February 11th: Wisconsin Day!

One year ago today, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and the Koch brothers unleashed their assault on the rights of our public workers, our education, our poor, our health, and nearly everything else Wisconsin values.

One year ago today, the people of Wisconsin stood up to Walker and his rich corporate interests in historic fashion. The Wisconsin Wave has declared February 11th a new holiday - Wisconsin Day. We began the first big protests of the United States in recent history and that energy later led to the 99% and Occupy Wall Street movements. Wisconsin Wave is holding a rally noon today at the Capitol to mark the first Wisconsin Day!'

Rallies start today at 10:30am marching from the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce to the Capitol in the Bury the Mining Bill Feeder March until the Wisconsin Day rally at noon.

From the Wisconsin Wave:

February 11th is the one-year anniversary of the day Walker and his funders launched their all out assault against everything that makes Wisconsin a great place to live, work, and learn. It also marks the anniversary of the day the people of Wisconsin rose up in mass protest to not only “kill the bill,” but also to demand an end to the many economic and social injustices present in our society.

Come celebrate this historic day with a rally hosted by the Wisconsin Wave to mark a new holiday- Wisconsin Day! Speakers will address the challenges and opportunities the grassroots social movement born a year ago faces moving forward.

The rally will also serve as a launching point for a “No More Stolen Elections” campaign which will work to ensure future elections are free of voter suppression and the intentional manipulation of election results.

Speakers include: Peter Barca, State Assembly Rep.; Mahlon Mitchell, Professional Firefighters of WI; John Nichols, Capital Times & The Nation; Charity Schmidt, UW-Madison TAA; Leland Pan, UW-Madison student government, Ben Manski, Liberty Tree Foundation; John Peck, Family Farm Defenders and others!

RSVP/spread the word on facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/events/318774838159369/

This event is part of an Anniversary Week of Action to celebrate the Wisconsin Uprising. Click here for more info!

Scott Walker Begins Implementing Unpublished Collective Bargaining Bill

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch is beginning to implement the changes in the collective bargaining bill despite the bill being unpublished and under judicial examination. These changes include the reduction in wages and increased benefit payments, which have already been entered in the computer system for the current pay period. Huebsch says he believes that it's his "legal responsibility to begin enactment of the law." However, according to the agency which published the bill online, their action did not enact the law.

In fact, the agency states, and all of the relevant legal experts believe that the Secretary of State must publish the bill before it can be considered law, this is why the administration is appealing a judge's court order. The judge put a temporary restraining order on the Secretary of State, barring him from publishing the bill. If the Walker administration felt that they could simply ask the Legislative Fiscal Bureau to enact the collective bargaining bill instead of waiting until the Secretary of State can do so, why bother appealing? The administration needs to stop wasting tax payer money and drop the appeal, or they need to acknowledge that the bill is not law.

Wisconsin LRB Publishes Collective Bargaining Law Against Judge and Sec State Order

The Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau published the bill stripping collective bargaining rights from most public workers today even though the legality of that action is in question. There's a current standing restraining order from Dane County Judge Sumi preventing the bill's publication, and the Secretary of State Doug La Follette ordered the LRB to not publish the bill after receiving the court order. I'm not sure who exactly controls the LRB, but it looks like the Walker administration will bend any rule or law they feel necessary to strip these rights from good hard-working people. We know that the bill won't save any money, so why must it be published when so much controversy still surrounds it?

The law is being sent to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. So, it's even more important that you vote for JoAnne Kloppenburg on Tuesday, April 5 if you support workers' rights.

Update: (6:58pm) It appears that the bill doesn't become law by the LRB publishing it on their website, though the Republicans would like you to think so. As far as I understand it, this changes nothing. Either way, it's odd that the LRB would publish the bill on their website against order from the Secretary of State.

Please Email Scott Walker

It's always so interesting how things can get "twisted". Scott Walker has been saying on television that the emails that he's been getting have been mostly supportive. Well the truth is starting to come out little by little.

