Posted on 05/26/2011 4:22:46 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
How could Wisconsin Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi do otherwise than strike down Gov. Scott Walker’s collective bargaining bill? Her son, remember, was a former field manager for both the Service Employees International Union and the AFL-CIO.
Of course, Sumi promised her son’s prior affiliations wouldn’t affect her in any way. “My kids are adults, they are independent and they lead their own lives. I do not consult my family about my decisions,” she said in a statement in March, after conservative bloggers at Big Government and elsewhere first called the conflict to light.
Maybe Sumi wasn’t biased against the bill. But if that was hard to believe before, it’s even harder to believe now, after she has dismantled it entirely and with flimsy justification. What’s worse is Republicans are by no means guaranteed an appeal to the state Supreme Court:
Republicans may not be able to appeal to higher courts in this instance. That’s because, as a Democratic state Senate aide explained, Republicans asserted legislative immunity so they would not be party to the case when it was initially considered. Democrats, instead, took up the defense, so as to allow a legal challenge to come forward.
So without a member of the defense interested in an appeal (the Democrats certainly won’t petition for one), it’s not entirely clear how the case moves forward.
Fortunately, there’s another way:
Democrats widely expect Republicans in the state legislature to simply attempt to re-pass the measure as law, and this time, the Democratic state senators won’t be leaving the state to slow down the process. …
The only way the outcome could change, Carpenter believes, is if some of the Republican senators facing recall elections change their minds.
It must be extremely nerve-wracking to face a recall election as a politician, but the bill has been a sound piece of legislation from the start and the Republicans, even those whose own political futures are uncertain, know this. They’ve demonstrated courage and resolve in the face of countless protesters, 14 irresponsibly absent senators and one clearly partial judge. Which would be worse to lose — a recall election or the courage of conviction and principled perseverance they’ve come to be known for? If the tenacity they’ve shown in the past is any indication, they’ll repass the bill.
I'm not expecting Governor Walker and the Fitzgerald Brothers to back down!
She should be taken off the bench.
If any of the ones facing recalls back down now, their own supporters probably wouldn’t vote for them, and they’d be toast anyway. If it appears one or two may go down, they may as well go out swinging and flip the bird to the unionistas one last time.
Lock and Load, don’t go down without a fight!
This badly flawed, biased decision will obviously be overruled by a higher court. This judicial hack judge needs to be recalled, disbarred, or voted out...very soon.
The whole point of the article is that the Wisconsin supreme court may NOT over rule this decision. My understanding is there is a hearing on June 6, but so far the court has not appeared willing to intervene.
So the Republicans shot themselves in the foot on the issue of appealing the ruling. WTF!
And so, with recalls staring them in the face, as timed and planned by the enemy, a re-vote will likely have to be done. I hope they’ll stand tough.
If the Appeals Court decision stands, Wisconsin still faces the ultimate question... WTH is going to be done to bring that state budget into line? Without tax hikes, the only alternative is to start cutting state jobs.
Perhaps someone in WI could educate me as to why the GOPers haven’t been slamming this issue down the dems’ throats.
The governor has stated this but the union bosses and tenured teachers don’t care, their butt isn’t on the line.
Rogue judge foils the peoples’ will!
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