A Change.org petition that demands the recall of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) has gone viral, with more than 150,000 people signing up.
The petition had about 80,000 on Saturday evening, but by Monday the number of signatures had nearly doubled.
“Recall Governor Whitmer,” the petition says. “Her failure’s during the Covid-19 Corona Virus is causing more Michiganders to get sick. Closing and banning various non essential business[es] and activities while leaving others open. Further promoting the pandemic. She has lied since day one with her #Fixthedamnroads which she has failed to do anything in this regards,” the petition says, citing other policies Whitmer has put in place that “clearly shows her lack of anything positive for the State of Michigan.”
The petition has no legal standing, but it may have an effect on Whitmer, who has made the short list of possible vice presidential choices for presumptive 2020 Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. And if a recall movement caught fire in Michigan, it could be dangerous. Recalling the governor “requires signatures equal [to] 25 percent of the votes cast for governor,” Ballotpedia reports, which means a bit more than 1 million Michiganders would need to sign up.
Whitmer’s actions during the coronavirus spread has angered some residents. The Michigan Conservative Coalition has announced “a vehicle rally to surround the Capitol Building” on Wednesday at noon. “Michigan’s typical small business owners obey laws, but they may not notice the progressive agenda being pushed by our radical leftist Governor Whitmer,” said Rosanne Ponkowski, president of the Michigan Conservative Coalition.
The governor has come under fire for an expansive new order to lock down state residents during the coronavirus, requiring larger stores to close down sections containing classes of items she deems “non-essential” and banning gatherings “of any size.”
One part of Whitmer’s order, which runs until at least May 1, requiring larger retailers to shut down gardening and plant nursery sections is drawing fire from greenhouse and nursery owners. Some garden center sections have been ordered to close.
Callie Gafner told Michigan Radio that “banning fruit and vegetable plants does not help limit the spread of COVID-19.”
“If you’re growing them yourself, you’re reducing the contact between people because you’re not going anywhere. You’re going out in your own garden and picking them up rather than going into the store and coming into contact with how many people?” Gafner said to the National Public Radio outlet.
“Just want us to be able to do curbside pickup and help our local customers to be able to do their own gardening and put the money back in the local economy,” Gafner said.
Michigan’s Republican Speaker of the House Lee Chatfield blasted Whitmer for making the “wrong call” and “bad for Michigan families.”
“Instead of essential vs non-essential, we should think safe vs unsafe,” Chatfield wrote on Twitter on Friday. “In Michigan, these are currently not allowed: -Lawn care -Construction -Buying home improvement materials -Buying seeds & plants -Fishing if a motor is used (Just to name a few. All these are safe. But the Governor says no. We can ensure safety & be reasonable. Let’s do both,” he wrote.
Whitmer, 48, took office last year as governor of Michigan — set to be one of just a handful of states that will decide the 2020 general election (Hillary Clinton lost Michigan and Wisconsin, which voted for Barack Obama twice, and Biden will need to flip both of them back to the Democratic side to win in November).
While many have never heard of her, she was selected to give the official Democratic response to President Trump’s 2020 State of the Union address. And though she’s little known, once again it’s worth checking with the bookies: betting markets give her 16-1 odds.
Related: Here’s Biden’s Plan To ‘Safely Reopen America’