We like Bill Schuette.

At least I do. He knows it, and there are a lot of good reasons why.  Of course we have disagreements on a couple of issues, and will call them out as we see them, but he has done a reasonable job of representing the state and its constitution (reasonable – not great) during his term.

But he needs to get out front on this thing. 

In fact he could have done so a while back. The feral DNR issue has been a debacle from the get go, and THEN AG Schuette’s office sends out the guy in the video below.  He first verbally challenges the Mark Baker directly (bypassing the attorney) in way that certainly appears threatening, pulls the I don’t really give a $Hi# attitude with the rest of the crowd, and then decides the pledge of allegiance is not for him.

A real class act.

Enough of one that David Gumpert wrote the Assistant AG a bit of a letter.

To Harold Martin
Assistant Attorney General, Michigan

 

There has been a fair amount of discussion on Facebook and on my blog as to whether your courtroom outbursts in advance of the judge’s appearance last Wednesday were spontaneous or planned, and whether your antics might cause you to lose your job. I’ve been one of those who has suggested your Clint Eastwood imitation was planned, though I do allow for the fact it couldn’t have been completely scripted, since you couldn’t have known your outburst toward hog farmer Mark Baker and then toward the crowd would be video recorded. I’m not sure it matters—what’s important is your intent and the mindset you displayed in a public setting….a mindset that pervades the MI AG’s office and the DNR.

Here are three messages that came through loud and clear:

-This has become a grudge match. The fact that you, the defendant lawyer, directly approached Baker, the plaintiff, to scold him for posting messages criticizing Michigan officials, clearly reflected the depth of state resentment and upset by your agency and the MI Department of Natural Resources, which you were representing. You must know that it is borderline unethical for the defense lawyer to approach the plaintiff without the plaintiff lawyer’s knowledge and permission. In the courtroom last Wednesday, you ignored Baker’s lawyer and directly challenged him about YouTube videos he has broadcast about the case over the last two years. You wanted to know why he broadcast his complaints about the DNR, why he had the gall to question your tactics that have effectively put him out of business and nearly put his family out on the streets. When Baker told you that you could have responded publicly, your response was gruff and threatening: “You don’t get it, do you?” (You don’t get it, that we have absolute power over you–that is what you meant, right?)

Read more here

But feel free to check out the video of the asst AG below.

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