Imagine that Mitt Romney had destroyed President Obama by almost 10 points in Michigan.

And Republican

was getting ready to be the state's next U.S. senator on the heels of an almost 21-point blowout. And Democrats had lost five seats in the state House.

You would expect Democrats in the Mitten State to be duly chastened. Perhaps a period of somber reflection for the party would follow and efforts of bipartisanship would be extended.

But imagine that instead, Democrats in the House and Senate hatched a plan. They would shove through a last-minute, massive tax hike on businesses in Michigan because they still controlled the Legislature. And they wouldn't hold any hearings where the public could weigh in.

Why not? No one would be paying attention. Few people know what a "

" session really is. And the Dems would count on the indecisive Democratic governor to sign it, with a little friendly pressure from big Democratic donors.

You would imagine that Republicans, business owners and quite a few lobbyists would be up in arms at this end-run around democracy. Fox News would probably sweep into town and Rush Limbaugh would devote hours blasting the socialist power grab in Michigan, with the Drudge Report dutifully splashing their headlines.

Of course, none of that is happening in Michigan. Some inverse of that is, however, as

in the final days of this session, which makes it easier for people not to pay union dues. It's

, a major power and money base in the Democratic Party.

But the backdrop of this debate is striking -- and worth noting.

. Democratic U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow had the 21-point victory. Republicans hemorrhaged five seats in the state House.

And Republicans are the ones who control the House, Senate and governor's mansion. Which is why they believe, that in spite of their embarrassing drubbing in the election, that they can ram through legislation to punish their No. 1 political enemy: the unions.

Now labor didn't do itself any favors by bringing us Proposal 2, which would have guaranteed collective bargaining rights in the Constitution. That failed,

by watching brutally dishonest ads warning the measure would enable child molesters to teach your kids.

Does that mean voters want RTW?

but the dirty little secret Republicans strategists privately admit is most folks don't know much about the issue -- and it's much easier and takes a lot less money to get them to hate it.

Why? Well, have you noticed that the big backers of RTW can't really tell you how it will boost Michigan's economy or how many jobs it will create? RTW's biggest champion in the Legislature, Rep. Mike Shirkey (R-Clarklake),

to put a number on the jobs his policy would mean for Michigan. He repeatedly declined. I'm not aware that he's done so to date.

Gov. Rick Snyder lives for benchmarks like any good accountant (such as my dear old dad). You would think that he's asked for some numbers.

Snyder is also all about government transparency and his mantra of Relentless Positive Action. To say that hasn't been the atmosphere in the Capitol ever since the GOP dropped the RTW bomb would be a gross understatement.

If he signs highly divisive legislation cloaked in secrecy, with no public input, it sends a clear message that politics trump policy for Rick Snyder. He will also have made the choice to sacrifice several proposals actually on his agenda that need Democratic support, like his metro Detroit transit system, all to appease right-wing Republicans and billionaires like Dick DeVos.

Of course, as I wrote last week,

tell us. RTW supporters remain smug that the governor will have no choice. He boosted that idea this week by finally declaring RTW

Snyder isn't the only one with a hypocrisy problem. Leadership at the Michigan Chamber of Commerce has long hated on lame duck as the worst time to make policy -- something with which I wholeheartedly agree.

On

in October, a chamber executive declared, “The governor doesn’t support Right to Work. At the Michigan Chamber, we don’t support Right to Work.”

However, as the buzz about RTW actually happening was dying down on Monday,

blasted out a release declaring its unabashed love for the idea. And that "now is the time" to take it on.

That's interesting. It took a decade or so before the chamber decided to support a new public-private bridge connecting Detroit to Canada. Even after Gov. Snyder himself asked for an endorsement, the state's biggest business organization took months of careful review and study.

And speaking of that bridge, remember another amendment on the ballot, Proposal 6, which would have required a public vote on public bridges? Ambassador Bridge owner Matty Moroun has a monopoly and was willing to throw out more than $30 million to keep it. That proposal, like all of them, failed.

Those ads warning special interests to

were mighty effective. And the chamber was part of the coalition running them, Citizens Protecting Michigan's Constitution.

As several commentators remarked afterward, Moroun's defeat

But here we are just a month later. The

, which is run by longtime Dick DeVos confidante/employee Greg McNeilly, is running TV ads for RTW and has a huge banner draped on the Capitol steps.

DeVos, whose businesses aren't unionized, has been calling GOP senators pushing them to vote for legislation,

And millionaire real estate mogul and former state GOP Chair Ron Weiser promised lawmakers he and DeVos would pay the bill if unions try to recall them.

Message received. Special interests shouldn't try to buy the Constitution. The honorable thing to do is simply squeeze the Legislature.

Susan J. Demas is a political analyst for Michigan Information & Research Service (MIRS). She can be reached at sjdemas@gmail.com. Follow her on Twitter here.