LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Michigan Representative Karen Whitsett (D-Detroit) made headlines last month when she used the well being of her constituents, not party talking points, to upend her party’s lame duck session.
Whitsett: Democrats are “disconnected” from voters.
Rep. Whitsett appeared on the Fox News program “The Faulkner Focus” on Thursday. She cited what she called a Democratic “disconnect” from voters after they’ve refused to reevaluate key issues after the Nov. 5 election. That includes seeing the state’s 15 electoral votes go to President-elect Donald Trump and voters subduing the Michigan Democratic majority with a flip of the state House.
“I’m not going to caucus with them because of their talking points and the fact that they are disconnected,” Whitsett told Harris Faulkner. “They’re still using the same rhetoric that lost in the race, so why am I going to caucus with a group that’s totally disconnected?
Whisett continued, “I know how to read a bill, so I don’t need someone to tell me how to vote,” she said. “I’m better off just being by myself, read my bills and get things done for my district.”
Whisett: the final piece of the lame duck meltdown.
During the final days of Democratic power in Lansing last month, Republican House members walked out of session after they said then House Speaker Joe Tate (D-Detroit) went back on his word about tipped wage and sick leave legislation. Newly installed House Republicans have now bumped those bills to the floor. Whisett also refused to show up and give her party a quorum because she learned Democrats would not take up her water bill.
Whisett has a working relationship with newly installed House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) and previously met with President Trump during the height of the COVID-19 lockdowns in Michigan. She credited hydroxychloroquine with helping her recover from the virus. Her Democratic colleagues rewarded her with a censure.
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