to-recall-Gov-Snyder?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE annarbor.com has been the unofficial campaign HQ for the recall Snyder campaign yet when the news is not positive for the campaign, it links to other media? The recall is over - and w/o any analyses from annarbor.com as to why it failed (when just about everyone knew it would) funny how coverage sways when things are good versus when things are bad I thought coverage was supposed to be the same either way!

Brad

Thu, Jun 7, 2012 : 12:45 p.m.

Michigan's own Dick DeVos (Amway/Blackwater) sent some of his "free speech" over to WI for the election. Thanks again, SCOTUS.

5c0++ H4d13y

Thu, Jun 7, 2012 : 5:26 p.m.

Once again CU had nothing to do with in state elections. State law applies and not federal.

Jim Van Buren

Thu, Jun 7, 2012 : 11:06 a.m.

Snyder doesn't have enough courage to be Walker-est!

Mick52

Thu, Jun 7, 2012 : 12:23 p.m.

Alas, I must agree. While Gov Snyder is trying, it is just not enough. I am not totally anti union because there is so much bad management but Michigan is in competition for jobs with the other 47 continental states and we are kind of losing the battle.

Unusual Suspect

Thu, Jun 7, 2012 : 6:10 a.m.

Hey, Michigan Rising, how many signatures you got so far?

Veracity

Thu, Jun 7, 2012 : 4:49 a.m.

If expensive TV political ads were ineffective then millions of dollars would not be spent on them. Unfortunately, many voters are poorly educated in civics and are indiscriminate. Therefore, they are swayed by sophisticated ads that misrepresent the facts in order to favor one candidate over another, especially when the ads saturate the networks. If a lie is repeated enough some voters will accept it as truth, especially if the opponent can not afford to enlighten the electorate. Citizens United has given political control to the wealthy. Let us hope that the wealthy who end up making government policy are Americans and have some sense of ethics.

5c0++ H4d13y

Thu, Jun 7, 2012 : 5:25 p.m.

@Veracity Because states set their own election laws WRT funding. CU was a ruling on federal elections only. recap: State held office follows state election laws and federal election laws do not apply therefore CU changed NOTHING for state elections. Federal election follow federal laws and CU changed those laws to allow for more freedom of speech (which is bad). Go read a wiki or something. Why are people so ignorant?

Veracity

Thu, Jun 7, 2012 : 1:20 p.m.

Basic Bob - You are more astute and discriminating than the average voter. I question statements made in paid political advertisement and search for factual information as I am sure you do also. 5c0++ H4d13y - If what you write is true how did a small number of wealthy sources outside of Wisconsin legally infuse 30 million dollars into the Wisconsin "state" elections?

5c0++ H4d13y

Thu, Jun 7, 2012 : 10:52 a.m.

CU had nothing to do with this recall. CU was for FEDERAL elections and not state elections. I guess if that lie is repeated enough times other will start to believe it.

Basic Bob

Thu, Jun 7, 2012 : 10:41 a.m.

"If a lie is repeated enough some voters will accept it as truth" That might be true, for others I think it raises a flag. Campaign literature and TV ads make me suspicious that someone is trying to mislead me.

shepard145

Thu, Jun 7, 2012 : 3:52 a.m.

The recall laws in Michigan are as flawed as they are in WI and should be reformed to require many more signatures. As it stands, every time a Governor is elected, a group of babies, cranks and haters meets at their local Sizzler and starts a recall petition. That was not it's intent. Walker is a great man, rightfully crushed the deeply flawed "spend us into bankruptcy" democrat opposition and will hopefully run for President one day.

Tim

Thu, Jun 7, 2012 : 1:44 a.m.

Annarbor.com which is not news linking to the most rightwing "news"paper in the midwest if not the USA! Figures!

Ricardo Queso

Thu, Jun 7, 2012 : 1:09 a.m.

I look forward to the day when public employee unions are busted in Michigan.

drew_blows

Thu, Jun 7, 2012 : 5:42 a.m.

Richard, Thanks for sharing your feelings now how about telling us why you feel that way.

u812

Thu, Jun 7, 2012 : 1:25 a.m.

you better hope you are independently wealthy because if the unions go, your pay at that private company drops more,also the economy and housing drop even more.

Halter

Thu, Jun 7, 2012 : 1:08 a.m.

