Motor City Blues

It was confusing to some people in the beginning. Detroit was a mess and the political leadership ineffective. Detroit City Council could justifiably be called incompetent, even corrupt. With the threat of white Republicans voiding elections and naming an Emergency Manager, the City Council even managed to screw up a State funded rescue of Belle Isle. We all know something had to be done, especially if we wanted to avoid bankruptcy, but voiding lawful elections and appointing an Emergency Manager seemed… well, un-American – or at least Republican. Little did we know that behind the scenes, Snyder and a small cabal of anti-democratic “pragmatists” were already plotting who would be the Emergency Manager and holding discussions with him on filing bankruptcy in any event.  They were even consulting “conspiring” with write-in white Republican candidate for mayor, Mike Duggan.

Kevin Orr and his law firm were named not to save Detroit as the Emergency Manager, he was there as a cover to do what Republicans had wanted to do all along: destroy unions and disenfranchise Detroit voters.  Orr never negotiated in good faith with unions and pensioners.   E-mails exchanged before he was the EM disclosed he discussed strategies for bankruptcy rather than saving pensions.  The answer seems obvious- the bankruptcy was not a last resort, it was preordained.    

It seems a done deal now, so what we have left is the need for strong DETROIT political leadership to rebuild Detroit in a direction that can strengthen the City… and defend the City from Republican carpetbaggers.