(Lenore and George Romney chat up Dad, 1963)
They didn’t put the hyphen in the middle of the phrase when we first encountered it in 1960. That was Mom and Dad’s thing, way back in the mists of time. It stood for “Michigan Constitutional Convention,” which was intended to fix some of the impediments to good government not covered in the state’s founding document. As ten year old kids, we saw the grown-ups in our little suburban town energized and excited to make things better and work more efficiently.
The ConCons were brought together under the leadership of George Romney, an outsider who had been called to Detroit in the reaction to Pearl harbor, and to transform the Auto industry into the Arsenal of Democracy. After the War, he turned his attention to the production of Nash motor-cars, and was successful enough to bring our family there for Dad to work as a designer.
ConCon took three years, from 1960 to 1963. It was a successful effort, and not only produced a modified Constitution but elected George Romney as Governor to sign it into law.
You can see the challenges these days. George’s son Mitt has announced he would vote for flying pigs before the candidate of the party he once represented. Other members of the Senate insider trading club remind us that conning is the way they have turned fairly modest Hill salaries into millions.
The incoming message traffic this morning reflects all sorts of things. A pal sent a nice appreciation for another period of strife in our nation. The one in the 1850s about immigration was as startling as the one now. The rise of the Oligarchs was similar to what we see in a New World order. Others are claiming an electoral victory is the only way to save the Republic, maybe through a Con-Con to amend the national document to reflect changing times.
Considering it took Michigan about 60 years to get around the results of the Constitutional Convention they had, they may have a case. But because it is the Cons who would be running the Con this time, we expect it would be intended to benefit them, first!
More on all this excitement as it unfolds. The account of the 1850s turmoil lurches into something else. Something no one expected in 1861. We are hoping at least some of the Cons recognize the perils in the road ahead!
Copyright 2024 Vic Socotra
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