For two years, Gov. Rick Snyder claimed right to work legislation was too divisive and not on his agenda.
Shortly after the 2012 elections, Rick Snyder changed his mind. Given how divisive right to work would be, it should come as no surprise that the governor would want to insulate Republican members of the state house and senate from taking a potentially damaging vote that would expose their true intentions shortly before an election. The governor, however, tells a different story.
In the governor's mind he was essentially forced to consider right to work after unions attempted to enshrine their rights in the states constitution. Nevermind that the measure was defeated which meant union rights in the state were no different than the previous two years when Rick Snyder was against right to work. No, by even asking residents to consider a small measure of certainty for unions, Governor Snyder was required to retaliate. What other choice did he have?
So there you have it -- if you mess with Rick Snyder, there will be hell to pay. Either you work with the governor and bend to his will or he will forced to change his opinion in the name of retribution.
This means that anyone that pushed the voter ID law that the governor opposed is now on notice. So too are other groups like the NRA who attempted to get concealed weapons in schools even though Snyder dismissed such a measure previously, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, which supported a bill that would make it harder for the Michigan Treasury to collect unpaid business taxes, and the Moroun family, who own the Ambassador bridge and backed a proposal that would prevent the governor from building a second Detroit to Windsor bridge.
While we can only assume the governor is taking his time to determine the proper punishment for these dissenters, the group that should really be most concerned about experiencing the wrath of Snyder are Right to Life. Not only did they push for legislation that the governor eventually vetoed -- they refused to accept the governor's decision and launched a petition drive to get new abortion restrictions put in place. After gathering signatures from only 3% of Michigan residents, RTL were able to bypass Rick Snyder and enact the very law the governor opposed.
If the disobedience of unions meant an immediate 180 degree change for the governor, one can only imagine the fire and brimstone that will soon shower Right to Life since not only did they disobey his wishes, but they also publicly embarrassed him by turning one tough nerd into one irrelevant bystander.
Of course it's possible that right to work had nothing to do with Proposal 2 and that the governor was being disingenuous when he suggested this legislation was just a natural counteraction to the unions actions. But when has there ever been a powerful businessman that was willing to lie to get his way?