Free Republic

State Senator Jon Erpenbach (FLEE-Madison) tells Greta he'll have fun fun fun til mommy and daddy take the money away...

To say that 14 Wisconsin Democrats are “on the lam” in Illinois is an understatement. Relentlessly hounded by Illinois Tea Party members, they are truly, on the run. No matter which podunk border town the senators try to hide in, they are running all the time thanks to highly effective efforts of conservative activists who have streamlined their “search party” by utilizing Facebook, email blasts and quick video posts. Who knew the Tea Party would be so good at bounty hunting 2.0? On Thursday, The Missing 14 unsubtly crashed the Clock Tower Resort’s Chocoholic Frolic in Rockford, Ill. David Hale,...

Senate Org circulated a ballot today that would require the majority leader to review and certify the time sheets for those employed by a senator who's been absent without leave for at least two session days. The ballot, also deactivates copy machine access codes for any absent senator. Instead, those lawmakers' staffs would have to ask the sergeant at arms staff for help in making copies with the costs charge to the senator's office expense account. The ballot was due at 11 a.m. A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald did not immediately return a call seeking comment on...

Advertisement Half of America’s voters favor public sector unions for government workers, but they strongly oppose the tactic by Wisconsin state senators to flee their state to prevent a vote that would limit the rights of such unions. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that only 25% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of this tactic, while 67% disapprove. State legislators in Indiana have used the same approach to avoid a vote in their state.

Half of America’s voters favor public sector unions for government workers, but they strongly oppose the tactic by Wisconsin state senators to flee their state to prevent a vote that would limit the rights of such unions. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that only 25% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of this tactic, while 67% disapprove. State legislators in Indiana have used the same approach to avoid a vote in their state. Sizable majorities of Republicans and voters not affiliated with either major party reject such a strategy. Democrats are fairly evenly divided, with 48% approving and...

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Republicans and Democrats in the Wisconsin Assembly have agreed to a deal that will limit further debate on a bill taking away collective bargaining rights for public workers and lead to a vote on the measure later Thursday.

The (Wisconsin) Senate voted 19-0 to repeal requirements that law enforcement collect data from traffic stops in an attempt to ascertain whether there is any racial profiling going on. The bill also repeals a requirement that law enforcement academies train recruits on avoiding racial profiling. Sen. Mary Lazich said the mandate, included in the 2009-11 state budget by Dems, said she heard from small and large communities about the difficulties imposed upon them through the legislation. "It's a huge, huge burden on our law enforcement community," she said.

The public-sector union protests continue in Wisconsin and other Midwestern states. James Taranto,who writes the Best of the Web Today column at WSJ.com, finds it “quite striking the way almost every lie the left ever told about the Tea Party has turned out to be true of the government unionists in Wisconsin and their supporters: • Extreme rhetoric. The Wisconsin Republican Party has produced what Mediaite.org calls an “incredibly effective” video juxtaposing liberal complaints about allegedly extremist Tea Party rhetoric with unionist signs likening Gov. Walker to Hitler and other dictators. Left-wing journalists are making similar invidious comparisons: “Workers Toppled...