Mike Shirkey farewell speech included conspiracies, offensive remarks, critique of Whitmer

The screed offered Wednesday night by state Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey was both familiar and unorthodox, a handful of compliments and well-wishes sprinkled among the list of conspiracies and offensive comments he has become known for in Lansing.

But even for the Clarklake Republican, departing the Legislature because of term limits, the story about sticking his hand in a toilet appeared to catch people off guard.

It's typical for departing lawmakers to offer farewell speeches in the final days of the legislative session. Other legislative leaders did so — House Speaker Jason Wentworth, R-Farwell, called on lawmakers to choose the courage of their convictions over comfort. House Minority Leader Donna Lasinski, D-Scio Township, lauded the work of her caucus to stand up for their beliefs, even when they could not pass much of the more ambitious parts of their agenda. Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, D-Flint, donned a fun Christmas sweater and encouraged colleagues to listen more while speaking less.

Shirkey offered similar suggestions, thanked his family and praised both Democratic and Republican colleagues. But he also launched into an at times difficult to follow diatribe, full of questionable claims, offensive rhetoric and conspiracies often found in obscure corners of the internet.

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This portion of his speech started as a critique of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic — a common source of angst for Shirkey and many conservatives — and included misinformation about the virus that he has shared before. But it went much further, veering into a takedown of what he described as "little 'g' gods" that he contends will imperil the country in ways far greater than a pandemic that killed more than 1 million people in the U.S.

"These are the next threats that will make COVID-19 and elementary memory (sic). Little 'g' gods like ESG, climate change, gun control, child sacrifice, trans-whatever-we-can-concoct, central bank digital currencies, artificial intelligence, agricultural demonization, Critical Race Theory, and the list goes on," Shirkey said.

"The intent behind this little 'g' gods is to achieve one world governance. One world religions, one world health care, one world control and the elimination of sovereignty."

He went on, suggesting the World Economic Forum is working with "powerful multinational corporations" to create this New World Order.

While Shirkey did not elaborate on his perceived ties between agriculture and child sacrifice, the list included any number of concepts that conservatives despise. ESG is environmental, social and governance investing, but has become something of a catch-all for concepts many conservatives dislike. Critical race theory broadly addresses the historical and ongoing impact of systemic racism.

Both Tudor Dixon and Matt DePerno, Michigan's Republican candidates for governor and attorney general, respectively, vilified the concepts on the campaign trail. Voters resoundingly rejected both candidates, and Republicans up and down the ballot, during the recent midterm election.

Shirkey's comments echo any number of conspiracy theories tracked by the Anti-Defamation League and others. The concepts suggest a global cabal of elites are working to erode the U.S. governmental structure and its society. There's no evidence of this, but supporters of these theories point to any number of statements or actions by local, national or international leaders to suggest something untoward is afoot.

Sen. Jeremy Moss, D-Southfield, and Michigan's first openly gay state lawmaker, said he walked out of the Senate chamber as Shirkey started gearing up to launch into the meat of his speech.

"Mike Shirkey has all of the charm of your crazy uncle who spouts off conspiracy theories that he researched on the internet, up until you realize how dangerous it is that he's been leading the Michigan Senate for the last four years," Moss said Thursday.

"Every day with Mike Shirkey is a contradiction. I walked out when the transphobia and homophobia began. And then, later on toward the end of the session night, he came up and gave me a big hug and told me how much he admired me."

Shirkey correctly predicted he would face pushback for his words, suggesting the "organized corporate media opposition will be brutal to anyone who chooses to challenge these real fronts."

But Moss thought there were at least a few Republican senators who had a tough time understanding their departing leader's arguments.

"The speech was just a throwback to Mike Shirkey's greatest, or worst, hits. I think he's a true believer in all that," Moss said. "He could have taken that opportunity, like other conservative lawmakers, to talk about the accomplishments of the Senate and the bipartisan work. Instead, it was just some sort of odd manifesto."

In something of another contradiction, after lending credence to unfounded theories, Shirkey also relived actions he took to rebuke a particularly rampant conspiracy, one that brought him national attention and took him to the White House.

Rudy and the Diet Coke button

In the wake of the 2020 election, then-President Donald Trump called a slew of Michigan legislative leaders to the White House, including Shirkey. While, at the time, those lawmakers contended they wanted to discuss COVID-19 relief funding, it was obvious Trump wanted to press them on attempting to overturn or otherwise undermine legitimate results that showed he lost to Biden in Michigan by more than 154,000 votes.

Shirkey described the scene in detail during his farewell address. He recalled sitting in the Oval Office, and Trump pressing a large red button on his desk, prompting a staffer to immediately appear with a Diet Coke.

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He also suggested he pushed back on assertions from Rudy Giuliani, a lawyer and former mayor of New York, who became one of the biggest champions of Trump's unfounded election conspiracies. Shirkey said during the conversation with the president, Trump put Giuliani on a conference call.

"Rudy got on the phone and began to filibuster. And, you know, I don't try to be disrespectful, but every now and then it just comes out," Shirkey said.

"So he just kept talking and I said 'Rudy!' He just keeps talking. I said 'Rudy!' My third, very loud 'Rudy' he stopped. I said, 'Rudy, when are you going to file a lawsuit in Michigan?' Because if he's not going to do that, he's just talking crap."

Giuliani never answered the question, Shirkey said. While some Trump backers did file lawsuits, almost all of them were withdrawn relatively quickly. Sidney Powell and her team of lawyers still pursued their allegations, but lost and were sanctioned by a federal judge in Detroit for their actions.

Sen. Curtis Hertel, D-East Lansing, was a frequent critic of Shirkey. During his own farewell speech, Hertel called Shirkey "one of the most frustrating friends that I've ever been proud to have." But he thanked him for "telling the former president, 'No.' "

The statehouse toilet

After the conspiracy portion of the speech, Shirkey said he wanted to pivot to fun memories from the statehouse. He started with a memory of going to the bathroom in the Senate office building. He said after repeated trips, he determined the restroom was way too warm.

"I figured it out. It was the toilet that was warm. And so, I put my hand in it, and it was hot water," Shirkey said.

"So I went back to the office and said, 'Please get ahold of the maintenance staff around here and ask them why taxpayers are paying for hot water in our toilets.' And they said, 'Well, how'd you know?' And I said, 'I put my hand in it!'"

The joke drew laughs from fellow lawmakers and a few raised eyebrows online. Sam Singh, a recently elected state senator who previously served in the House, offered some advice for new lawmakers who may have heard Shirkey's story.

"Pro-Tip: I know I have been out of office for four years, but incoming legislators, you don’t need to put your hands in any legislative toilets," tweeted Singh, D-Lansing.

Lawmakers wrapped up their work for the year late Wednesday and early Thursday morning. When legislators return to Lansing in January, Democrats take control of the state House and Senate.

Contact Dave Boucher: dboucher@freepress.com or 313-938-4591. Follow him on Twitter @Dave_Boucher1.