In an early Thursday morning press release, Michigan Rising says it's ending its effort to recall Republican Governor Rick Snyder. From the release:
"It has become abundantly clear that Michigan Rising was not going accomplish its goal of recalling Governor Snyder. The results in Wisconsin crystalized how difficult a task it is to recall a sitting governor, even when the unions and the Democratic Party play a significant role in the effort. To quote the words of Senator Ted Kennedy, `The work goes on. The cause endures. The hope still lives and the dream shall never die,´" said Communications Director Bruce Fealk.
The recall effort was well short of its benchmark to have 200,000 petition signatures by June 1."
As of today, the group says it will stop gathering signatures to put to put the recall language on the November ballot but the press release says, "We might be putting down the clipboards, but we're revving up. We're going to Occupy This Governor. We want to create a think tank to advance the best ideas for Michigan - not the most convenient ideas money can buy. We're going to get out the vote in the August and November elections."
There has never been a successful Gubernatorial recall in Michigan’s history. Last Fall, Rick Pluta, Lansing Bureau Chief for the Michigan Public Radio Network and co- host of It's Just Politics, and I explored why statewide recall efforts are so difficult to organize.