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Wisconsin Democrats Get on Bus, Flee State
February 17, 2011 3:36 P.M.
By Daniel Foster
ABC News reports:
A planned state Senate vote on slashing Wisconsin public worker pensions and curbing their unions stalled Thursday after Senate Democrats apparently fled the state.
The contentious vote was postponed because the 33-member Senate must have 20 present for a quorum and not a single Democrat attended. There are only 19 Republicans so at least one Democrat must be present for the Senate to open business.
Police have been sent out to look for the wayward lawmakers, the Associated Press reported. A source said it appeared that the Democrats had boarded a bus headed for Iowa.
Sen. Mark Miller, the Democratic minority leader, released this statement on behalf of Senate Democrats: “Democrats believe it is wrong to strip people of their right to have a say in the conditions of their employment and to use state law to bust unions.
“We urge Governor Walker and the Republicans to listen to the people of Wisconsin, talk to the workers and reach an agreement that helps balance the budget while respecting their rights.”
Seriously. That happened. Just now.
Originally posted by Common Good
HAHAHA....
This is so pathetic, I cant stop myself from laughing.
Heres your accountability people. This is our govt hard at work.
No words can describe how ****ed we are as a nation with people like this running the show.
....and in come the sympathisers
Somebody(?) on the local talk radio reported it was a "short yellow bus"... hope it wasn't a schoolbus!
Originally posted by bozzchem
Rather than entering into the debate about what I consider a false left/right paradigm, I only wonder how many of us serfs would be fired from our jobs for doing something similar.
Apparently it's OK for public SERVANTS (Employees of We the People) to not only shirk their duty but do so at the expense of their constituents. While my latter statement is conjecture, I highly doubt these noble individuals paid for their little bus trip out of their pockets. I have little doubt their trip was paid for by their employers.
Originally posted by TWILITE22
reply to post by 46ACE
bring them back and fire all of them,and publicly humiliated them,what a bunch of weenies!
Originally posted by Drezden
Originally posted by TWILITE22
reply to post by 46ACE
bring them back and fire all of them,and publicly humiliated them,what a bunch of weenies!
I believe the people whose lives are effected by the laws they are avoiding might feel differently.
Originally posted by 46ACE
What part of "unsustainable" is hard to understand?
Originally posted by darrman
reply to post by 46ACE
if Iowa had any sense,, they would roadblock the HWY...lol keep the demo's in their own state..
ROFLMAO
Originally posted by sdcigarpig
Interesting article, and one that bears thought on the topic. The question of if it is legal, can be answered, that yes what the senate in that state is doing is very much legal, the use and authorization for the use of force is very much with in the federal and state laws when it comes to running of a government. As the democrats choose to retreat out of state, then they can be arrested and brought back, by force, under the parliamentary procedures to form a quorum to hold a vote. It is a real shame on the legislators who choose to use this tactic, as it means that they have no conviction or desire to legislate when times are tough, choosing to do such on their terms. In the end it will play out badly for them, as they can be arrested and held in the state building until the vote has taken effect.
The other part of this, and the question must be asked, what is worth fighting for on the floor of any legislature, what arguments could be made, or other parliamentary procedure be done to stall or even what every happen to the fine art of negotiations. What do the people who they are suppose to represent think of their actions and will this affect them in the next election when they are up for reelection?
February 17, 2011
AWOL Wisconsin Democrat calls CNN with list of demands
By Mary Katharine Ham - The Daily Caller | Published: 4:28 PM 02/17/2011 | Updated: 4:31 PM 02/17/2011
State Senator Mark Miller, a member of the missing band of Wisconsin Democratic lawmakers who fled Madison Thursday to avoid a vote on a budget bill, called into CNN with the group’s list of demands for Republican Gov. Scott Walker.
Miller, a state senator since 2004, would not disclose where he and his colleagues were hiding out, saying only “we are in what we consider a secure location outside the capital. We are not all in one place at this time.”
Miller’s demands focused on the collective bargaining portions of the bill.
“We demand that the provisions that completely eliminate the ability of workers… to negotiate on a fair basis with their employers be removed from the budget repair bill and any other future budget,” Miller said.
He also demanded legislative oversight on changes to the state’s medical programs, which are targeted for changes in the bill. The bill would also require union members to contribute to their health care and pensions.
Miller and 13 other Democrats went missing Thursday morning when a vote on a budget-repair measure was imminent in the Republican-controlled Senate. It would have passed the Senate after getting out of committee on a party-line vote late last night, so Democrats left the building to stall a vote on the measure.
Asked by a CNN reporter why he and the Democrats weren’t doing their jobs, he countered by saying Walker had moved the bill too fast.
“We will return to do our job, but the governor has to do his job,” Miller said. “He has to engage in responsible negotiations with the interested parties and he failed to do so…We need to be able to enter into a responsible dialogue and not one that is such a sham.”
Asked about the deficit the state is facing, Miller said Walker is ignoring the economy’s recovery, which makes reigning in union benefits unnecessary.
“The economy’s recovering and the governor is completely ignoring the fact that we have a… recovery going,” Miller said. “The only thing that hasn’t recovered has been the rate of unemployment.”
Miller maintained that, by leaving Madison to evade a vote on the budget-repair bill, the lawmakers are “trying to allow an opportunity for democracy to work.”
The number of teachers protesting in Wisconsin, according to union representatives, in the name of better serving the students of the state, has also shut down many public schools this week.