Will Dems do to Michigan what they’ve done to America?

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer won an impressive victory Tuesday, and in doing so grabbed the brass ring for a political CEO: a Legislature totally controlled by her own party.

Jan. 1 will mark the first time since 1982 that Democrats will have majorities in the state House and Senate with a Democrat sitting as governor.

It’s not hard to project what the next two years will look like in Lansing. Just look at the past two years in Washington.

Democrats have used their control of the White House and both chambers of Congress to expand the size of government through massive spending bills, commit the nation to an expensive and job-killing war on global warming and add 80,000 IRS agents to squeeze more dollars out of taxpayers.

They’d have pushed through even more of the progressive agenda if not for the Senate filibuster, a check on majoritarianism that doesn’t exist in the state Legislature.

In fact, there will be no check on Democratic ambitions in Lansing. Democrats will continue to hold the offices of secretary of state and attorney general and dominate the boards of the three major universities and state board of education. The state Supreme Court will retain its 4-3 majority of Democratic nominated justices.

In Michigan, Democrats also have an agenda they’ve waited a long time to impose, and intend to do so now. Witness the statement issued by the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee Wednesday: “Since 1984, Republicans have used their control of the @MISenate to block things MI families needed. No more.”

Former Gov. Rick Snyder served with a Republican Legislature, and used it to pass a long list of measures to improve Michigan’s business climate and bring fiscal responsibility to government.

Democrats will now have the votes to undo those reforms, and to check off their own wish list.

Expect the state’s right-to-work law to be the first to go. Deeply unpopular with Whitmer’s union backers, the law ended compulsory union membership. It is a vital tool in attracting foreign automakers and suppliers who otherwise would choose southern states to avoid union organizers.

Also likely to happen quickly is reinstatement of the prevailing wage law, which requires public bodies to pay union wages on all projects funded with tax dollars.

Democrats will have some ability to raise taxes through citizen and statutory initiatives. A graduated income tax has long been a top priority, and Whitmer said during the campaign she would consider backing a ballot proposal to adopt a progressive tax code if it were brought to her.

Similarly, Democrats have previously sought to reimpose the inheritance tax, repealed by Republicans in the 1990s.

In addition, sales taxes on a variety of services from manicures to golf lessons have previously been proposed by Democrats to raise revenue.

Charter schools will face a tough road. Education unions are among Whitmer’s major supporters, and they’ve always resented the alternative school movement that began with former Republican Gov. John Engler. Charters face a new regulatory regime that will make them less competitive for students.

The governor will also now be dealing with a state Senate inclined to sign off on her appointments to state commissions and regulatory boards.

Measures to make fossil fuels scarcer and more expensive can be expected, and that’s bad news for the critical Line 5 petroleum pipeline, which both Whitmer and Nessel have in their sights.

At the federal level, unbridled Democratic power has produced the worst inflation in decades and the threat of a recession.

We hope Whitmer and Democratic lawmakers will be more temperate in their governing, but it seems almost too much to expect of a political party not to exploit a once-in-40-year opportunity.

Elections have consequences. This one promises to be more consequential than most.

— Detroit News