O n Nov. 4, the power in the federal government shifted dramatically. Republicans took over the U.S. Senate and increased their majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. In the wake of the midterm elections, what remains to be seen is whether Congress, which is now firmly controlled by Republicans, will be able to work with President Obama, a Democrat with whom many Republican leaders have been unable or unwilling to work with. So far, gridlock and partisanship have hindered many of the president’s goals and have limited legislative progress.
But policy may have more progress in the Michigan Legislature.
Former reporter for The State News and current publisher of Gongwer News Service John Lindstrom said Michigan will see a “testing out of the Republican majorities in terms of what their relationship is with the governor ... with each other ... and with their caucuses. Because as conservative as the Republican majority was in this past legislature, this is probably going to be an even more conservative Legislature.”
As an example, Lindstrom also expressed concern over the education budget.
“If the revenues are there, the governor has said he wants to restore it. You may have some legislators in there who may not be the most sympathetic to the universities,” Lindstrom said.
Lindstrom said Gov. Snyder does not have as “aggressive of an agenda planned as he did four years ago” because “most of his big policies objects has seen approval with a couple of big exceptions, the biggest right now probably being the highway situation.” Lindstrom said he believes that issue will be addressed either in the upcoming lame duck session in the Michigan Legislature or not at all. This is because many Republicans in Michigan were elected on the platform of not raising taxes, he explained.
MSU associate professor for political science Matt Grossmann agreed with Lindstrom regarding the narrow window for infrastructure repairs, and the potential tension between Republicans in Michigan’s Legislature.
“Many of the Snyder priorities that stalled in the previous Legislature had stalled because of Republican opposition, not Democratic opposition,” Grossmann said.
On a national level, Republicans affirmed their commitment to cooperation and bipartisanship but many, including Lindstrom and Grossman, are skeptical of that claim.
“We are at a very low point for major policy changes, or any bill for that matter. ... But I wouldn’t be surprised if a few things get enacted,” Grossman said.
Such policies, Grossmann said, include free trade agreements that both Obama and Republicans supported but were unable to pass because of Democrat objections.
Lindstrom said the future could be more dire.
“You face the possibility of the next two years being one of the most dysfunctional that we have seen ever,” Lindstrom said. “You could have another government shutdown ... you’ve got an awful lot of people in Congress that think that’s what they should do — they think they should take it to a fiscal cliff.”
