Is there anything at all that stops these 14 Wisconsin fleebaggers from just staying away the entire term?
As best I can tell, so long as public opinion in their districts support their actions, these 14 senators who effectively subverting a Democratic election could simply remain in Illinois till the next election.
These 14 are liberals from liberal districts who survived the GOP sweep. Public opinion is mixed at best, and may even be on the unions/democrats side at the moment - so what compels them to come back?
Additionally, since the mainstream media seems to have declared this subversion of democracy a legitimate tactic, might it become necessary for us to do the same thing in states where we are a minority? If this is now how the game is played, we may need to begin considering similar actions. For example, had the GOP left Wisconsin last session, could be have effectively blocked all the Democrat tax increases? Not saying I support these tactics at all, but if the rules of the game have changed, I don’t see how we can avoid playing without using all the same tools the Democrats will use.
Taking this to its logic conclusion, could a minority party simply get elected in a state they can’t win a majority in, and simply fly out of state for the entire term to avoid allowing quorum’s? So long as they are in partisan districts that are happy with the obstruction, what stops this from happening? Hell, the Indiana fleebaggers can’t even explain what they are hiding from, and they are in a red state - yet they are still getting away with it because they have support in their own districts. This could degenerate into the new norm if it is allowed to succeed anywhere.
Perhaps, if they stay away long enough, they may not meet the residency qualifications necessary to run in the next election.
Very good points. I have been pondering them as well. So far nobody has any answers. One other thing the WI GOP is up against, the WI Supreme Court is left-wing and will rule in ways to benefit the socialists.