All the drama was for naught: Wisconsin Senate Passes Bill

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Wisconsin Republicans bypass Democrats on collective bargaining

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Republicans in the Wisconsin Senate voted Wednesday night to strip nearly all collective bargaining rights from public workers after discovering a way to bypass the chamber's missing Democrats.

All 14 Senate Democrats fled to Illinois nearly three weeks ago, preventing the chamber from having enough members present to consider Gov. Scott Walker's so-called "budget repair bill" - a proposal introduced to plug a $137 million budget shortfall.

The Senate requires a quorum to take up any measures that spend money. But Republicans on Wednesday split from the legislation the proposal to curtail union rights, which spends no money, and a special conference committee of state lawmakers approved the bill a short time later.

The lone Democrat present on the conference committee, Rep. Tony Barca, shouted that the surprise meeting was a violation of the state's open meetings law but Republicans voted over his objections. The Senate then convened within minutes and passed it without discussion or debate.

Spectators in the gallery screamed "You are cowards."

Before the sudden votes, Democratic Sens. Bob Jauch said if Republicans "chose to ram this bill through in this fashion, it will be to their political peril. They're changing the rules. They will inflame a very frustrated public."

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_WISCONSIN_BUDGET_UNIONS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-03-09-19-32-37

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

So the cat is finally out of the bag: There's no more denying that the union busting measure had nothing to do with the budget shortfall. The Republicans - while claiming time and again that the budget requires this drastic measure - could not have made it any clearer that they were lying all along. And it's permanently on record.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

So the cat is finally out of the bag: There's no more denying that the union busting measure had nothing to do with the budget shortfall. The Republicans - while claiming time and again that the budget requires this drastic measure - could not have made it any clearer that they were lying all along. And it's permanently on record.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

What? The record is clear now. This had nothing to do with fixing the budget. If it did, it would need to be part of the budget fix. It isn't.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

What? The record is clear now. This had nothing to do with fixing the budget. If it did, it would need to be part of the budget fix. It isn't.

Exactly. This was union busting, plain as day, and thanks in part to Gov. Walker's hands being deep in the pockets of the Koch Bros.

This won't end here. Wait until enough voters will realize just who is looking out for them in the state capital. In the meantime, watch the Republicans push towards disenfranchising voters across the country. What a skewed concept of democracy.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

What? The record is clear now. This had nothing to do with fixing the budget. If it did, it would need to be part of the budget fix. It isn't.

You guys crack me up! You can't fix the budget unless you remove the stranglehold the unions have on the budget process. State after state has figured this out, and the power of public sector unions is quickly being diminished.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Exactly. This was union busting, plain as day, and thanks in part to Gov. Walker's hands being deep in the pockets of the Koch Bros.

This won't end here. Wait until enough voters will realize just who is looking out for them in the state capital. In the meantime, watch the Republicans push towards disenfranchising voters across the country. What a skewed concept of democracy.

Disfranchising who? The union bosses? The voters and the taxpayers are taking back their government from the Bolsheviks.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

You guys crack me up! You can't fix the budget unless you remove the stranglehold the unions have on the budget process. State after state has figured this out, and the power of public sector unions is quickly being diminished.

That's a lie and you know it. Even Gov. Walker and the Koch Bros. know it. This is about cutting the legs off of the unions, the only thing standing in the way of absolute corporatism in this country.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

That's a lie and you know it. Even Gov. Walker and the Koch Bros. know it. This is about cutting the legs off of the unions, the only thing standing in the way of absolute corporatism in this country.

Is your revolution losing momentum, comrade?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Is your revolution losing momentum, comrade?

Yes, keep telling yourself it's those big, ugly unions that are destroying America and we only need to let corporations have free reign and then we'll be sitting on pots of gold.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

It's no secret that Republicans, and I don't mean the honorable Republicans of Abraham Lincoln's days, but today's Republicans, have only one objective: to grab as much power as possible and give it to the corporations who are about to take total control of this country. Today's Republicans for the main part belong to one of these three groups:

1) Malicious people who have personal gain from helping the corporations, whether due to direct or indirect campaign money or bribery. Many of these folks are very wealthy already, and would like nothing more than getting even more wealthy. They don't care what happens to this country or its people as long as they personally benefit from it. Almost all Republican politicians belong to this group.

2) Stupid people who are easily swayed by malicious propaganda or group 1. Those were Hitler's favorite people. Many of them consider themselves as honorable patriots, yet the mere thought of socialism, communism, a negro in the White house, Muslims, or, God forbid, somebody who wants to take away their guns, is reason enough to vote against them Liberals. Tea party people belong to this group as well. They are angry about a government who tells 'em what to do, but they don't grasp the underlying mechanics. These people believe anything, even that Obama is a communist fascist who was born in Kenya, because they want to believe it.

3) Christian fundamentalists, whose religious agenda is more important than anything else. They would rather see this country go up in flames and be swallowed by the proverbial hell, than allowing homosexuals to get married, woman to have an abortion, teenagers to get free birth control, and stuff like that. Anything that threatens their religious fundamentals are issue number one. Thus, they vote Republican despite their destructive agenda.

In all fairness it is important to state that these three groups also contain quite a few democrats. Both Clintons as well as Obama are hardcore corporatists. Obama has more in common with Bush as people from groups number 2 and number 3 and even a lot of democratic voters would believe. Thus, they vote against their own interest and don't realize it. Nothing will change in this country until corporate money is taken out of the election process. Roosevelt considered any donation to a politician as bribery, which is what it is. Unfortunately the bribed will not vote to outlaw bribery. So therefore nothing will change until things get so bad that We the People, the stupid ones included, will rebel or smarten up. The latter case is unlikely as one of the Republicans' agenda is to keep the masses uneducated, 'cause education is the one thing that provides a way out of poverty, and the one thing that would make people realize that they are like frogs in a pot where the water is boiled slowly until it's too late to jump out.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

You guys crack me up! You can't fix the budget unless you remove the stranglehold the unions have on the budget process.

The unions having agreed to the financial concessions necessary disproves your statement.

[Zero Sum 305]

Yay for the GOP. I have to hand it to them, they definitely like showing their true colors.

Now it won't be just Gov Walker that the Koch brothers will have to find employment for after they get what's coming to them.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Disfranchising who? The union bosses? The voters and the taxpayers are taking back their government from the Bolsheviks.

The voters and taxpayers actually support the right of public employees to collectively bargain. The voters and taxpayers do not support what the corporate puppets are doing in these states. The voters and taxpayers aren't taking back their government, the GOP is handing it to the corporations. That's what is happening here and the voters and taxpayers know it and disapprove of it.

[Pooky 3,825]

The Senate requires a quorum to take up any measures that spend money. But Republicans on Wednesday split from the legislation the proposal to curtail union rights, which spends no money, and a special conference committee of state lawmakers approved the bill a short time later.

So the cat is finally out of the bag: There's no more denying that the union busting measure had nothing to do with the budget shortfall. The Republicans - while claiming time and again that the budget requires this drastic measure - could not have made it any clearer that they were lying all along. And it's permanently on record.

Where do you draw the conclusion that the Wisconsin GOP were lying? Curtailing union bargaining rights will not involve the State spending any money, which is entirely different to your assertion that it has nothing to do with the budget shortfall. In fact, the one conclusion that can be drawn is that it won't add to the budget shortfall.

What astounds me is that it took this band of dimwits over 2 weeks to work it out.