Michigan Natural Resources Commission threw away public comments on wolf hunt
By Ralph Maughan On November 16, 2013
Untabulated comments overwhelmingly opposed hunt-More were just tossed away
One of the most consistent characteristics of right wing movements is a distaste for democracy. From the beginning with Edmund Burke (1729-1797) who invented the word “conservatism,” is the argument that some small elite knows better than the public. Whether based on land ownership or other property, supposed religious entitlement (God wants us to rule), or perhaps the ability to mystically understand what the people need, conservatives then and now try to limit public expression and voting. This political force recently had its way in the management of Michigan’s restored wolf population.
Many citizens of Michigan wanted to have a vote whether to establish a wolf hunt, and a referendum was in the making. Referendums are a device of direct democracy. They are admittedly imperfect. Still, it is an empirical question whether on the balance referenda are useful. Regardless of the evidence, conservatives have had a philosophical dislike for the referendum, the initiative and recall elections even though they have been able to use them successfully in to advance their causes in many states.
In Michigan, led by State Senator Tom Casperson, the referendum on the wolf hunt was suddenly snatched away by the state legislature when it looked like there would be a referendum on a proposal. Casperson said he wanted the experts at the Michigan Natural Resources Commission (NRC) to decide the issue with a bit of public voice added. In reality, it is clear the Commission had few experts on wildlife (one?) and the public voice was simply thrown away.
The latter was made obvious when members of the group Keep Michigan Wolves Protected got hold of public comments the NRC had received on the wolf hunt question but never released or tabulated. In a laborious task of tabulating the discarded comments, which were in a hard to count format on a jump drive, it was discovered that the comments had overwhelmingly opposed the wolf hunt. The wolf conservation group found that just 13 of the 3,650 tabulated comments favored a wolf hunt. Strikingly another 2000 public comments were simply thrown away by the NRC chairman. He admitted this in an email.
So there is good reason to suspect public opinion does not favor the hunt, which, by the way, began two days ago. Democracy on the issue is not solidly in the grave. A second attempt to have a referendum was successful. It will be held as part of the 2014 mid-term elections. The 2013 hunt might be the last Michigan wolf hunt as well as the first.
The tabulation of the comments and the issue of public opinion, or the lack of it, was examined yesterday. See, Wolf Hunt: Public Comments for Public Acts http://abc10up.com/wolf-hunt-public-comments-public-acts/. by Rick Tarsitano. ABC10.
Senator Tom Casperson has remained controversial, most recently for admitting to telling false wolf stories to scare up the votes for his position in the state legislature. He now apologizes. Michigan Senator apologizes for fictional wolf story in resolution: ‘I am accountable, and I am sorry’. By Jonathan Oosting. MLive.com.
Michigan Senator Tom Casperson apologizes for fictional wolf story in resolution: 'I am accountable, and I am sorry'
http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2013/11/michigan_senator_apologizes_fo.html