This September, with construction all around metro Detroit and the election looming, it was a good time for me to read Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s book, True Gretch. Her appearance at the Democratic National Convention and all her work for our state makes her a popular figure and a rising star in politics, and I wanted to delve a bit deeper into her history and philosophies. The book does deliver on that front (and has some wonderful photos), but my one complaint is that it is fairly short--I could have read it in one day. It left me wanting more… which could have been the point.
Each short chapter has a theme, and the book isn’t necessarily chronological, so it’s more reflection on themes, backed with examples, than a traditional memoir. We learn about her family--close brother, sister, father, and two grandmothers, strong women she looked up to. Her mom died when Gov. Whitmer was a young mother serving in the Michigan Senate, and she really had to power through all that grief while going about her business. On the surface, she seems like a lucky lady (after all, she’s never lost an election and is conventionally attractive), but she has certainly had her share of tragedy. She hasn’t always been squeaky clean, either. She apparently was a bit of a hellion in high school, and it’s fun and relatable to read about that time.
She has a really great sense of humor, and she and her team know how to turn things around to their advantage, including using the nickname “half-Whit” with humor. She recounts how she goes along with fun social media campaigns, like the “Little Gretch” Barbie during last summer’s Barbie movie frenzy, and it adds to her appeal. She definitely isn’t stuffy! Speaking of her team, one chapter is titled “Surround Yourself with Great People–and Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help.” One of the first crisis situations she faced, just three weeks into her first term in 2019, was when the “polar vortex” hit Michigan, and the Consumers Energy compressor station in Macomb County had a fire; if it went down completely, about one million Michiganders would be in danger without heat. An emergency meeting was held with the State Emergency Operations Center and other public officials, and the end result was that Gov. Whitmer asked Michiganders to do their part so the “pilot light of Michigan,” in the form of natural gas, wouldn't go out. And her news conference worked--people turned down their heat enough to tip the scales.
During another crisis, the COVID pandemic, some in our state were less than compliant with her stay-at-home orders. Her efforts put her on the national stage, with the former president calling her “that woman from Michigan,” which she embraced. For the most part, her efforts saved many lives, but she’s the first to admit her mistakes. There was a photo shared showing elected officials and staff in a private room where the tables were initially distanced, but they were moved together and she didn’t object; that photo went viral, and she had to issue a mea culpa. She did not address the rhetoric that was spread online about the handling of COVID in nursing homes, so the reader gets a sense that she isn’t sharing everything.
Reading the chapter about the kidnapping plot and all the aftermath (still ongoing in court) was chilling. First was the day she was in her capitol office when armed protestors stormed the building–and our laws (since changed) allowed them to be armed. Then the book goes into detail about how some of the defendants were acquitted and are walking around free. She communicates that she knows she can’t please everyone, but she was generally shocked and blindsided by the hatred spewed and the planned violence/murder plot.
She also outlines some of her successes, such as the 2022 midterm election, when Michigan voters enshrined abortion rights in the state’s constitution through a ballot initiative. Democrats that year also won full control of Michigan’s state government for the first time in four decades. Whitmer is a champion for women, and for that, Michigan is fortunate. In one chapter, she chronicles how hard it was to speak on the senate floor about her own rape, but she was fighting ridiculously restrictive reproductive rights legislation and felt that, though it would be painful (she had never previously spoken about it in public), it was going to make an impact for the greater good.
She shares a few stories about dealing with condescending male colleagues from across the political aisle. In particular, there was State Senate majority leader, Republican Mike Shirkey. Apparently, he unleashed vocally during a visit to Hillsdale College, saying “negotiating with her was difficult, because ‘I was on the batshit-crazy spectrum.’” He called her to try to get ahead of the story (she hadn’t heard it yet) and his “apology,” if it could be called that, was interesting. It’s a long story, but it resulted in her taking the high road with humor, and then having an “in” joke about bats. She learned these “killing with kindness” strategies from her dad, and explains that of course she wants to say things, but knows it’s not in the best interest of getting work done to give into those temptations to clap back.
Overall, the book gives some insights that weren’t captured in short social media snippets. Many topics are covered, such as COVID, the shooting at Oxford High School, her campaigns, her family, her battles, and her successes. She even includes her “True Gretch Playlist,” which includes the song “Big Gretch” by Detroit’s Gmac Cash. She didn’t love that nickname to begin with, but has since settled into it, realizing that most mean it as a compliment to “that woman from Michigan.” I just wish the book were longer. But we haven’t heard all we are going to hear from Gretchen Whitmer.
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