LSJ Blogs: Capitol Journal by Scott Davis

Miss American Pie, the plea

The case against Ahlam Mohsen, the college student who hurled a pie last summer at U.S. Senator Carl Levin, is nearing its close.

On Friday, Mohsen, , a senior at Michigan State University, pleaded to a misdemeanor in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids for hurling the pie as part of a plea agreement, according to the Associated Press. Also pleading guilty to a misdemeanor count is Max Kantar, who authorities say assisted Mohsen in assaulting the Democratic senator.

Both defendants, who say they did it as an anti-war statement, face up to a year in jail. They originally were charged with felonies.

While many of my readers suggested Mohsen should be severely punished, because, well, you can supposedly hurt someone with an apple pie, here’s one interesting tidbit. Mohsen’s lawyer said Friday that Mohsen removed the crust from the apple pie before throwing it to lessen the impact for Levin

Now that’s what I call a conscientious objector.

Mohsen and Kantar will be sentenced June 20 in Grand Rapids.

Brian Calley, the stealth lt. gov

Some days, it pays not be a household name.

Brian Calley, Michigan’s newly elected lieutenant governor from Portland, is so unrecognizable that even a Capitol security officer in Lansing recently asked for his ID before allowing him to enter a state building.

But according to the Saginaw News, Calley doesn’t mind. And some days, the anonymity truly has its benefits.

Lansing has seen its share of massive rallies around the Capitol this week – mostly protesting Gov. Rick Snyder’s proposed budget – and Calley was able to walk up the Capitol steps during a recent rally without any protesters apparently recognizing him

"The campaign spent a whole lot of money on Rick Snyder's face and spent zero on my face," Calley joked.

Capitol spin: Voters, teachers and Romeo and Juliet

There’s a lot zipping around the state Capitol these days. Here’s the latest. I’ll leave to you to decide whether you’re on the winning or losing side….

--  House Democrats accused the Republicans of foul play Thursday for placing a $100 “place marker” in legislation implementing Gov. Rick Snyder’s business tax reform plan.

Democrats say the $100 appropriation is clearly designed to prevent voters from trying to repeal the law, if passed, sometime later. But Republicans deny wrongdoing, saying the $100 amount is merely a token amount that will be increased later as the real cost of implementing the plan is determined.

-- House Republicans approved a bill Thursday that would freeze pay and benefits for unionized public school teachers working under expired contracts.

Democrats say the bill is part of an ongoing Republican assault on workers and would erode employers' incentive to bargain new contracts. Republicans say the changes would give unions more incentive to resolve contracts quickly.

-- The Senate has passed a bill stating that teenagers who have consensual sex with minors would no longer be listed on Michigan’s sex offender registry.

Known as the “Romeo and Juliet” law, the law would create a petition process under which the youthful offenders could be removed from the list if there is a determination the sex was consensual.

Capitol protesters, leave tape at home. We can't afford it!

Michigan’s Capitol Rotunda seemed to survive its first major indoor protest in many years relatively unscathed.

Protests in the Wisconsin’s Capitol recently made news when Wisconsin state officials made the ridiculous claim that it will cost $7.5 million to clean up the interior of the Capitol building caused by weeks of protests -- mostly in removing tape and adhesives used to place signs on walls.

Turns out that estimate was kind of high. Really? Wisconsin officials now say it would cost only a few hundred thousand dollars.

No such signs of damage were on the walls of Michigan’s Capitol after the nearly 1,000 union protestors left the building today. Sure, their chants against a proposed financial emergency manager bill were somewhat loud.

But it don’t “cost nothing” to clean up noise pollution. At most, one just needs to invest in a good pair of ear plugs.

Protestors of all ideologies, keep up that volume. But continue to leave that Skotch tape at home.

A failure to communicate? 'Cool Hand Luke' comment backfires

Senate Republican spokesman Matt Marsden has found himself in “The Box” – the proverbial woodshed from the prison movie, “Cool Hand Luke” – after a public exchange between him and state Sen. Rick Jones, a Grand Ledge Republican.

This week, Jones apparently was not pleased when Marsden chided him after Jones ignored a request by Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville not to take up abortion-relation bills in Jones' Senate Judiciary Committee.

"I'm reminded of Cool Hand Luke when it comes to (Jones): 'What we've got here is failure to communicate,” MIRS quoted Marsden as saying.

Within a day, Richardville had reassigned Marsden, giving his duties as caucus spokesperson and press secretary to Amber McCann, a Senate Republican staffer who had been working with Marsden on communications, according to Gongwer News.

McCann declined to comment on whether the change was related to the Cool Hand Luke comment.

"Matt Marsden continues to stay with the senate majority leader," she told Gongwer. "It's just a new designation for staff in the office and what Randy thinks is a better fit right now for his needs."

Jones: No free ride for governor's spouse

State Sen. Rick Jones still is blasting away at wasteful gubernatorial office spending.

The Grand Ledge Republican, with help from Rep. Deb Shaughnessy, a Charlotte Republican, has re-introduced a measure to prevent Michigan’s governor from providing their spouse a taxpayer-funded office and staff.

In his last term as state representative, Jones failed in his attempt to ban the expenses in the Democratic-controlled House, and in fact, debated then-First Gentleman Daniel Mulhern on radio stations about the need for the funded office.

Today, Jones is preaching to the choir. Gov. Rick Snyder has said his wife, Sue, will not have a taxpayer-funded office, and she has kept a fairly low profile. But Jones said he wants to prevent future governors from making the expenditure.

“We all must set an example and Governor Snyder is doing that,” Jones said. “Otherwise, millions are wasted throughout the course of eight years.”



State employees, stop reading this blog…immediately

Gov. Rick Snyder, who now is trying to shore up support for his proposed budget among Republican and Democratic lawmakers, recently sent a letter to 51,000 state employees who may be feeling a tad unappreciated

Snyder, who is seeking $180 million in concessions from state employees as part of his budget, indicated it was unfortunate that the media last month focused so much on the state wages highlighted in a major study “Dollars and Sense” that he unveiled last week. The study maintained state employees on average made more than those in the private sector.

 In his letter, he said that pesky media missed the point of the study.

 "I presented data on total compensation (salary, wages, pension benefits and health insurance benefits) because my point was not to make an apples-to-apples jobs comparison but instead take a look at how total public compensation compares to the total compensation of the working public that supports government… Unfortunately, the compensation story took on a life of its own in the media, diverting attention away from the real issues. You should hear my position directly, as opposed to the media reports and representations.”

It’s hard to tell whether the letter will address the bruised feelings of state employees, many of whom say they were outraged at the conclusions of the study. But Snyder assured employees he was on their side – and appreciated their service.

“Please know that I am impressed by the positive attitude, intellect and capabilities of state workers I have met at all levels.  It is inspiring that so many of our colleagues take pride in their work, meet ambitious deadlines and understand that no matter what level of job they have, they try to make a difference in the lives of our citizens each day.”