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Gov. Rick Snyder and Atty. Gen. Bill Schuette (file photo)
Handshakes and smiles in politics don't always tell the real story.
Jack Lessenberry writes in his Metro Times column how boring he found Gov. Rick Snyder's State of the State speech last month. The more interesting part of it all was before the speech when state Attorney General Bill Schuette greeted Snyder.
Lessenberry writes:
Possibly the most fascinating moment of the dead evening was when Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette warmly greeted Snyder just before the speech started.
The men actually hate each other.
What's more, Schuette intends to do everything he can to launch himself into the governorship by further destroying Snyder and prosecuting members of his administration.
You might think they would in fact be friends. They are both white bread, middle-aged Republicans. But Schuette, who has lusted after the governorship for years, has repeatedly gone out of his way to embarrass and humiliate Snyder.
Originally, he probably did this in order to ingratiate himself with the party's right wing, which has never been comfortable with Snyder — who usually flops over for their agenda, but isn't really one of them.
But like any good shark, the attorney general smelled blood in the water the moment the Flint crisis blew up in the governor's face. Schuette clearly soon saw this was a chance to make points with both the left as well as the right.
So now the attorney general, who previously had shown scant sympathy for anyone not wealthy enough to be a campaign donor, is the tribune of the poor oppressed people.
