Walker blames a few “radical” Dems for upcoming layoffs
Early Thursday, Wisconsin Senate Republicans adopted a resolution to find the 14 Wisconsin Democrat Senators who have fled the state in contempt of the Senate if they did not return to Madison by 4 pm. Four o’clock passed and the Democrats remain in Illinois, which subjects them to detention by any Wisconsin police authority should they return.
But will the police be willing to arrest them Senators if they find them?
James Palmer, executive director of the Wisconsin Professional Police Association said the GOP resolution is “insanely wrong” and an “unreasonable abuse of police power.”
The WPPA represents nearly 11,000 active and retired law enforcement officers across Wisconsin.
“Politics aside, encouraging the forcible detention of duly elected lawmakers because they won’t allow you to dictate with a free hand is an unreasonable abuse of police power,” Palmer said. “Due to the fact that Wisconsin officers lack any jurisdiction across state lines, does Senator Fitzgerald intend to establish a ‘lawmaker border patrol? The thought of using law enforcement officers to exercise force in order to achieve a political objective is insanely wrong and Wisconsin sorely needs reasonable solutions and not potentially dangerous political theatrics.”
Democratic Senator Chris Larson of Milwaukee denies any division within the caucus. In a phone interview with WTMJ-4, Larson said “We’ve all been standing united” and that nobody has expressed a desire to break ranks.
“I think it’s unfortunate that he (Walker) is resorting to name-calling while the Republicans are resorting to petty tactics,” including holding paychecks, taking over staff and office tools and diverting police resources to clear the capitol and search for the Senators.
So what about those estimated 1,500 pink slips? If those go out Friday, it raises the question of whether those cuts will count toward the over 8,000 public positions slated for elimination in the new budget, not including the over 17,000 jobs cut from the public rolls if Walker is successful in severing UW-Madison from the state system.
Walker used the word “frustration” over a dozen times in his 9-minute speech Thursday evening. The Democrats are also frustrated. “This was our best day of negotiations so far,” said Larson. He called the press conference “a surprise,” and theorized that today’s negotiations were not held in good faith.
“Instead of bringing us closer together like a true leader should, he’s continuing to divide the middle class.”
This governor and his legislative supporters are intransigent on the subject of collective bargaining, which is why the senate Democrats are staying away. But, the delay is also allowing for more thorough study of Walker’s budget by the people and the press, and it ain’t nice! No more recycling? Separate the UW-Madison from the state system? Cut already reduced funding for public schools? Extend vouchers to the rest of the state? What?
The Washington Times [a very conservative newspaper] now says that Tom Barrett would easily defeat Scott Walker if the election were held now. http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/inside-politics/2011/feb/28/wisconsin-poll-gov-walker-would-lose-rematch/
The state Republicans may regret standing with this governor – – –
It must be hard for those who do not associate outside their close circles of friends. Go outside the bubble and realize that the more scrutiny that is given to the fiscal situation in WI, the more people are siding with Walker.
Unlike the typical respose to budget woes, Walker and his legislative supporters are not kicking the can. Doyle and his puppets faced a 1.5 billion and what did they do.. stole money from doctors fund, refused to pay money owed to Minnesota, raided other funds like transportation, wasted money on toy trains, played budget tricks by shifting costs on paper, smoke and mirrors, and then high tailed it when the destruction was too obvious.
Keep in mind, 13 of the 14 senators hiding out were there when there tax increase was voted on in less than 24 hours after being introduced, with no public hearing. The Republicans stood on the floor, presented there case, voted and lost… Drastically different from what we see today.
Nov. 2nd was a wake up call, and now it is going to take a recall to remove them from office, disgraceful! Looking at all those up for recall, very easily 3 of the Dems could go down and maybe 1 Republican. How great it would be to have this put on a statewide referenedum and let the citizens truely be represented since there Senators won’t do it!
Not since Ronald Reagan has our state voted for a Republican President, after this I don’t see how it will vote Democrat for a long time. With this kind of spine and leadership on display it may not be long before we see Walker for President bumper stickers. Boy would that burst some bubbles.
