You may be fine with House Speaker Matt Hall's methods and his breaking rules, laws, and norms to play a game of chicken with the state budget. You may be inclined to give Governor Gretchen Whitmer grace for not delivering on her signature, high-profile campaign promise for a long-term fix of the damn roads. But both cases aren't exactly building voter confidence in our system of government.
That's a problem. Our state government is designed to work best when voters are encouraged and engaged. When politicians operate in a "the end justifies the means" mode or when politicians make promises and don't keep them, that feeds cynicism and negativity among the voters. Which in turn attracts politicians that feed off that cynicism and negativity. Rinse and repeat.
Not good. Worse, our current federal government is without a doubt several generations ahead on that cycle.
Editor's note: John Auchter is a freelance political cartoonist. His views are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Michigan Public, its management, or its license holder, the University of Michigan.
