Republicans Spent $27,000 On Lawyers To Refuse Collective Bargaining Bill Negotiation

During the debate surrounding the collective bargaining rights-stripping bill, the Republicans spent $26,955 of Wisconsin taxpayer money on lawyers trying to force the Wisconsin 14 back instead of trying to negotiate with them. The Republicans had days and weeks to negotiate, but at every step they insisted they wouldn't. Now we get the bill for their "service to Wisconsin." I call BS! For such a political move, the Republicans shouldn't be using taxpayer money, they should be using campaign or personal money.

Republican attorney Jim Troupis sure is making a lot of money from Prosser, Walker and the rest of the Republicans. It almost looks like Troupis is setting the Republicans up to come crawling back to him every few weeks. Maybe it's time the Republicans find a new attorney, because the powers the Republicans asserted (ability to arrest the Democrats) was false. How did this attorney help Wisconsin? I absolutely forbid my tax money be spent in such a way, especially when these Republicans want to cut our schools and teachers' (fully solvent) pensions to try to dig up money.

The entire cost of any damages to the Capitol building and grounds during the months of protests will likely be less than the few days of legal work for the Republicans. How dare they complain about the costs of hearing the voices of the people of Wisconsin!

Republicans have spent over $200,000 of Wisconsin taxpayer money on private lawyers so far this year, and that number is likely to more than double before the end of summer.

Also, it appears Republican State Senator Alberta Darling hasn't learned her lesson. She says if they don't get their way in the courts, they'll add the collective bargaining bill to the budget, and she'll vote for it.

Mayor Shows What Collective Bargaining Looks Like

Here's a bit of good news. Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz announced today that the city has reached an agreement with the local AFSCME union to extend their contract before the bill stripping their collective bargaining rights becomes law. Mayor Dave said the union offered the financial concessions that were agreed to, saving the city nearly $3 million in 2012. If other unions make similar agreements, the city could save over $10 million in 2012. In the press conference, it's noted that this deal couldn't have been done if it weren't for the Wisconsin 14 leaving the state to give them time. From Mayor Dave in the announcement,

"This is another example of how collective bargaining works for everyone’s interest."

I believe other cities have reached similar agreements with their local unions or are in talks to, because Walker was complaining about cities working with unions to try to reach deals before the bill passed.

Fitzgerald Quickly Changes His Tune

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.

Open Letter: Wisconsin 14 "Made Many Personal Sacrifices"

WisPolitics has posted an open letter from an Illinois couple who the Wisconsin 14 stayed with for a week while trying to prevent the stripping of collective bargaining rights from public employees. The couple describe how they watched the Wisconsin 14 work tirelessly to try to negotiate with the Republicans only to watch "their disappointment as their pleas for negotiation were steadfastly refused.

It was a pleasure to host this group of dedicated and loyal people. We were repeatedly amazed at how hard they worked. They were awake by 4:30 or 5:00 AM and kept working until well past midnight. Each of them made many personal sacrifices and agonized that they were missing events at home, such as birthdays of their children and spouses, children’s school events, funerals, family reunions planned long ago, wedding anniversaries, and many other days that we cherish as families. Their spouses scrambled to take out loans to pay bills at home when their paychecks were withheld. They risked debt and sacrificed time with their own families so that they could represent those they were elected to serve. They spent endless hours returning telephone calls to the people in their districts. Contrary to the contents of some of the newspaper articles we have since read, they attempted daily to negotiate with their Republican colleagues and their Governor, and spent endless hours attempting to contact these legislators. We watched them write these letters at our kitchen table. We watched their disappointment as their pleas for negotiation were steadfastly refused. We, common citizens who previously knew very little about politics, were then amazed to read news releases stating it was the Democratic Senators who were refusing to negotiate."

The rest of the very thoughtful letter is here.

Fitzgerald Won't Allow Wisconsin 14 To Vote

From WisPolitics, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald sent out an email Monday afternoon saying he won't allow the Democrats to vote. He continues to think that the Wisconsin 14 are still in contempt of the Senate, but what else could they possibly do now that they're home? I'd say the Majority Leader's judgement is impaired.

"Please note that all 14 Democrat senators are still in contempt of the Senate. Therefore, when taking roll call votes on amendments and bills during executive sessions, Senate Democrats’ votes will not be reflected in the Records of Committee Proceedings or the Senate Journal. They are free to attend hearings, listen to testimony, debate legislation, introduce amendments, and cast votes to signal their support/opposition, but those votes will not count, and will not be recorded."

Fitzgerald doesn't say in the email how the Wisconsin 14 could reconcile the issue, and I don't think Fitzgerald has the authority to do this. He could care less about ethics, the votes of his peers, and the people of Wisconsin and their rights. Who is this guy?

Update: (10:13am) One Wisconsin Now reports that the Wisconsin 14 represent 2.2 million Wisconsinites who Fitzgerald is attempting to silence by denying their senators a vote.

Scott Walker must stop this abuse of power.

Video of Wisconsin Welcoming the Wisconsin 14 Home

At the big 3pm rally Saturday, I tried walking up the stairs of the Capitol to get a better view, but I got stuck at a rope. After a little while I started to think that was probably where the Wisconsin 14 would walk up. So I stayed and filmed everyone walking by as best I could while trying to shake hands. I think the best part is the large crowd cheering "Thank You" to the senators over and over.

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.

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 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.