The Democrats were just flinging poo at the wall yesterday, to see what would stick. Meekhof was carefully managing his majority so as not to lose votes. At the Federal level, Senate leadership has been described as "herding cats". The egos of Michigan Senators are no less colossal. Changes to the predetermined game plan can produce very unintended consequences.
Note that the Senate Democrats utterly failed yesterday, while the Dark Prince got exactly what he wanted out of the process. Squeaky wheels often do not get greased.