Statement on Threats Against Governor Granholm

LANSING, MI – The news today that a shadowy right-wing extremist group is telling Governor Granholm to resign as part of a threat to dismantle our democratically elected government is outrageous and unacceptable. The actions of the people who have sent these letters need to be condemned by all Michiganders of good will. This is not just a threat against the governor, it is a threat to the ideal of our democracy. The fact that this is apparently a coordinated action involving several governors in several states is disturbing.

While there is no evidence yet that this coordinated extremist action involves anyone other that the group who signed the letter to the governor, the increasingly toxic language of the extreme right, the spitting and racial epitaphs, the use of cross hairs and bulls eyes to target elected officials and the dramatic growth of militias in Michigan is woven from the same cloth of hate. It’s past time to dial down the hateful rhetoric that is the thread connecting all of this and to hold individuals accountable for what they say and do.

Whether you are a conservative or a progressive, a moderate or a libertarian, if you believe in American values and democracy, when this type of threat occurs and when hate speech happens it needs to be condemned by all of us on the spot and unequivocally. Unfortunately, up to now this has not always happened and for some disturbed minds that kind of silence can mean assent.