You don’t seem to be paying any attention to the polls, Aaron. The people “outside the bubble” are turning away from your side in ever increasing numbers! Walker and some of his cronies may well be recalled, much more likely than the Democratic 14, who are seen as heroes. Even Rasmussen, a very Republican polling organization, is showing a major loss of support for Walker, and reports that Barrett would beat him 52-45 if the election were held now. Oh, I know, you don’t believe the polls. Those who are behind usually don’t…
Aaron,
Thank you for your reply. I was beginning to think that I was the only one with common sense who followed this website. John, polls? Have you read how those polls have been phrased? Even if the polls are correct, Walker is not caving to the childish pathetic threats by the public sector employees. The 14 Dems are acting like children and the protests are only called peaceful by those who think that dirtying the capital and causing 7.5 million dollars of damage to the building is just fine. Peaceful by whose definition? If a protester was caught chanting “MSNBC LIES” they would be vilified. Instead when they chant “FOX Lies” they are held in high regard. Unlike those who hold these thumb sucking Dems in high esteem, I would be appalled if the Repubs ran away from their job. Doyle shoved stuff down the states throat for 8 years. Many of us didn’t like it and after 8 years we had enough and voted in the polar opposite. Deal with it. You and your friends can change it in 2 years. Recalling someone for doing their job is wrong; recalling someone for NOT doing their job is a completely different scenario. Politicians your side looks up to like Frank Zeidler and FDR openly spoke against CBO’s for public employees stating they would kill state and county budgets. “The process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service,” said FDR. While Zeidler had this to say, Government unions “can mean considerable loss of control over the budget, and hence over tax rates.” Well, I guess they were correct on one thing at least! You may be sickened by what the Republicans and Walker are attempting to do, but you cannot deny they are doing what they said they would do. Not to mention they are DOING THEIR JOB.
well i for one (of many) am sickened by what the Republicans and Walker are attempting to do and i cant recall this is what they “said they would do”…
i recall walker running a campaign on jobs jobs jobs…what i dont recall him saying that he would break the unions, offer massive school cuts in state aid…etc
so now i hear 8,000 public positions slated for elimination in the new budget, not including the over 17,000 jobs cut from the public rolls if Walker is successful in severing UW-Madison from the state system…
hmm… was this mentioned in the “job he said he would do”?
He has been saying this for over two years MMK. When I voted for him I knew he needed to do all of these things (okay not the UW System) like ending Collective Bargaining, slashing public sector jobs, cutting education allowance and so on. It will effect me, and I knew that when I voted for him. But when is enough enough? How else was he going to balance the budget while promising not to raise taxes or borrow from Peter to pay Paul? It was quite obvious how this was going to be done. I am shocked by all of the so-called intellectuals that are stunned this is happening. They make fun of Walker and his ‘time at Marquette’ but they themselves had no idea this is what he was running on? I find that very hard to believe.
Well, elections have consequences!
I helped the Barrett Campaign by knocking on doors back in November and I was able to speak with some who voted for Obama, but actually went and voted for Walker!
Let the 1,500 pink slips be on top of the other 8,000 and see how this State can function after that….probably like Milwaukee County after Walker: a disaster….elections have consequences.
The noise about public expense is pure smokescreen. If you logically extend that argument, costly government frills like elections, courts and prisons should also be abolished. Yes, Wisconsin had serious fiscal challenges due to the Great Recession – but when state unions conceded on ALL cost issues, Walker made it clear that’s irrelevant to his goal. Still have doubts? An ad last night on CNN, paid for by the Republican National Committee, exhorted people to help them put a stop to union power. Not just public-sector unions – ALL UNIONS! That’s right – the GOP has openly declared its intention to crush the legally recognized human RIGHT of collective bargaining – forever! They don’t hide it anymore. Anyone who says otherwise is dodging the real issue, which is whether we remain a nation of free people or become a corporate plantation.
Courts, elections, and prisons are not ‘frills’. Also, please send me the link to the commercial in which the RNC openly calls for the destruction of all unions. Walker himself has stated publicly numerous times that this has nothing to do with private unions. Instead it has EVERYTHING to do with abolishing the collective bargaining of public sector unions. Only allowing bargaining on salary in line with inflation. It is about getting rid of collective bargaining and allowing individual municipalities to thus work towards reigning in spending. I am unsure where you or anyone else for that matter in your camp come up with the notion that collective bargaining is a right. Perhaps for a private union you could make a better case of saying that it is a right. But in the public sector collective bargaining couldn’t be further from a ‘right’. Instead it is a privilege; a privilege mind you that has been taken for granted of for over 40 years. Collective bargaining was granted to public unions as a privilege, never a right. Passing the budget repair bill without the collective bargaining concession in it makes the repair bill moot, little or no practical value. I find it interesting of those who use class warfare scare tactics by using the words ‘corporate plantations’; because most of those people would be offended by others using the word ‘plantation’ to make a point.