Late last week, Gov. Whitmer asked for an astonishing 70-day extension to the state of emergency she declared on March 10, that is set to expire today. Part of her supposed rationale was so the Legislature wouldn’t have to meet frequently. It’s for their own safety, of course.

This column first appeared in Crain's Detroit Business.

For the strength and safety of our state and its citizens, the partisan handwringing over the Michigan Legislature meeting this week and anytime in the future should end.

The Legislature has both important functions to perform, and very real constraints on how they can operate.

A global pandemic has a way of grinding things to a halt. Like you, we’re staying home, “social distancing” and doing our part to “flatten the curve.”

We could all use a little good news these days, right? Well buckle up!

We’ve heard this Fred Rogers quote so often, it’s almost become a cliché: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

There’s a lot of depressing news out there, and it would be easy to feel overwhelmed and isolated. But we are not alone – we’re in this fight together. In the midst of this crisis, we see and hear so many stories of good people who are helping.

An interesting thing happened on the road to a global pandemic. Normal, everyday, regular people across Michigan – and the United States – stopped what they were doing, sacrificed their own paychecks and livelihoods and schedules, and made a lot of tough choices to protect their friends and neighbors.

This column originally appeared in the Detroit News.

For the next few weeks at least, Michiganians are going to experience a very new kind of normal. Schools are closed. Parishioners are gathering for Sunday morning worship on the internet. Businesses are encouraging their team members to work remotely. Sports are canceled. So are vacations.

Business-as-usual doesn’t fly when a global pandemic comes knocking.

As you know, we at the Michigan Freedom Fund have very strong beliefs regarding our First Principles – that the power of our government is derived from the consent of the governed, and that our Constitution guarantees these inalienable rights.

Presidential candidate, former Senator and Vice-President Joe Biden enthusiastically takes endorsements from Leftists like Beto O’Rourke, who unforgettably said, “Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15”, and continues to announce he’ll be the VP’s gun czar. Meanwhile, his main competitor and self-proclaimed socialist, Bernie Sanders, has run on a platform to make college and healthcare “free.”  The Democratic Party isn’t offering anyone who entirely supports the fundamental principles of individualism and federalism. Instead, there’s a dangerous trend towards Big Government and “free” everything, a cynical appeal to younger voters.