I don't think Snyder has ever been in any kind of jeopardy of recall here in Michigan...outside of a very small but vocal group calling for recall, their plees have mostly been falling on deaf ears... Expect the Republicans to keep rolling during the entire election year... And I expect the Recall Snyder folks to become Recall Romney folks in November...

northside

Wed, Jun 6, 2012 : 8:50 p.m.

"It was also a win for Grand Rapids billionaire Dick DeVos, the Amway magnate, who donated $250,000 to help Walker fight the recall." A recall is tough enough to pull off on its own. Add in the Citizens United decision and the wealthy being able to spend whatever they want? Democracy is on the decline in the U.S. Walker survived for a number of reasons, but a big one was that he had a huge financial advantage because of being backed by wealthy out-of-state donors like Devos.

northside

Thu, Jun 7, 2012 : 7:22 p.m.

On the subject of math, Walker won by 7% (53-46), not 14%. If the voters on Wisconsin were so solidly behind Walker's policies why did only 53 out of 100 back him? It's not like that's a huge mandate. And if Wisconsin voters already made up their minds, why did outside interests like Dick Devos feel the need to pour tens of millions into the race?

Mike

Thu, Jun 7, 2012 : 1:05 p.m.

exit polling showwed that 90% had already made their minds up bfore one dollar was spent and he won by 14%. You do the math...........

Mick52

Thu, Jun 7, 2012 : 12:19 p.m.

Walker won because the majority of voters approve of what he is doing. Ditto voters in San Diego and San Jose CA where overly generous pensions were voted out too. Voters are beginning to reject costly benefits. http://www.mercurynews.com/california-budget/ci_20800240/labors-losses-appear-be-pension-reformers-gains

5c0++ H4d13y

Thu, Jun 7, 2012 : 10:46 a.m.

Oh and citizens united had nothing to do with this recall. CU impacted FEDERAL elections not STATE elections.

northside

Thu, Jun 7, 2012 : 1:26 a.m.

Like the Yankees and Pirates, unions and corporations aren't in the same league when it comes spending. The advantage corporations and the wealthy already had has grown after the Citizens United decision opened the floodgates. I'm not saying that's the only reason why Walker won; there were plenty of others. Many voters said they'd only support a recall for criminal activity. But in a country where so many elections are decided by just a few percentage points, huge donations often make the difference in who wins.

EyeHeartA2

Thu, Jun 7, 2012 : 12:34 a.m.

Scott; You don't understand. Money that is TAKEN from workers paychecks via the union and given to the union's candidate of choice is DEMOCRACY. Money that is DONATED by an individual is not. Please get it straight.

5c0++ H4d13y

Wed, Jun 6, 2012 : 11:59 p.m.

Balderdash! Radio, TV, internet, newspapers. More than ever people have access to information. Out of state unions dumped a ton of money into Wisconsin. Should we limit that speech? This is all just a bunch of sour grapes. Had Walker been recalled under the same circumstances you all would tout is a great victory for democracy but since you lost you call the process unfair and rigged.

u812

Wed, Jun 6, 2012 : 11:35 p.m.

Republicans will do anything to crush the middle class.

northside

Wed, Jun 6, 2012 : 10:29 p.m.

@ 5c0: Sure, the turnout was great (at least by U.S. standards). But that's only one aspect of democracy. The information available to people - and who controls the flow of that information - is a huge factor. Unfortunately, political campaigns have become increasingly dominated by commercials and that gives the wealthy a huge advantage. People like Dick Devos know that; otherwise he wouldn't spend a whopping $250,000 on an election in a state where he doesn't even live.

Floyd

Wed, Jun 6, 2012 : 10:14 p.m.

That's right - corporations are people and money is speech. Our new democracy is as strong as ever!

5c0++ H4d13y

Wed, Jun 6, 2012 : 9:59 p.m.

Isn't it hard to argue that democracy is on the decline when Wisconsin had record voter turn out? The unions and DeVos don't go into the voting booth to fill out the ballot.

cinnabar7071

Wed, Jun 6, 2012 : 8:42 p.m.

The headline is wrong, nobody wins. This was just a big waste of tax dollars by a bunch of spoiled Democrats.

Mick52

Thu, Jun 7, 2012 : 12:13 p.m.

Absolutely. Millions of dollars of union dues spent.