A few days ago a group that did a sample of the emails confirmed that was the case. Then they removed the out of state emails (which were approximately 20% - the Koch brothers are out of state, aren't they?) Then the margin was much closer. Today a new analasis was done starting AFTER the incorrectly named Budget Repair Bill was announced and it is 2:1 AGAINST! Now that makes sense!!! That matches what the polls were showing.

I have not emailed Scott Walker at all - he already told the fake Koch brother that he was not changing his mind, not backing down ("backing down" is a subject for another post on what makes Scott Walker tick), that's why I have not emailed him.

Well it seems like the emails to Scott Walker are now something that matters - not from a perspective of changing his mind, but rather for polling reasons. So, please join me in emailing him!!! Let him know what you think of the "fake" Budget Repair Bill which was passed illegally and therefore is being held up in the courts, let him know what you think of his Budget bill, and let him know what you think of how he has managed to divide and polarize the state in a way that it never has been.

I just emailed him and let me tell you it felt good!

Here is Scott's email address:

govgeneral@wisconsin.gov

Wisconsin Democrats Vindicated

The only Wisconsin legislators to be found in violation of a law are the Republicans. Today, Dane County Judge Maryann Sumi blocked the collective bargaining bill, because it was passed in violation of the open meetings law. Though the decision is preliminary, the judge pretty much put the nail in the coffin when she said that she saw no evidence that 24-hour notice couldn't have been given. Unless the Republicans can pull a rabbit out of their hat, they will ultimately be found in violation of the open meetings law.

The judge stated that the law's 24-hour notice is "not a minor detail" and that nothing in government should be done in secret, emphasizing the law's importance when dealing with controversial issues. "The open meetings law exists to ensure open government in controversial matters." The protests around the state the last few weeks have made it clear how controversial and unpopular the bill was, but the Republicans wanted to shove this unpopular and controversial bill down our throats any way they could.

Upon hearing the judge's preliminary decision, Secretary of State Doug La Follette reiterated the judge's ruling and his reasoning for cautious movement on publishing the bill, "All along I've tried to judiciously and carefully follow the law in a prudent way," La Follette said. "As the arguments this morning made clear and the judge I think made clear, this is a momentous activity on the part of the state. This is not some minor piece of legislation. And because of that the open meetings law was very significant and should be taken very seriously."

During the meeting in question, Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca stood trying to read the legal opinion from Republican Attorney General Van Hollen which stated that what they were doing was in violation of the open meetings law, but Fitzgerald and the other Republicans blatantly ignored Barca as if he was a fly in the room. They continued with their business, voting and walking out of the room while Barca was still trying to finish. The Republicans didn't want to even acknowledge that a law such as the open meetings law existed, and they were hoping no one was paying enough attention. Fortunately, for democracy and workers' rights, lots of people were paying lots of attention.

There's talk that Walker might appeal, but I'll say this now. The Walker administration won't appeal, because they know they won't win. If they do, they'll show they lack even more common sense than I thought. Instead, if they decide to try to strip the rights of public workers again, they'll do it through the legislative process. So, we must continue communicating with our legislators and filling out recall petitions. Next time around, the Republicans in the majority should think about the people of Wisconsin instead of their corporate donors in D.C..

Barca, who tried his hardest to stop the Republican-led committee from violating the open meetings law, and the other Wisconsin Democrats have been vindicated. The Wisconsin Democrats have shown that they support democracy and workers' rights, while the Republicans tried to rush through a corporate sponsored bill with no regard for the law. The Republicans would like you to think the Wisconsin 14 did something illegal by leaving the state, but it's the Republicans who will ultimately be found in violation of the law.

Update: (2:09pm) Just saw that the administration is requesting an appeal.

