LANSING, Mich. – Can you feel a chill in the air? The frosty clime is the result of the massive voter-rejection of Proposal 1.
With Prop 1's margin of failure, 80%-20%, voters have put the legislature on notice. Michiganders are far from amused. But the unintended consequence of such a major defeat appears to be more legislative inaction.
"It basically paralyzes the process, legislators are going to be very timid, very scared to act," said political strategist Dennis Darnoi. He's not just talking potholes, either.
Take road funding out of the mix for a moment. Before Tuesday's vote, all the talk was about reforming Michigan's No Fault auto insurance law. After Tuesday's historic drubbing, any bill that's even remotely controversial likely is going on ice.
Both the governor and the House speaker gamely tried to say it's time to roll up sleeves and get to work. "We need to be thoughtful, we need to be careful," House Speaker Kevin Cotter said. "Something of this nature, this is not something that we're going to make a decision and it's all going to go away; this is something we're going to live with, my hope is, for decades."
Then, Politico ran a story Wednesday night that Snyder will not run for president.
You'll remember Snyder has been coy about his reasons for traveling the country to promote the state. Almost no Michigan political insiders thought he was serious about a presidential bid—still his spokeswoman claims a decision has not yet been made.
The governor campaigned relentlessly for Prop 1. Its failure reflects on him as well.
"He proved that the team he asked to lead this couldn't," Darnoi said. "Not only could they not do it, they got drubbed and destroyed and anyone who thought maybe he does have the mettle to do this got their answer last night."