Fitzgerald was starting to look like a stubborn animal used to transport things, if people hadn't thought he looked that way already. Even though the Wisconsin 14 have been back in the state for days, Fitzgerald was still insisting that the Democrats were somehow deterring the business of the Senate. He went so far as to say he wouldn't count the Democrats' votes.
There's been an outcry from the Democrats, newspapers, blogs, and I'm sure many calls and emails, and Fitzgerald wasn't making the Republicans look good. Then, this afternoon the Republicans voted to rescind the penalties for the contempt finding, and Fitzgerald said he would allow the Democrats their vote. It was just yesterday afternoon that Fitzgerald sent an email stating the votes of the Wisconsin 14 wouldn't count, and Fitzgerald was still singing that tune this morning (or at least not changing it).
Fitzgerald said he won't enforce and will rescind the contempt finding because the Democrats agreed to not leave the state to deny a quorum again. However, that seems like a weak reason, and Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller told the Journal Sentinel that he hasn't made such an agreement. I'd like to say it was the public pressure, but, given the massive protests against the budget repair bill which had no sway, I doubt it. Fitzgerald probably realized he was hurting his party's image and possibly doing something illegal, and so he decided to quickly pull back. Either way, it's good to have Wisconsin fully represented in the Senate again.
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