Dane County judge halts collective bargaining law

From the Journal Sentinal -

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/118242109.html

Can't Protest At The Capitol? You Can Help A Lot

Yesterday, my mom told me that my cousin from Oconto Falls was looking for more information about what's going on at the Capitol. She also told my mom that she wishes she could come down to the Capitol, but with work and a family with kids she just can't make it. My mom asked me to send my cousin the link to my blog (my mom's better at computers than she thinks). As I began to write my cousin an email, I realized that there's lots of ways that she can have a meaningful effect right where she lives, some of which she might not know about. I wrote everything I could think of, and sent the email. Then I thought that there might be a lot of other people wishing and asking the same things. So, if you can't make it to the Capitol in Madison but want to show your support for Wisconsin's public workers, these are some things you can do where you live that I believe can have a real impact.

(1) First and foremost, find out if you live in one of the Republican 8 senate districts, the eight Republican senators who voted against workers' rights and can be recalled now. If even three Republicans are recalled, the law may get repealed (Walker can still veto if he dares). We have less than 60 days to collect enough signatures to have a recall election for each senator. So it's important that we get as many signatures as quickly as possible. WisconsinRecall.net is the best place I've found to go for information on the recall campaigns. Make sure you sign, and get as many other people you know in your district to sign. Then, watch the news for when the recall election will be held, and vote.

(2) You can help spread the word. Look at the map here. If you think you know anyone who is in one of the red areas and supports workers' rights, tell them that their state senator may be up for recall and to sign the recall form and later vote. Facebook can be a great way to easily spread the word.

(3) There's a major election for Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice on April 5th. Prosser, alleged Tea Party conservative and the current justice, was appointed by Gov. Tommy Thompson and most likely supports Walker, but now we can choose who we want to serve in his position (he ran unchallenged in 2001). His opponent, JoAnne Kloppenburg has said she's independent and will judge cases based on the facts of the law not ideology, and she most likely supports workers' rights.

A vote for Kloppenburg is a vote against Walker. Especially, since the law might be taken to the Supreme Court. Currently, the court is split in Walker's favor, but with Prosser out and Kloppenburg in, it could split the other way. If Kloppenburg wins, which may not be very likely given the massive corporate support Prosser has as we've seen with Walker, it will be a strong message that Walker is wrong. Kloppenburg can't accept donations, because she's using public financing. So you can help by volunteering, spreading the word, and voting for JoAnne Kloppenburg on April 5th.

(4) There may be other local elections on April 5th in your district with candidates who are for or against workers' rights. If you don't know how they stand, try to ask the candidate, so that all the voters know. Then vote for the candidates who support workers' rights.

(5) You may not be able to make it to the Capitol, but there are lot's of protests and events throughout the state. The best site I've found for information on events around the state is here.

(6) Tell people why unions are good. I think we as a country have forgotten the value of unions. People want to know why this whole "collective bargaining thing" matters. So it's a great time to talk about it because people are listening. If you're in a union, talk about what it means to you to be in a union, and what you get out of it, and don't forget to mention that anyone in Wisconsin can join a union. If you're a public worker, you can also talk about the value of your work, why you do what you do, and you can talk about how this law will affect you. Your story matters. Facebook is good for this, too.

Lot's of really good people are doing everything they can to help. I hope things get better, but I believe now is one of those times when action can really make a difference. The energy at the protests is unbelievable, and you see that on people's faces, hear it from people as you pass by, and are told by people who are much wiser than myself that they haven't seen Madison like this since the 60's, if even then. People from truly all walks of life show up, with no more men than women, both young and old, rich through poor, there's no better characterization than Wisconsin. We can all help each other by spreading this energy across the state, like it already appears to be.

Wisconsin 14 at the Capitol Saturday with Potpourri of Events

Events are being scheduled for all day long Saturday. Starting at 8am, citizens with the group People Organizing Wisconsin for Education and workers’ Rights (P.O.W.E.R.) will be walking from Milwaukee to Madison in 3 shifts, arriving in Madison on Sunday at about 2pm. Check out the route for further details.

The event that's received the most attention is the "tractorcade," which was moved from noon to 10am. "Tractors will take John Nolan Drive into Madison starting around 9:45 am and will circle the State Capitol once between 10:00 am and 11:00 am. Speakers will address the rally after the tractorcade, beginning around 12:00."

From noon to 3pm there's the "March on the Capitol" rally held by the AFT-Wisconsin union at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. entrance.

