Those who have watched the state's ongoing battle over smoking likely did a double-take when, out of the blue, the state Senate passed a bill that would ban smoking in all bars, restaurants and workplaces.
For the Republican-led Senate it was as far out of character as hosting a picnic for Planned Parenthood. What made it all the stranger -- downright spooky, in fact -- is that the bill had been let loose from a committee chaired by Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, where it had been sent, presumably, to die.
Once they got over the shock, smoking opponents were jubilant. After all, the Democrat-led House had already passed its own version and Gov. Jennifer Granholm, a long-time smoking ban booster, had said she would sign it.
For anti-smoking activists, It seemed too good to be true.
Well, it probably is -- if Michigan politics return to their normal course and if a compelling (but cynical) reading of the tea leaves is right.
A few days after the Senate vote, Detroit Free Press political columnist Brian Dickerson argued that the whole thing was a charade cooked up to make state Democrats look, well ... not bright. Here's his argument:
The Democratic version of the ban, as passed by the House five months ago, contains exemptions for the Detroit casinos, bingo halls, horse tracks, cigar bars and smoke shops. The Senate version would ban smoking in all workplaces with no exceptions.
It doesn't work that way, of course. The two chambers will now have to sit down and hammer out a compromise bill that will be suitable to both sides. And therein lies the rub, Dickerson argued.
Detroit and Detroit-area Democrats are not about to support a ban that doesn't take care of the casinos, bingo halls and others; without their support a ban goes nowhere. For solid strategic reasons Senate Republicans aren't going to exempt anybody.
That means a stalemate as well as a great talking point for the Republicans. If you want to ban smoking from bars, restaurants and all other businesses to protect workers from second-hand smoke -- the major anti-smoking argument -- then you ban it for all workers, including those unlucky enough to work in a Detroit casino.
Suddenly, here is the pro-business, sweatshop-loving GOP (in the eyes of some Democrats, of course) defending all workers while the Democrats are willing to leave some to fend for themselves. If this was the oil and gas business, the GOP just hit a gusher. The Dems just mugged themselves -- again.
So all is well after all (unless you work in a bar or restaurant that allows smoking, of course). The world has not been turned upside-down, the Democrats have not out-foxed the GOP ... and there will be no smoking ban.
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