Rousing the rabble!
In response to The Press editorial "A hurtful Granholm veto" (Press, Dec. 30) I have one question. Why did House Republicans change Rep. Jerry Kooiman's original bill? If the money could only be used by Kent County, why was there the need to block other communities from participating in the future? Perhaps the answer lies in Mayor Heartwell's words: "House Speaker DeRoche was not about to let anything hit the floor of the House that could help Detroit."
This tells me that other transit systems could take advantage at some point. Therefore, the subsequent veto was not a "lump of coal" for Kent County, as The Press says, but an appropriate move to open the opportunity to the rest of the state. This is another example of House Republicans changing legislation to provoke a veto so they can complain. Gov. Granholm would have signed this bill. She will sign this bill with a simple change. When asked if that can be done, Mr. Kooiman said he didn't know if it was possible to resurrect the bill on short notice, according to The Press.
Well, I guess it isn't that important to him after all. It's pretty obvious that what is most important to Michigan Republicans is to play up that "us vs. them" mentality in an attempt to divide citizens, drag their feet on the compromise necessary to pass legislation, and then criticize Ms. Granholm when they don't get their way.
The letter was truncated for the web, why?, I don't know. Here is the rest that appears in the print edition.
It’s a shame that the Press perpetuates the idea that Granholm did this just to hurt West Michigan. That idea is, at best, childish, and at worst, a personal attack- suggesting motive that disappears when one looks at the facts.
House Republicans are the culprits who prevented this bill from passing. Changes can be made to get it passed. What are they waiting for?
Furthermore, why do the Republicans who decry "wasteful government spending" squeal the loudest when their pork is denied? And, do we really think that the citizens of East Grand Rapids (which is where they are talking about laying the tracks) are going to let their neighborhoods and streets by ripped up for a rail system? Do we really think that people are going to approve raising property taxes to fund a rail that most of them will never use?
I would love to see a light rail system in this town. But I guarantee that when it comes time to pay for it, people will once again bitch about their taxes being raised and the cry of "not in my neighborhood" will be heard throughout the city.