Starting at 1pm, you can run around the Capitol square as part of the "Run, Dems, Run!" protest run of 14 laps. They say this is 8 miles! But of course you don't have to run the entire 14 laps. The run starts at the State Street corner.

Art workers will march from the Overture Center to the Capitol at 2pm.

The big rally with the Wisconsin 14 begins at 3pm with music and speakers. Actor Tony Shaloub, whose sister is a teacher in his native Green Bay, is the keynote speaker. The Wisconsin 14 will be speaking as well as

• Reverend Jerry Folk
• AFL-CIO President Phil Neuenfeldt and IAMAW President Tom Buffenburger with Liz Shuler, Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO; Paul Moyst, president of the Canadian Labour Congress; and Ed Hill, president of IBEW.
• AFSCME Council 24 President Marty Biel
• WEAC speakers Guy Costello a South Milwaukee School District teacher and Heather Terrill-Stotts, principal of Arena Elementary School.
• SEIU speaker – Anna Zachow
• Firefighter President Mahlon Mitchell
• Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca
• AFT speaker – Jeff Myers
• Voces de la Frontera exec director Christine Neumann Ortiz
• Sheila Cochran from the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists
• WEAC President Mary Bell

I believe Jim Hightower will also be at the rally, and he will be at the Barrymore Theater with other guests from 7pm-10pm. From the Google Calendar event:

America's #1 Populist, Jim Hightower, is coming to Madison to rally for Wisconsin workers! He will be joined by the co-founder of Fighting Bob Fest Ed Garvey, U.S Representative Tammy Baldwin, and Progressive Magazine editors Ruth Coniff and Matt Rothschild. This event is free of charge and open to the public.

Other events around the state can be found here.

I found most of this info at defendwisconsin.org.

Why Were Collective Bargaining Rights Stripped?

I must ask, since stripping collective bargaining rights from public employees doesn't save any money, why were these rights stripped?

Until Wednesday, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and the Republicans in the legislature insisted that collective bargaining rights needed to be stripped from public employees in order to save money and balance the budget. We've been saying all along that collective bargaining rights for public workers don't affect the budget, because legislators set the budget, not public workers.

The reason that the Wisconsin 14 were able to deny the vote by leaving the state is because bills which have a fiscal impact require three-fifths of the Wisconsin Senate to reach a quorum, the number of senators required to be present to conduct a vote. This number is one senator short of the total number of Republicans in the Wisconsin Senate. So, by leaving the state, the Wisconsin 14 used their last resort through constitutional means to prevent the vote on the budget repair bill. If the bill didn't have a fiscal impact, the Republicans could have voted on the bill themselves.

The Wisconsin 14 left the state, because they felt it was unnecessary and immoral to strip people's rights for nothing more than ideological and political reasons. The unions gave into the deep financial concessions in the bill within the first week of its introduction, adding further weight to the Democrats' argument. The only thing the Republicans needed to do to get the Democrats to come back and move forward was remove the unnecessary provisions that repeal collective bargaining rights for public workers from the bill. Then, the Wisconsin 14 had said they would vote on whatever resulted from the subsequent negotiations. So, it's obvious how the impasse could have been resolved, and in fact the Democrats proposed an alternative budget repair bill that saved more money than the Republicans' and retained everyone's rights. However, the Republicans refused to remove the repeal of their citizens' rights, citing the need to save money.

It was clear that the Republicans were dead-set on stripping rights from public workers. It was also clear that their argument for stripping these rights was based on the necessity to save money. If stripping public workers' rights to collectively bargain saves money, then it has a fiscal impact and requires a quorum of three-fifths of the Senate to vote on. The Republicans said it themselves. The Republicans were asked many times why they didn't separate out the truly non-fiscal collective bargaining provisions and vote on them without the Democrats, as they did Wednesday. Their response was always that they couldn't do it because it saves money and therefore has a fiscal impact.

