The Free Press' editorial page editor is too polite, as well as open-eyed about political reflexes, to come right out and call Rick Snyder a liar.
But Stephen Henderson walks up to that line in a tough-worded column about "the growing sense that he says one thing and does another."
The slap-down cites the governor's Dec. 27 signing of "a campaign finance 'reform' bill that raises individual contribution limits and preserves the right to anonymity for donors to third-party issue-advocacy groups. You might as well call it the Political Polluter Protection Act."
Gov. Rick Snyder "says one thing and does another," the Free Press' editorial page editor asserts.
With his signature that day, Henderson writes, "Snyder reached rock bottom."
Snyder . . . said just a few years ago that he would work to be sure that citizens would know who was trying to influence the political process. . . .
Expediency trumped principle. He told the Free Press in December that he had come to see the issue differently. When he signed the bill, he ridiculously said it would enhance transparency — tantamount to arguing that you can increase light by spreading darkness.
Two other actions trouble the Detroit editor:
- "His New Energy to Reinvest and Diversify fund . . . collected millions in anonymous donations before he agreed to shut it down and start a more upfront organization. We still won’t find out who gave to NERD, though. And he used much of the money to fund projects that could raise conflicts of interest, if only we knew who’d given the money."
- "The Education Achievement Authority [is] a perfectly decent idea for a turnaround district for low-performing schools, but one whose funding has also been shrouded in secrecy and whose initial creation outside of existing law and out of the control of the Department of Education suggest something much less than openness."
In this year's re-election campaign, the opinion columnist believes, the governor will be "seeking forgiveness (or hoping for forgetfulness) for the growing sense that he says one thing and does another."
Me? As of now, I’m not buying. . . .
Simple explanations of any kind are no longer sufficient to wipe away the stains of the governor’s pattern of deceit on the issue of transparency. . . .
At this point, it’s difficult for me to see how Snyder can reclaim any semblance of openness. . . . If Snyder so willingly trashes ideals he claimed for himself, he simply can’t be trusted.
