(Fleebagger) Miller says time for Dems to come home and take fight to ballot box

Wispolitics dot com ^ | 3-9-11 | JR Ross

[bigbob]

One day short of the three-week anniversary of their departure, Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller said it's time for Dems to come home and take the fight over collective bargaining rights to the ballot box.

Miller, D-Monona, said it was "stunning" that Senate Republicans took less than 30 minutes to vote to end collective bargaining rights for public employees that have existed in Wisconsin for more than 50 years.

He called it a disrespect to the people of Wisconsin that will not be forgotten, promising there will be political consequences.

"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."

Sen. Bob Jauch, one of two Dems to be actively involved in negotiations with Republicans, said there may be legal problems with the vote and Senate Republicans had a responsibility to inform the public of any changes.

"This just isn’t the way a thoughtful democratic institution governs," said Jauch, D-Poplar. "They don’t want to govern.

"We’re trying to figure out whether we should change it to Czar Walker. I think that’s the term. The Senate should be called the Evil Empire."

Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, said the vote exposed the true Republican intent all along of breaking public employee unions. The guv has been arguing the last few weeks that the collective bargaining changes were fiscal in nature, but leaving them in suggests that wasn't true, he said.

He said Republicans didn't need to justify themselves to the 14 Dems, but would have to answer to the voters through recall elections.

"They lied to every single taxpayer of the state," Erpenbach said.

[Secret Agent Man]

It’s “30 square miles surrounded by reality” but yes, you know it’s true.