Then, abruptly and after three weeks of stalemate, when it looked like the Republicans are about to acknowledge the majority of Wisconsinites, the Republicans held a meeting and declared that the collective bargaining provisions have no fiscal impact, removed the fiscal provisions from the budget repair bill, and then voted on the bill, all within a few minutes. This is the only way they could vote on the provisions without at least one of the Wisconsin 14 present. Well, they didn't need to do it so abruptly, but instead just by separating the non-fiscal collective bargaining policy provisions from the fiscal provisions. So the Republicans confirmed that stripping collective bargaining rights from public workers won't save money and admitted they were lying in just a few minutes. Now we know for certain, by legal means, that it's unnecessary to strip collective bargaining rights from public workers.

This question needs to be asked over and over until we get a straight answer. Unfortunately, I fear Wisconsin Republicans stripped away rights of most of its public workers for the benefit of the few very rich. Since collective bargaining rights for public employees don't affect the budget, why were their rights stripped?

Update: (April 21, 8:30am) Walker testified in front of the U.S. Congress on April 14th, and he was asked if stripping collective bargaining rights saved money. As reported by many including The CapTimes, Walker admitted, "It doesn't save any."

We already knew this, but it was nice for Walker to stop lying and admit it. However, we still don't know exactly why the Republicans voted for this bill. Since stripping collective bargaining rights from public employees "doesn't save any" money, why did the Republicans vote to strip those rights?

Update: (May 24, 2012) We now know that this was part of Walker's "Divide and Conquer" plan to eliminate all unions in Wisconsin, which he privately told to a Beloit billionaire heiress a month before releasing his so-called "budget repair bill."

Video of Wisconsin Assembly Republicans Stripping Collective Bargaining Rights

The Republican tricks continue, possibly illegal tricks. For the second time on a vote to strip collective bargaining rights from public employees, Republicans cut off debate. Here's the, as you can imagine, short clip from WisconsinEye.



I must ask, if collective bargaining rights for public employees have no fiscal impact, why were these rights stripped?

Is The Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill Unconstitutional?

Several complaints have been filed with the Dane County District Attorney and the State Attorney General regarding Wednesday's vote to strip rights from public workers. All of the complaints state that the Republicans violated the Open Meetings law and ask that all actions taken in the meeting be voided.

However, that's not the only issue with the bill stripping collective bargaining rights from public workers. According to the Daily Kos, there are two other rules that the Republicans violated, but most of all the bill itself may be unconstitutional. When the Republicans removed all of the fiscal provisions from the bill, they accidentally or intentionally left a few fiscal provisions. The first is the reductions in the benefits of public employees, and the second is a provision that allows the state to sell its power plants without asking for bids. I need to look, but does anyone else know if there a severability clause in the bill?

There's definitely more to come on this front, but no matter what, we have to keep voicing our thoughts, because the best we can get before a recall is a re-vote. So we'll want to make sure the next time around the Republicans know where the majority of Wisconsinites stand.

Update: (3/14/2011 10:10pm) The provision to sell state power plants was not left in the bill.

Wisconsin Assembly Passes Bill Stripping Rights

If you're late to the party like I am, this may be news to you. At the most inconvenient time, I had other business besides the battle in Madison this afternoon and evening. So, unsurprisingly, I checked the news when I returned and the Assembly passed the bill which was passed last night by the Senate stripping collective bargaining rights from most public employees.

I'm sure this was a spectacle, too. So I plan to post a video as soon as I find one. According to WisPolitics, the Republicans cut off debate before every Democrat had their chance to speak again.

The Capitol building is being cleared for another night. Some protesters are being carried or dragged out, but no arrests have been reported. Capitol Police Chief Tubbs has promised, "The building will be open at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning."

Video of Republicans Stripping Collective Bargaining Rights

Reminiscent of the tricks used in the Assembly to pass the provisions to strip collective bargaining rights for public employees, the Senate snuck a vote to strip those same rights. Here's the video from WisconsinEye you must see.



Michael Moore asked on MSNBC anyone within 50 miles of Madison to drive to the Capitol now. He gave a very emotional call to come out tonight and tomorrow.

