It’s political season and my mailbox is full of expensive slick, glossy mailings from our local politicians. Those with the most to lose and with the most money from donors lead the pack.
Number one is Joe Bellino with his make-believe faux outrage. Joe chairs the Michigan Energy Commission. Joe refuses to lift the cap on green energy programs tying Michigan utility customers to ever-increasing, more costly natural gas compared to cheaper green energy alternatives. Has your utility bills gone down with Bellino in charge? Mr. Bellino was given $1,500 by his cozy DTE Energy friends to play in the Delta Dental Pro-Amateur golf tournament. Can you say conflict of interest?
Number two in junk mailings is Dale Zorn. Dale was term limited as a Michigan 17th state senator. Now Dale wants to become Michigan 34th District representative by moving to his family’s Sand Lake house in Lenawee County, bringing renewed meaning to the term carpetbagger!
Personally, Zorn’s most notable votes were in 2011 when Dale swapped a $1.8 billion corporate tax cut for a pension tax increase costing Michigan retirees dearly on their fixed pensions. A punitive tax that retirees never figured on in retirement. Many retirees fled the noncompetitive state for nontax states like Florida. Zorn has been hiding this from his constituents for years with only a muddled promise of a revisit. It never happened!
So when looking at all the junk mailings remember who is behind these and why. Those who send the most are either conflicted by their record or supported by dark money interests. Dark Money is defined as funds raised for the purpose of influencing elections by nonprofit organizations that are not required to disclose the identities of their donors.
My advice is to look past the rhetoric and realize as George Carlin once said in his American Dream: “It’s a Big Club and you ain’t in it!”
Paul Wohlfarth lives in Riga Township and is retired from Chrysler Motors. He can be reached at wolfmanwon@aol.com.
