By Priscilla Miller – Antrim County Republican Party, Secretary

Did anyone else hear from the Governor? I did!  Governor Snyder’s Office called me yesterday!   Seems I inadvertently gave out Lt. Governor Brian Calley’s personal cell phone number on Facebook Thursday, leading up to the Senate’s decision on the Medicaid Expansion Bill, and the governor’s aide wanted to clarify my message to the Lt. Governor and asked, if I had anything to say to the Governor.

I told him I had called out of concern for a bill the lawmakers had only had seven days to consider, and couldn’t see why the Governor felt it necessary to return from his trade mission to Israel, in order to push through his agenda!

All too often we have laws rushed through, only to find out ‘what’s in the bill’ after it’s passed, and I could see no harm in allowing lawmakers the time to thoroughly study, and explore the possible ramifications of such a bill before voting.

I also mentioned the fact that I disapproved of the Governor contacting Kathleen Sabelius, who I believe did a Webinar with our MRP lawmakers, to try and convince them to pass the bill, and this left me with the impression that our Governor is siding with the Democrats and Obama, in regard to our healthcare and not listening to ‘We the People!’

When his aid told me, “the Affordable Care Act was the Law of the Land”. I told him that was his opinion, but there are people like myself, who believe since there are no provisions set up to finance the Obamacare exchanges in the act itself, and if enough states refuse to do anything to help facilitate its implementation, the law will implode.

I also expressed my belief that citizens no longer ‘trust’ their government, and are tired of hearing the people they elect, instead of listening to them, decide what’s “good for them”.

In addition, I told him I thought the governor’s press conference yesterday, was very divisive, pitting members of the party against one another, and when I saw Governor Snyder, standing with that group of healthcare professionals, lined up beside him, all dressed in their scrubs and lab coats, it brought back the distasteful memory of Obama, when he signed the Affordable Care Act, and the people lined up behind him, dressed in the same manner.

The Governor’s aid assured me that he was going to convey all of my thoughts and what I had to say, to the governor, and that the governor is always interested in hearing what people in the state have to say. I told him I didn’t believe that was the case, that the governor is only interested in his own agenda.

I also mentioned that just last week the governor appeared to dismiss the ‘Tea Party’ as a group he wasn’t going to listen to. I explained to him, that there are many Democrat and Republican friends, who share the same views, even though they are not part of any Tea Party organization, and last but not least I closed by telling the governor’s aid that “I believe yesterday, the governor heard the voice of the Tea Party!”