Democrats Come Home To Defend Wisconsin

Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller says, "It’s time for us to join the fight back in Wisconsin," Miller said. "It’s now a political fight that will be decided at the ballot box."
Senator Erpenbach said on MSNBC that he believes the vote will end up in court. The video is ridiculous. Check it out on WisconsinEye.

Update: (8:15pm) Senator Erpenbach on Rachel Maddow says that there are more tricks the Republicans can play. So the entire Wisconsin 14 will remain out of the state.

Wisconsin Senate Republicans Strip Collective Bargaining Rights

Late this afternoon, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald called a special session of the Senate for 6pm this evening. Apparently, they voted for the budget repair bill without the presence of the Democrats. Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca says the actions are most likely illegal and plans to request the AG investigate. Barca said, "It is a continuation of a pattern of a naked abuse of power." The fiscal provisions were removed from the bill, leaving the stripping of collective bargaining rights for public employees and possibly other policy provisions.

If the Republicans have any legal standing to vote on this bill, it means it has no fiscal impact. Read that again, collective bargaining rights have no fiscal impact.

Update: Chris Matthews is calling it the "Ash Wednesday Ambush."

According to Barca on MSNBC, the law states that the Republicans need to give 24 hours notice before such a meeting. Without such notice, the vote is illegal. However, the only recourse will be to have the Republicans give proper notice and re-vote. Now's the time to contact your representatives and let them know how you feel.

The overwhelming majority of Wisconsinites asked for compromise, and this is what we get?

Update: The bill is here. The stripping of collective bargaining rights for public employees remains, as well as all of the union-busting provisions. We were told these provisions are needed to balance the budget, but they couldn't be voted on if they have a fiscal impact. So why did the Republicans just strip collective bargaining rights from public employees when Wisconsin strongly opposes that?

Miller Gives Republicans Three Choices

In a letter to Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican leaders of the Assembly and Senate, Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller gave the Republicans three choices. The choices reflect our wishes and the polls from the beginning. They can "restore the collective bargaining rights" in the budget repair bill. If they want to save more money, they can scrap Walker's budget repair bill for the Democrats' alternative. If neither of those two options seem satisfying enough to the Republicans, Miller gave them the third option of continuing to "keep lines of communication closed."

We've been saying it all along, Republicans, the ball is in your court. It's time to show at least a little leadership and move Wisconsin Forward.

Here's the letter from Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller:

Dear Governor Walker, Majority Leader Fitzgerald and Speaker Fitzgerald:  

After three weeks of discussions, debate and unprecedented input on proposed budget adjustment legislation, the people have clearly said they want us to reach a negotiated settlement that protects worker rights.  It appears there are now three options before us. 

With an agreement between all parties, the bill currently before the Senate could be amended. Limited, preliminary discussions have occurred and, as you know, the Senate Democratic caucus would support modifications that restore collective bargaining rights for Wisconsin workers. 

Yesterday, Assembly and Senate Democrats offered a clean slate bill that resolves our fiscal issues and accepts the economic concessions workers have offered to make. Taking up this bill would allow everyone to move forward without anyone having to take back votes or cross lines in the sand.
  
Or, despite overwhelming public support for a negotiated settlement that preserves worker rights, you could keep lines of communication closed.   

We look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible to discuss our options to move Wisconsin forward. 

Sincerely,
State Senator Mark Miller

WI Dems' Budget Saves Money and Unions

The Democrats in the Wisconsin Senate have introduced a bill similar to the bill introduced by the Democrats in the Assembly which fixes our budget's fiscal issues, keeps collective bargaining rights for public employees, and saves more money than Walker's plan. The previous alternative budget repair bill failed in the Assembly a few weeks ago. So here's to hoping the Republicans have been paying attention now. The alternative bill is proof that the collective bargaining rights have no effect on the budget, but it also shows where the Republicans' priorities are.

Here's the press release, a memo on the bill, and the alternative bill.

