Posted on 02/18/2011 8:37:52 AM PST by bronxville
The Dems' tantrum
In a snit, Senate Democrats run and hide - making a mockery of the democratic process.
Democrats in the state Senate threw a temper tantrum Thursday - essentially they took their ball and went home.
Actually, they didn't go home. They apparently went to Illinois, just out of reach of their obligations.
By boycotting an expected vote on Gov. Scott Walker's budget repair bill, they were able to prevent action on the measure. Twenty senators are required for a quorum; the Republicans have only 19.
The Walker plan is deeply divisive. We're not supportive of some aspects of the bill, either, including those that will make it nearly impossible for unions to negotiate. And we think that police and firefighter unions should not be excluded as they are now. But public worker benefits need to be reined in, and Walker is right to target them.
State Sen. Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee), apparently with plenty of time on her hands Thursday afternoon, posted on her Facebook page, "brb," slang for "be right back." Too bad she and her colleagues weren't.
One leading Democrat - Obama was his name, as we recall - put it well after winning the White House in 2008: "Elections have consequences," he told Republicans at the time. Indeed they do. The Democrats' childish prank mocks the democratic process...
Looks like even Politco is wising up. Hard to believe.
Lock their offices. Fire their staffs. Post armed citizens to prevent attempts at re-entry. Issue warrants for their arrest. Extradite them to Wisconsin. Jail them pending trial. Call for a special election to replace them.
Well, the MSM knows ultimately it will backfire. Imagine being a hard-working mom or dad and gone 7:30am to 5:30pm and day after day, you have no idea where your kid(s) are hanging out, all because their teachers are spending the ENTIRE DAY “demonstrating.”
Yikes! I posted the wrong source...I’ll let the mod know...
http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/116434554.html
Thanks!!! You know them well. I never go to their site so I don’t know how this happened.
The Wisconsin legislature should use the opportunity to start passing all manner of hard-core conservative legislation that requires only a simple majority. (That is, stuff that would normally lose some Republican votes in addition to all the Democrats and thus not pass.) But if its the type of legislation that only requires a simple majority of the legislature, then they only need 10 of the 19 Rep. senators (out of the total Senate of 33) to pass at the moment. Make the Democrats wish they’d never thought of this stupid stunt.
This happened in Texas a while back, same pattern.
This happened in Texas a while back, same pattern.
After having lied by calling in sick. Pictures should be taken of as many of the protesting teachers as possible, and sent around to the various school districts by means of the internet. Then parents can show the children which of their teachers didn't tell the truth when they "called in sick" and kept them from going to school.
Did you do that...? Excellent!
Should give Illinois republicans some grooovey ideas..
Could you please get this out there - that's a target in the middle of his forehead...hosepipe - like what...?
There Must be some legal way to strip them of their formal positions and hold a replacement election ASAP, or have the Gov appoint their replacements (better yet).
Maybe they could conduct impeachment hearings ASAP?
Somehow the Law HAS GOT to have some Provision for handling a State Senator who is willfully and openly delict in his duty to perform responsibilities of his seat.
Simply using this mechanism the bring a halt to Government because they don’t have the voting power to get their outcome MUST HAVE CONSEQUENCES!!!!!!
Use the Freaking LAW for God Sakes and do it NOW.
The Liberals can’t be allowed to deploy a new tactic that we can’t and don’t ever use as a Means to their Ends.
Democrats, taking their vote and going home when they don’t like the results of democratic elections.
Walkers bombing them silly.. the lamentations of their women sounds good..
There is a need for a 3/5ths quorum ONLY for tax/appropriations bills. For bills that do not involve Wisc spending money, only a simple majority is needed for a quorum.
All the Repubs need to do is word their bills as non-appropriations bills, pass them, and send them to the Gov for signature. Bills like removing a need for the state to forward union dues is not an appropriation.
People should put pressure on the Repub senators to declare a quorum for non-fiscal bills and just start passing an agenda rapid-fire. Starting with making Wisc a right-to-work state, and passing Vermont-style no-license CCW.
Where are all those liberals who said, in response to the Tea Party, that dissent was unpatriotic?
“In a snit, Senate Democrats run and hide - making a mockery of the democratic process.
Democrats in the state Senate threw a temper tantrum Thursday - essentially they took their ball and went home.
Actually, they didn’t go home. They apparently went to Illinois, just out of reach of their obligations.”
They fled to Illinois so as to be “out of reach” of Governor Walker’s power to order state troopers to hunt them down and return them to the state capital for a vote. The presence of only one of them is needed to obtain the quorum for that vote, and if I’ve read the news reports correctly, EVERY SINGLE ONE of the ‘rat state senators has fled Wisconsin.
Very well. The ball is in the governor’s court now, and I believe he and the Republican state senate still have options.
The governor and the heads of the Wisconsin senate (and house?) should hold a joint news conference.
In it, they should announce that the pending legislation will be “first order of business” in the Wisconsin state house from this day forward. That is to say, whenever a ‘rat senator appears in the state house, both houses will be immediately called to vote on the bill-at-hand. (Not sure of Wisconsin state rules regarding such, but it will be up to the Republican leaders to keep this “at the fore” — provided they have the internal constitutional fortitude to keep the pressure on.)
Next, the governor should publicly announce that any ‘rat state senator found within state borders by his officers (state police) will be gently, but forcibly, returned to the state house, “for their own protection” if need be.
Finally, and I’m not sure if he has the legal authority to do this, the governor should state — that because the state government is in session and because the ‘rat senators have voluntary chosen to absent themselves not only from the statehouse but from the _state_ as well — they are derelict of duty and he will use whatever authority his office has to suspend their pay and benefits until they return to such duty. Again, not sure if he has the power to do so, but I suspect that buried somewhere in the state laws there may lie a provision as such.
This is one of the most important ideological battles to arise in recent years.
Our side can, and WILL, win — but only if they have the fortitude and courage to fight for that win.
Of course, we know how much of a struggle Republicans have put up in the past when the lies of the media hate machine are targeted against them.
Let’s see what happens this time....
This is a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial.
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