Auchtoon!

The upcoming lame duck session of the Michigan legislature presents a rare opportunity for real bipartisanship. The re-elected Governor Whitmer and the outgoing Republican legislative leadership have hinted around at some possibilities. Two items of note — the desperate need to shore up Michigan’s mental health treatment capabilities and various tax cuts.

It is, of course, possible to move on both. Not probable, though. It is easy to blame those gal-durn politicians for this. But let’s face it, we, the citizens of Michigan, have to own it, too. Because there is only so much money. And when it gets down to likely having to choose, we will almost certainly opt for the one that is easier to understand.

Tax cuts mean money coming back to us. (This is not always true, but in concept that’s what happens.)

Reimagining and shoring up our mental health care system is much more abstract. What do you mean by mental health care? What does it look like? Who are the trained professionals? How can we ensure access? Do you have to be already sick to qualify? What if they don’t look sick to me? How much will it cost? And so on. Worse, this isn’t just a Michigan problem to solve — it’s a national one.

In any case, there does seem to be a consensus that mental illness is a core problem to our country’s ongoing epidemic of mass shootings. The easy accessibility of military murder machines certainly augments the danger, but it is obviously an unstable mind that commits such atrocities. The question is: What are we willing to do about it? So far, not nearly enough.

I am sure you’re all at least somewhat aware of the latest antics of the super-rich sideshow known as Elon Musk. As with all billionaire man-children (even the ones who are not in fact billionaires but overleveraged former presidents), I find it healthier to keep a distance — an awareness of the shenanigans without the details of the skulduggery.

Having grown up in Flint, I’m well aware of the consequences of very wealthy “captains of industry” making disastrous decisions. In the 1980s, the American automotive manufacturers were still in a very advantageous position. But they kind of pissed away a lot of it with, among other things, buying aerospace companies and slagging their workers instead of, you know, building better cars.

It struck me that Elon Musk is something of a modern-day version of that — all the stupidity and chuzpah but with exponentially more self-promotion. What a waste of resources. But I think you should know that I did show some restraint. I didn’t mention anything about his cars catching fire. (Of course that would have been more of a 1970s American automobile manufacturer thing.)

There’s an old maxim (or perhaps I just made it up): Never let updated information get in the way of a good idea for a cartoon (especially if you’ve already drawn the cartoon). Heading into the election, polls and general consensus had inflation as the number one issue among Michigan voters. But afterward, apparently that wasn’t entirely the case. As reported by MLive:

“Bernie Porn of EPIC/MRA, another pollster, said he found that while Michiganders cited inflation as their top issue of concern, at 28%, it was abortion that drove them to the polls, with 43% citing that as their top issue in the election itself.”

Okay, so although this news may render today’s cartoon not 100% accurate, I stand by the point: Among the mistakes Michigan Republicans made in these midterms, invoking inflation without having an actionable plan was a big one. They seemed to have depended on voters just thinking that “Republican” was synonymous with “fiscal responsibility.” Maybe that was true 40, 50 years ago, but it’s certainly not today. And so not actually having a plan to fight inflation turned out to be problematic.

I like the idea of electing leaders who see the value of good governance, but I’m more afraid of those willing (even enthused) about burning the whole house down.

I like the idea of passing laws that ensure all people (especially women) have access to affordable, high-quality health care, but I’m more afraid of the zealots and ideologues intent on doing or saying anything to prevent that.

I like the idea of making voting as accessible as possible, but I’m more afraid of how dedicated supporters of the Big Lie are continuously attempting to undermine that.

I like the idea of candidates capable of being open-minded and admitting mistakes, but I’m more afraid of those who will always put party and self-interest first.

I like the idea of supporting democracy, but I’m more afraid of how it can be whittled away and replaced by authoritarianism.