Wisconsin Republicans Should, But Don't Compromise

Republican Senator Rob Cowles told the Green Bay Press Gazette that he believes the Republicans should be willing to compromise on collective bargaining and other non-fiscal provisions in the budget repair bill. “The important part is the monetary concessions. That’s the part that helps balance the budget. The other things are less monetary in nature,” said Cowles, who is the latest Republican to admit collective bargaining doesn't affect the budget. I'm glad to see two Republicans now think we can negotiate on non-fiscal items. Yet, there are many ways a budget can be balanced, and even though the Republicans insist they know best, based on their latest behavior, I'm skeptical to say the least.

Instead of compromising, the Republicans seem like they're just sticking their fingers in their ears and shouting near obscenities. Last night I commented on the dramatic difference in behavior between Rep. Cory Mason (D) and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R) on MSNBC's The Last Word. By the end of the interview, Fitzgerald was so agitated that it made me uncomfortable. I attributed the behavior to the massive public pressure the Republicans are under. Today, The Cap Times has an editorial comparing Senator Mark Miller's (D) letter to Fitzgerald with Fitzgerald's letter in response, and they noticed the same stark contrast in tone. Fitzgerald's behavior is reminiscent of Charlie Sheen. Would Fitzgerald be acting this way if he truly felt he was on the right side of history?

Fitzgerald isn't the only Republican acting up. Republicans U.S. Representative Jim Sensenbrenner and Wisconsin Senator Leah Vukmir walked out on a town hall after about 30 minutes, because they didn't want to talk about the issues with the budget repair bill.



Meanwhile, the Wisconsin Democratic Party say they have reached 15% of the required number of signatures to recall the Republican 8 in the first weekend, and Republican Senator Dan Kapanke said he figures they'll get enough. So, it seems the Koch addiction is strong, confusing the Republicans into political suicide instead of standing up for the rights of Wisconsin workers.

A Day At The Madison Workers' Rights Protests

I went to the protests at the Capitol today, and I wanted to share some thoughts.

The atmosphere hasn't changed much since the first week, everyone is still upbeat and social. There was a little more optimism in the air than the previous week.

I love that people bring their dogs. I've seen more types of dogs in the last few weeks than I probably have all year.

The musicians are one of the best parts of the protests. No matter where you walk, you can hear music.

The speakers are always emotional, thought-provoking, entertaining, and energizing, even on cold days. Today we were treated to a few surprise musicians at the podium following the speakers. Everyone who's involved in those "productions" does a superb job. Though, we did a pretty good job ourselves the first few days, too.

As I mentioned in another post, there is a very large number of police at the Capitol compared to previous weeks. Odd, considering, as I'm sure Walker will point out, the crowds weren't nearly as large as the 100,000-plus crowds the last two weekends. Many of the officers are not from the area, as you can tell from their uniforms, and some are State Police who were present before. All of the police I ran into were cheerful and courteous, but they do look like "palace guards" in the sheer number of them walking around.

I finally got into the Capitol building for the first time since the metal detectors showed up. I didn't feel like waiting in the long lines, but today I snuck in when the line was short. All of the signs have been removed from the Capitol building walls. We were told by the Capitol Police Chief Charles Tubbs that all of the signs would stay. That's very disappointing. I asked the clerk at the information desk why the signs were removed, and she said, "The DOA has the final say."

Wisconsin Republicans Should Be In Contempt, Not Wisconsin 14

The Republicans in the Wisconsin State Senate voted unanimously Thursday to approve a resolution finding the Wisconsin 14 in contempt of the Senate and ordering their arrest. However, this doesn't mean they're committing any criminal act, and the Wisconsin State Constitution explicitly prohibits their arrest except for in a few special cases that clearly haven't occurred. The Republicans can execute any lawful action to "compel" the WI 14 to return, but they cannot be arrested. By leaving the state, the Wisconsin 14 aren't doing anything illegal. If they were, they would've been extradited from Illinois. In fact, they're supporting democracy and doing exactly what the Founding Fathers encouraged.

