Art imitates life. Then life imitates art. Thus, the emblematic movie, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, echoes today in Michigan.

The movie is about good citizens standing up to a corrupt political machine. Which is kinda what’s been going down in Michigan, just outside Detroit.

Former state legislator Leon Drolet, now head of the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance, may not often find himself likened to Jimmy Stewart, who played Jefferson Smith, the boy scout leader appointed to the U.S. Senate in the film.

Nor is Rose Bogaert, chair of the Wayne County Taxpayers Association, the spitting image of Jean Arthur, who played Senator Smith’s aide Clarissa Saunders on the big screen.

Yet, Bogaert, with the help of Drolet, launched a petition to recall Michigan House Speaker Andy Dillon. And the result — a nasty, vicious campaign by Dillon and his cronies to threaten, smear, and intimidate recall proponents — is vintage Frank Capra. Only this is no movie; it’s real life.

The Dillon recall may be the most important political event of the year. (And yes, I’m well aware of the presidential race.) In all of U.S. history, citizens have recalled only two governors: California’s Gray Davis in 2003 and North Dakota’s Lynn Frazier in 1921. Never has a speaker been recalled.

(You may remember, though, that in 1994, Speaker of the U.S. House Tom Foley was defeated in his bid for re-election after he sued the voters of Washington State to overturn their vote for term limits. Foley was the only House Speaker defeated since the Civil War, but he was not recalled. There is no recall process at the federal level that citizens can initiate.)

Frankly, I like recalls. First, it means somebody is paying attention. That alone is nice to know. Second, it is almost always justified. Last, but not least, the voters get the final word.

In Dillon’s case, he earned the recall effort by shepherding through the legislature a massive $1.4 billion tax increase on individuals and businesses in the middle of a recession. Taxpayer groups repeatedly warned legislators that if they listened to capitol interests, who favored the tax hike, over voters, who did not, there would be trouble . . . spelled R-E-C-A-L-L.

In the movie, the establishment press lined up for the machine and against reform. Likewise, Michigan’s big papers have condemned the recall and defended Dillon. The Detroit News went so far recently as to call the recall “pointless” in an editorial. Why when citizens get active to take part in a lawful governmental process, do those who buy ink by the barrel denigrate the effort?

The News also argued the recall will cost Michigan taxpayers even more because it requires an expensive special election. It must be embarrassing for those constantly proclaiming the need to tax and spend in greater fullness and glory to have to resort to charging that the cost of an election is too much for the taxpayers to bear.

Except, oops, the charge just isn’t true. The regularly scheduled August primary will piggyback the recall vote. No special election necessary.

Meanwhile, an unscientific Detroit News cyber-poll shows more than 80 percent in favor of recalling Dillon. Oh, well, we’ve grown used to editorial boards being as out of touch as the politicians and special interests.

What we haven’t grown used to — and let’s hope we never do — are campaigns of voter harassment run by elected officials and state workers sworn to serve the public. In two past columns, I’ve detailed some of these anti-democratic antics, especially in the speaker’s district. Blockers include Dillon staffers from Lansing, supposedly on their off hours and vacation time, coming into the district to harass petitioners. Continued...