So what if it's a little unusual? So what if it subverts the system? It's all about what Republicans want so that makes it okay.
Scott Fitzgerald, the Senate majority leader, told his Republican colleagues to expect to resume work on Tuesday, which would leave the 33-member legislative body without a single Democrat as they debate and vote on governor’s appointees and other issues.
“By not being here, they’re basically deciding to let things go through the body unchecked,” Mr. Fitzgerald said. “They’re not here to represent their constituents. We’re here to work.”
At issue is a normally obscure Senate rule that requires a quorum of 20 senators to vote on fiscal matters but just 17 to vote on other matters. There are 19 Republicans in the Senate. Mr. Fitzgerald and other members of the Republican leadership planned to meet Monday to establish a schedule for Tuesday’s order of business.
Senator Jon Erpenbach, a Democrat, said that the caucus was aware of the move but that Democrats would remain scattered across the border in Illinois until the restrictions to collective bargaining were off the table.
“They can vote on anything that is nonfiscal,” he said. “They can take up their agenda, they can do whatever they choose to do.”
The move, which came as union members and supporters packed into the capital for a seventh straight day, provoked speculation that the restrictions on collective bargaining included in Gov. Scott Walker’s “budget repair bill” could potentially be added to other legislation as an amendment and passed in the absence of Democrats. It would be another legislative maneuver in a standoff that has seen plenty of them. ...NYT
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Think Progress decribes the conservative money-bags in Wisconsin supporting the governor's efforts including "the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, a $460 million conservative honey pot dedicated to crushing the labor movement. Walker has deeply entwined his administration with the Bradley Foundation. The Bradley Foundation’s CEO, former state GOP chairman Michele Grebe, chaired Walker’s campaign and headed his transition."
It doesn't end there. Strong support comes from elsewhere in Wisconsin and, of course, from national organizations like "Americans for Prosperity."
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Talking Points Memo reports the Republican majority leader now says he won't press ahead without Democrats.
