One of those was newly elected Michigan Supreme Court Justice Bridget McCormack, who managed to get on the ballot despite Brewer’s thinly veiled attempts to block her.

Brewer survived, however, mainly because he kept the leadership of the unions happy, and they are the key interest group controlling the Democratic Party.

Yet he’s finally ticked them off too. Last fall, he failed to get support for the ballot proposal that would have put collective bargaining rights in the state constitution.

What’s more, Democrats squandered money and resources on a futile attempt to defeat GOP Speaker of the House Jase Bolger. Had they spent it elsewhere, it is conceivable that Democrats might have gained the seats they needed to win control of the Michigan House.

Now, at last, two major unions have signaled they’ve had enough. The United Auto Workers, or what remains of them, and the Teamsters have told Brewer they aren’t backing him for another term. But Brewer still has the teachers’ unions, and evidently means to fight to keep power.

That’s all, after all, he knows.

Lon Johnson, a rising young fundraiser with Washington experience, is probably the best-positioned candidate to beat Brewer at the Democratic state convention in Detroit Feb. 23.

Beating Brewer is not, even now, anything like a sure thing. He’ll fight to keep his office as hard as Gollum fought to hold on to the ring. Unfortunately, if you want to try to make a difference, it’s probably already too late.

The deadline to join the party and participate in the election was last Friday. By the way, if you thought Michigan Democrats stood for giving the poor a fair shake, think again.

Know what it costs to become a registered voting member of the Michigan Democratic Party? $120 a year. Well, hey. You have to do something to keep students and other riff-raff away.

What a country.

> Email Jack Lessenberry