Free Republic

A Wisconsin state lawmaker this week quit the Democratic caucus in an apparent ideological huff and might even become an independent, threatening the hard-fought chamber majority the party achieved out of the raucous recall elections. State Sen. Tim Cullen quit the caucus Tuesday, saying he left because Majority Leader Mark Miller offered him only a “minimal” committee chairmanship. He said he would decide within a few weeks whether to become an independent. In an email to supporters, Cullen said Miller’s take-it-or-leave-it offer “made clear to me that (he) has no time for my independent ideas and my support of bipartisan...

State Sen. Tim Cullen, a moderate Democrat from Janesville, broke with his party's caucus Tuesday, saying he may become an independent over what he felt were political "insults" by the Senate majority leader. Cullen said he made his decision, announced to the rest of the caucus by email, after Sen. Mark Miller, D-Monona, slighted him with committee assignments. Every senator in the caucus was given at least two committee leadership positions. Cullen has none. Miller said in a statement Tuesday that Cullen turned down an "important" committee overseeing small business and tourism. The immediate result of the defection is not...

Senate Dems late tonight sought to downplay Minority Leader Mark Miller’s comments that they plan to return to the Capitol soon for a vote on the budget repair bill to put their GOP colleagues on record in the face of polls that show the legislation is not sitting well with the public. Miller told the Wall Street Journal that moving forward with a vote on the budget repair will would give Dems more leverage in seeking changes to the 2011-13 budget the guv released earlier this week. But a Miller spokesman and two of his Dem colleagues insisted nothing has...

A Wisconsin Democratic senator who fled the state to block a Republican Gov. Scott Walker's collective bargaining bill says negotiations on the measure have stalled. Sen. Tim Cullen, a Janesville Democrat, tells The Associated Press that talks with Republicans broke down on Thursday. He says it's difficult for either side to compromise: If the Democrats back down, their base won't forgive them, and Walker can't give up anything because he'd be seen as weak. Plus, Assembly Republicans have already passed the bill with no changes, making things tougher for Walker. Cullen said the lines of communications between the parties remain...

It appears that one of the 14 fugitive Wisconsin Democrats has returned to the state capitol, heeding Governor Scott Walker’s ultimatum. A flurry of Twitter messages late Tuesday night heralded the return of Democrat State Senator Tim Cullen, who represents labor union interests in the 15th Senate District surrounding Janesville, Wisconsin. A Tuesday piece in the Janesville Gazette described Cullen as “open to some of Governor Scott Walker's budget proposals.” The Gazette describes his position as follows: “Cullen calls Walker's budget address a good speech, and the goal of getting Wisconsin moving again is shared by everyone. He does have...