Posted on 02/22/2011 5:33:12 PM PST by FTJM
Wisconsin Democrats may have left town to prevent Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican majority from having a quorum but they've still been able to cast votes in the legislature this week.
Wait, what?
According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, state lawmakers have routinely been allowed to cast votes by fax or phone in recent years rather than actually appear in the statehouse. Apparently it is a courtesy extended by the majority. A few Democrats were even able to do it Tuesday. But some Republicans are beginning to rethink that practice.
To get the Democrats to return the Republicans moved this afternoon to stop direct deposit of the truant lawmakers paychecks, according to Associated Press. Instead theyll have to pick up their checks on the state senate floor while the legislature is in session.
Also today, the Republicans moved forward with a voter ID bill that Democrats oppose, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Republicans believe they can strip the bill of the quorum-requiring financial provisions and get it through while the Democrats are out of town.
As always with these things, it is the little details that highlight the absurdity of the situation. The AP story on the direct deposit vote reported: Tuesdays vote was along party lines. The three Republicans on the Committee on Senate Organization voted for it and the two absent Democrats cast their no votes by fax.
This raises the question: How can they be allowed to do that yet the legislature as a whole can still be said to not have a quorum? Some Republicans are apparently beginning to wonder this themselves.
Regarding the voter ID bill, GOP Sen. Mary Lazich, chairwoman of the committee handling the bill, refused to let missing Democratic Sen. Jon Erpenbach literally phone in his vote.
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Exactly. A FAX ought to have opened the “quorum” and they should proceed right now.
The pubs should have discounted all the DAMN PHONES in the building!! UGH!
This is exactly why people like Palin, Bachman and even Christie are popular with conservatives. While they may not be perfect in all their positions they “Don’t take no SH**” from Liberals, MSM, or other useful idiots.
Speaking about levers, Archimedes said, “Give me a fulcrum and a (firm) place to stand and I can move the earth.” The fulcrum is the truth. The place to stand is the solid conservative leader. The lever is the people who believe and work for what’s right.
Truth alone is not enough. Good conservatives are always willing to work for what’s right. But liar after liar have stolen our heart, raped our spirit and leached away our willingness to give and give only to be betrayed once again.
When we hear that clarion voice of truth ring out from a leader we instinctively recognize within our soul to be a solid, stand firm individual, we arise within ready to give once more and we support her, or him.
God grant us such leaders.
It IS contrived. The spirit of rebellion orchestrates it all in a conspiracy both in heaven and earth against the Father who created us all.
Most on earth have denied the existence of the spiritual completely. Most of the rest only acknowledge it as an after life possibility. But the Apostle Paul says that RIGHT NOW, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”
Conspiracies exist mostly in the mind of evil with the human component oblivious. Neverthless, they exist.
Ephesians 6:12
What procedures do they have in place to prevent fraudulent voting? What’s to prevent me from calling in a vote for some absentee representative, using a falsetto voice or claiming to be speaking on his/her behalf? This is REALLY unwise. Call me old school, but legislators ought to be present to vote. Get their lazy butts in there. Not every job can be done by telecommuting. I love my email, but even I know when I have to meet with people face-to-face.
They should have voted the bill through on tuesday, and had their parlementarian rule that a vote in committee is a de-facto “present” for a quorum vote.
If the democrats aren’t there, how will the object to a ruling that there is a quorum? And how would they later fight the law? Go to court and try to get a judge to rule that they didn’t make a quorum by voting by phone?
Good post!
If they can vote by phone, they have a quorum.
I think the handset should be left off hook or swap the phone line from line in to line out.
It is still hooked up but non-functional.
Great to hear about the Voter ID bill. I’ve been wondering
what they have been waiting for.
RINOs indeed. It would make me really ill to think all
of this has been just theater and that the RINOs knew
all along about the phone-in option. Your comment, although
rather mildly phrased, is apposite. I don’t think an
adequate treatment would escape the mods though.
GOP Sen. MARY Lazich refused to let the felon phone in his vote.
Once again the women in the GOP appear to be the ones with cojones. Go Mary!!!
GOP Sen. MARY Lazich refused to let the felon phone in his vote.
Once again the women in the GOP appear to be the ones with cojones. Go Mary!!!
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