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Governor Gretchen Whitmer leaned squarely to the middle in her penultimate State of the State address Wednesday night.
Gone was the progressive firebrand who delighted the left and gave heartburn to the far-right.
But, of course, those were different times -- before the GOP took back the state House and President Donald Trump won Michigan for a second time.
Whitmer, instead, used a light touch, saying she’s ready to work with the president but decried (without naming names) the combative turn politics has taken in the Trump era.
“Our people are not as divided as our politics,” she said. “I really believe that.”
Her big message: Michigan needs a surge of confidence and kindness.
“And now, in a divisive national moment, where America needs a new way forward, Michigan can lead,” she said. “Because at our best, we are strong and kind, and kindness is strength.”
Whitmer road-tested (ha!) proposals designed to appeal to a center-left and center-right audience. She once again tried to nudge the conversation on road-funding to the center, telling Republicans new revenue will be necessary while also messaging to Democrats that cuts will have to be part of the deal.
She floated the idea of a tax on vaping products (to help put them financially out of reach of younger consumers), a ban on cell phones in classrooms and an overhaul of the state’s licensing and permitting processes. She said young men are in need of some policy attention in terms of aid and persuasion to get them onto a track for college or postsecondary training and the financial benefits that go with some advanced schooling. She joined Michigan’s business community in calling out the potential economic dangers of an international tariff war.
But, as might be expected in the hyper-partisan political arena as it exists in this moment, Republicans weren’t buying it and progressives were asking what the hell happened to That Woman From Michigan’s former fight-like-hell posture.
They might be channeling former Texas Agriculture Commissioner and progressive activist Jim Hightower, who famously said, “There’s nothing in the middle of the road but yellow stripes and dead armadillos.” (In Michigan, we might substitute skunks, possums or even deer that sacrifice themselves to the benefit of towing companies and body shops.)
Digging Deeper: Looking for even more analysis of the State of the State? We’ve got you covered! We joined Stateside (with fill-in host Stephen Henderson!), Rick filed this report from the Capitol, and Zoe discussed the address on this week’s Off the Record. Meantime, we continue to be intrigued by Whitmer’s strategic moves to the center and her relationship with Trump (she was seated next to him at last week’s dinner in D.C. with fellow governors). Take a listen.
Have questions about Michigan politics? Or, just want to let us know what you want more of (less of?) in the newsletter in 2025? We always want to hear from you! Shoot us an email at politics@michiganpublic.org!
What we’re talking about at the dinner table
Nine bills ruling: We learned, or thought we learned, in civics class that courts exist to resolve disputes. But an opinion this week from Court of Claims Judge Sima Patel in a legal fight between Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks and House Speaker Matt Hall was a real head scratcher that offered a lot of observations but no resolution. (Get caught up on the dispute with last week’s newsletter). At issue: does the state House have a constitutional responsibility to present bills to the governor once they’ve been adopted by the Senate and the House? The answer: Yes. Whose job is it to make sure that happens? Answer: Don’t know. House Republicans argued the courts should stay out of an intramural argument within the legislative branch. Patel said, according to the Michigan Constitution, that House Republicans should send the bills to Whitmer. But she declined to issue an order to make that happen. This leaves an opening for the House GOP to voluntarily comply. Republicans are claiming victory and say they will take Patel’s thoughts on the matter into consideration as they determine next steps. Democrats, however, are also claiming victory and say they expect the bills will be presented to Whitmer in time for her to review and sign (or veto) them before they would take effect.
Obergefell: A firebrand far-right lawmaker found himself crosswise with the House Republican leadership (not to mention the Legislature’s senior LGTBQ lawmaker) for going seriously off-message this week with a non-binding resolution calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the landmark decision that struck down same-sex marriage bans – including Michigan’s. Because the 2004 voter-approved amendment remains in the state Constitution, it could be revived if the U.S. Supreme Court was to revisit and reverse Obergefell v. Hodges. That ruling included the Michigan case filed by plaintiffs April DeBoer and Jane Rowse, two nurses who wanted to jointly adopt special needs children. State Rep. Josh Schriver’s resolution carries exactly zero policy-making weight. He is one of seven conservative GOP legislators who put their names on the resolution. Schriver’s dwindling number of co-sponsors were no-shows at his press conference. But state Senator Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield) crashed the news conference to offer an instant rebuttal. “This was just as buffoonish as I expected it to be,” he said. And Schriver won himself no fans in his GOP caucus leadership. When Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp.) got word of Shriver’s press conference, he quickly scheduled his own competing press meet-up at the exact same time. Hall made clear that he didn’t appreciate the distraction from the House GOP agenda and assigned the non-binding resolution to a “graveyard” committee.
Slotkin goes national: Michigan freshman U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin will deliver the official English-language* Democratic response to President Donald Trump’s Address on Tuesday. (Fun fact: the first address in a president’s term is not officially called a State of the Union Address). The Slotkin announcement came via a joint press release from Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries. Why Slotkin? Well, the former CIA analyst seems to have cracked the code for communicating with swing-state voters. Slotkin flipped a Republican-held congressional seat in 2018 and last year was one of four Democrats to win a Senate race in a state that was carried by Trump. Schumer called Slotkin “a rising star” with credibility on national security and economic issues. Five years ago, Governor Whitmer delivered the Democratic response to Trump’s first State of the Union. (*There is also a Spanish-language response to be delivered by U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat of New York. In case you’re asking, it’s a bipartisan tradition. Last year, U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz of Texas delivered the GOP response to President Joe Biden’s SOTU.)
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Yours in political nerdiness,
Rick Pluta & Zoe Clark
Co-hosts, It’s Just Politics
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IJP ON THE ROAD:
| Zoe joined this WKAR’s Off the Record this week to dig into Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s State of the State Address. |
