I think its important to remember these are first glance observations.  It might actually be a good exercise to note the quick assessments being made here.  If in fact the reaction is hard against in THIS environment, imagine how bad it is being received elsewhere.

My ears turned up near the beginning of his presentation in front of the joint appropriations committee was when he claimed, "One of the responsibilities of our state government is to provide a safety net." (about 11:40 mark)

Huh?

Since when has it EVER been the responsibility of any government in a free society to take from one segment of society and give to another?

You want to argue about "shared sacrifice"?

Tell those people in the private sector who earned their money (and already paid taxes on it), that it's being taken away to assuage the guilty conscience of the feel-good crowd. The seniors I've spoken with today around town aren't too happy with our governor right now.

If you want to give the Michigan House back to the democrats in '12, I'll give you a bit of advice: Go and P.O. a senior. They do remember who sold them out and they do vote.