Pastor Charles E. Williams II
Not News: Detroit-Area Pastor Threatens Campaign of Harassment Against Mich. Gov. and Family ('You Won't Get No Rest')
By Tom Blumer | December 16, 2012 | 08:40
Well, Detroit pastor Charles E. Williams II, described here as "Pastor, Historic King Solomon Baptist Church and President (of) National Action Network Michigan," made such public threats against Republican Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and his family this week -- and it's not news at the Associated Press, New York Times, or really anywhere except several center-right blogs and publications. Specifics from the coverage at Michigan Confidential follow the jump (HT the Weekly Standard; bolds are mine; video is at the link):
We'll Be At Your Daughter's Soccer Game!'
Union protest speaker tells governor that union members will 'visit you' everywhere over right-to-work bill
A speaker at a union protest against right-to-work legislation said if Gov. Rick Snyder signed the bill he would get "no rest" and that protesters would be at his "daughter's soccer game."
The Rev. Charles Williams II made the comments Tuesday to loud cheers before a group of thousands of union workers. After his promises to harass Gov. Snyder, he introduced Rep. Richard Hammel, D-Mt. Morris Township, and House Minority Leader Tim Greimel, D-Auburn Hills. Williams is a Detroit-area pastor and left-wing activist.
Gov. Snyder later that day signed a bill into law making Michigan a right-to-work state. One of his daughters is a 16-year-old high school student.
"Just know one thing, Rick Snyder: You sign that bill, you won't get no rest," Williams said. "We'll meet you on Geddes Road. We'll be at your daughter's soccer game. We'll visit you at your church. We'll be at your office.
"Because Michigan workers will not take it laying down — by any means necessary!" he said.
Geddes Road is where the Snyder residence is located.
One can't dismiss Williams's threat as bluster. In January, he led a pre-planned, police-assisted, Occupy movement-inspired march "to the gates of Gov. Rick Snyder’s neighborhood outside Ann Arbor" which closed the aforementioned Geddes Road.
As to media coverage, the national establishment press had no problem noticing a single Tea Party-condemned protest at the home the home of ObamaCare supporter and former Cincinnati-area Congressman Steve Driehaus.
But when a reasonably prominent far-left pastor threatens a long-term campaign of harassment against a sitting governor and his family, there's nothing but stone silence. The only reasonable conclusion is that the press doesn't want the nation to know about the chronic incivility, threats, or even the violence routinely carried out by the left against Republicans and conservatives. The non-exposure only encourages more of the same. It would appear that the press wouldn't mind seeing that result at all.
Gov. Rick Snyder (R)
Rick Snyder: Right To Work Bills Signed Into Law In Michigan
WASHINGTON -- Gov. Rick Snyder (R) officially made Michigan a "right-to-work" state on Tuesday, signing into law two bills that significantly diminish the power of unions.
"I have signed these bills into law. ... We are moving forward on the topic of workplace fairness and equality," he said at a press conference on Tuesday evening, just hours after the state House passed the bills.
Right-to-work laws forbid contracts between companies and unions that require all workers to pay the union for bargaining on their behalf. Although business groups and conservatives cast the issue in terms of workplace freedom, unions note that the laws allow workers to opt out of supporting the union although they reap the benefits of the collective bargaining. Since the laws tend to weaken unions generally, unions, as well as President Barack Obama, call the legislation "right to work for less."
Snyder's move is a particular victory for right-to-work proponents. Most right-to-work states are solidly red and in the south. Michigan, however, has one of the highest rates of unionization in the country, is the birthplace of the modern automotive industry, and is consistently a swing state in elections and went for Obama in 2012.
Throughout the day, at least 12,500 protesters showed up at the Capitol in Lansing. The gathering occasionally turned ugly, with punches thrown and pepper spray dispersed.
The GOP-controlled state legislature had fast-tracked the two bills, which authorize right-to-work measures for public and private unions in the state, bypassing the normal committee process and public input period.
Even before Snyder signed the bills, labor unions were investigating ways to possibly repeal them. Labor officials were largely taken off-guard by the rapid push for right to work, believing that Snyder was sincere in his negotiations with them to keep it off his desk.
The governor repeatedly said he didn't want right to work on the agenda, arguing it would be incredibly divisive in the state. In his press conference on Tuesday, Snyder blamed unions' actions for the reason he signed the bill, pointing to their pushing of Proposal 2. The ballot measure, which would have enshrined collective bargaining rights in the state constitution, was rejected by voters in November.
"The timing of such is something I didn't seek out," he said. "But really what took place this summer with Proposal 2 triggered the dialogue and discussion on this. I asked labor leaders not to move forward with a ballot proposal because I knew it could trigger a discussion that could lead to right to work being a divisive issue. Unfortunately they moved forward, it became divisive, and it was time to step up and take a leadership position, which I believe I've done, with good teamwork in the legislature."
Previewing the divisiveness that is likely to plague the state politically going forward, National Action Network Michigan civil rights leader Rev. Charles Williams III said in a statement sent out by SEIU, " Because good jobs and so much else is at stake, we will not rest until workers’ rights to a fair and decent wage are restored. Everything is on the table during the next two years.”
Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.), a vocal opponent of right to work who met with the governor to urge him to veto the bills, quickly sent out a statement saying the push to repeal the law needed to begin immediately.
“The effort to reverse this wrong-headed action and restore a Michigan that encourages middle class jobs and race to the top for its workers -– not a crash to the bottom –- begins today," he said.
"Gov. Snyder showed his true colors today: He's a puppet of extreme donors, and he is willing to ignore and lie to his constituents," added AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka. "His action will undoubtedly please the Koch Brothers and corporate CEOs, but it will diminish the voice of every working man and woman in Michigan."
