Skubick

Who wants to be a millionaire? goes the opening to that TV show by the same name.

Actually a better way to put it would be, who the heck does not want to be a millionaire?

Well here is your chance. There are eight members on each of the major university governing boards at MSU, the U of M and Wayne State.

What if somebody offered you a million dollars if you could name all 24? Stop groaning.

For the person offering that jackpot there would be no worry at all since you probably can’t name more than two or three if that. Even though you, as a voter, are called up to select the candidates that both political parties put on the ballot and truth be known you don’t know squat about their qualifications unless they are relatives.

Which brings us to a legislative debate right now over removing the political parties that get to pick the nominees and handing it over to the governor. In fact when he ran for governor to replace Bill Milliken, Jim Brickley embraced that reform and that was just after fire was discovered which is to say this is nothing new.

The choice here is pretty obvious, supporters argue. It’s either let the voters who know nothing about these candidates put them in office, or let the governor of the state, who knows everybody, get the job done.

This current discussion comes in the wake of another internal dispute between some board members and their president. This is not unique to MSU/Spartan Nation as it saw its soon to be ex-president Kevin Guskierwicz leave the banks of the Red Cedar for a job at Clemson that actually pays him less money. Board vs. president turmoil has raised its ugly head at the other schools, too.

But this one grabbed statewide headlines as President G. made it clear his relationship with several members of the board was not made in heaven. In fact if you believe his side of the story it was made in the other place below heaven.

Watching all this dirty Green and White laundry waving in the wind for everyone to see are three interested observers labeled here as the MSU bi-partisan trifecta.

Those folks down in A2 may have a better football team, but no other university around these parts can brag about having two former and one current governor who are fiercely loyal to their alma mater.

And Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and former governors Jim Blanchard (D) and John Engler (R) and other heavy weight Spartans are working against a June 5th legislative deadline to place this constitutional amendment on the August primary ballot for you to decide. And if they can produce the votes in the legislature and get citizens to vote yes, the entire MSU Board of Trustees would be wiped out at the end of the year along with the other 16 board members at the other two schools. Then the current governor would appoint some of the new members before she leaves office and the new governor would be able to do the same thing thus wiping all the voters and D’s and R’s off the playing field.

A no brainer for two-thirds of the house and senate bodies to muster that many votes to do it? Right?

You would, first blush, think as much as the Big Three argue it’s the right thing to do and is best for the state. Hence everyone would be falling all over themselves to punch the green (how symbolic) voting button at their desks to whisk this along.

Not so fast, bunky.

House GOP Speaker Matt Hall basically holds all the cards and he looks like he won’t play any of them until and unless he gets something that he wants, too.

He and his conservative pals in the House GOP caucus would like to see closed primaries in Michigan where Democrats would be prevented from voting in a GOP primary for candidates who are more moderate. But wait. There’s more.

He’s got more goodies now that he has the trifecta over the proverbial barrel.

June 5th is this Friday and if you were a betting person, you wouldn’t be on this one.

Unless, of course, Big Gretch, Big Jim and Big John can snatch this big one from the jaws of defeat.