This all has to do with something called a quorum. A quorum is the fewest number of members that must be present in the Wisconsin Senate in order to do various things. That number is different depending upon what the Senate is doing. To vote on fiscal matters, the number needed to reach a quorum is 20, three-fifths of the Senate under Section 8 of Article VIII of the Wisconsin Constitution. Even though the Republicans have a majority with 19 members, they can't vote on the budget repair bill themselves because they can't reach a quorum.

Quorums are written into the Wisconsin Constitution and the United States Constitution to protect us. The problem is that we have a democracy in the United States and the State of Wisconsin, but we don't directly vote on bills. We have a representative democracy. So representatives can get elected, and then vote differently than they campaigned. We don't want to elect a small majority of representatives who said one thing to get elected, but when elected pass laws they never talked about and most of us don't want. So how can that be prevented?

This issue was debated openly in the Federalist Papers and other writings, as well as most likely in writing the Wisconsin Constitution. The U.S. Senate has a few ways to delay or prevent a bill from passing, including the filibuster. The filibuster is a power unique to the U.S. Senate. We have quorums for the other legislative bodies in the United States and the State of Wisconsin to protect us.

By requiring a minimum number of senators to vote, a quorum can protect us from senators who wish to impose laws that are opposed by the majority of the public. The Wisconsin Constitution specifically states that three-fifths of the Senate must be present for a quorum on fiscal matters. This was done in part to protect us from a small majority of senators who aren't following the will of the majority of the people. Unless three-fifths of the Senate believes a fiscal bill is worthy of a vote, it should not take place. So senators can deny a quorum to protect the public and prevent such a bill from passing.

Denying a quorum is a tactic that should only be used as a last resort to stop widely unpopular laws created by a representative majority, and clearly this is such a time. Still, there can be penalties for denying a quorum, because we don't want them happening often. Otherwise, we may never get anything done.

The ultimate penalty comes from the voices and actions of the public. Legislators who deny a quorum for an unpopular vote will suffer little, if any, backlash from the public. In fact, as we've seen in Wisconsin, they can receive significant support. Yet, legislators who deny a quorum for a more popular vote will be persuaded by the public to return, as we've seen in other cases.

The Republicans in Wisconsin never mentioned their desire to eliminate collective bargaining rights during their campaigns. They received a majority representation in both the Assembly and the Senate, as well as the governorship for various other reasons, but not to eliminate collective bargaining rights for public employees. Had they campaigned to eliminate those rights, they probably wouldn't have a majority or the governorship. The Wisconsin 14 are rightfully preventing this small number of people from passing a law that the majority of Wisconsinites strongly oppose.

The Republicans are trying to eliminate rights that were fought long and hard for like many other rights we revere and enjoy. This political fight is clearly not about the money. If anyone is in contempt of our Senate, it's the Republicans for trying to force an unpopular vote by personally threatening these people. However, I'm not sure that falls under the legal definition of contempt either.

On a lighter note, the Republicans may remember that Abraham Lincoln jumped out of a window to deny a quorum in 1841. That's probably why the windows of the Capitol were recently bolted shut.

Update: (3/6/2011) The CapTimes has an article that includes a quote from a law firm confirming my assertion that the Republicans have no basis to arrest the Wisconsin 14. From a legal analysis conducted by the law firm of Cullen, Weston, Pines & Bach, "None of the 14 absent senators has been charged with a crime. Nor has any crime occurred. The Wisconsin Senate has absolutely no authority to order any of its members arrested or taken into custody in order to compel their attendance."

I'd like to add that I believe the Republicans knew they didn't have the authority when they wrote the resolution calling for the arrest of the Wisconsin 14. Instead of actually using the arrest authority, they just wanted all of the headlines in the news media to say "arrest" and "Democrats." The tactic could help them change the tone and content of the conversation, swaying people's opinions against the Democrats. Even if they have the authority, it ends at the Wisconsin border. So it really was a toothless attack from the beginning. The bottom line remains that the Democrats are doing exactly what democracy requires in this situation.

Note: I'm not a lawyer, and these are my reasoned opinions that I believe to be correct based on my research of news and legal opinions/writings and my beliefs in democracy. If you believe I'm incorrect, please say so.