The political corruption being played out to forestall a September 30th ruling in Michigan Federal District Court to permit interstate wine shipping is almost too blatent to be believed. Tom Wark at Fermentation chronicles the latest saga in Lawmakers roger wine consumers and retailers in Michigan, where some state politicians tried to ramrod a bill secretly through the Michigan legislature in a 24 hour period to "level down", i.e., remove existing delivery rights of Michigan consumers and businesses to prevent interstate shipping rights from being introduced.
Why you should care
Even if you're not a wine consumer or don't live in Michigan, the complete manipulation of the political process evidenced in this situation is to put it simply, "disgusting." This behavior could easily be applied to any issue and happen in almost any state.
What you can do
Individual citizens and consumers hold the ultimate power to vote out such miscreants but you'll have to wait until their next election. Meanwhile, if you want to have some impact, write an email to the legislative ringleaders to express your views (Tom's post above provides the names and email addresses).
Alternatively, if you're a wine consumer anywhere, you might donate to the Specialty Wine Retailers Association (SWRA) to help them fight these shipping battles on your behalf. The SWRA was monitoring legislative developments in Michigan and jumped on this issue immediately via press outreach and other actions. For example, see the Chicago Tribune story, "House bill would bar wine deliveries by retailers."
Make a difference!
