MADISON, Wisconsin Republicans without quorum and without debate seem to have invented a way to pass a bill without most of the Congress present.
After weeks of huge demonstrations, after threats of various kinds from the Governor… and a back and forth with lots of talking heads to the point of not knowing which side was speaking any longer… and after Dems leaving the state until a compromise that was real could be hammered out… after all this… and more
the Rebubs convened a conference committee today, apparently in violation of ‘daylight’ laws about giving public notice and open meetings — these required by State rule of law. Therein, the Repubs passed their union-liquefaction bill that carries its original core with, it seems, a few decorative frostings moved around.
Those who ‘auto-passed their own bill without debate’ refused to say publicly what specifically had been removed from bill, added, or rearranged. In the Repub non-open ‘meeting,’ and outside the meeting, many protested the Repubs vocal toots of Aye, aye, aye in the final vote… which seriously made the British House of Commons look like a date with a nice dowager.
The ‘conference committee’ meeting that gave no 24 hour notice as required by law, refused to respond to any requests, demands, assertions for the law to be followed…
Thus ended the Repubs illegal meeting, even as a Democratic Assembly leader who protested the illegality of the meeting was shouted down.
The Repubs then were said to literally have run to convene the Wisc. Senate, so they could ram the rest of their auto-bill through… also without notice, also without all legal perameters in line.
Outside, protesters reassembled in larger and larger numbers tonight.
And enraging the young may be a stunningly bad move by the Repubs: shooting the entire party in both (all) feet, nationwide. The young have a grapevine and a FLASH action call network that older politicians envy in spades, and could never HOPE to grasp let alone control. The young are mobile in more ways than one the way many others are not. Bad move raising the vortex of the young. Incredibly reckless move with no forethought about outcome, entirely.
Lou Dobbs idea that the middle class is being warred upon, looks like it has come true in Madison today.
I think one can argue about who did what. As usual.
Yet, the red arrows point to this one being properly settled in two ways regardless of how other stories unfold around this:
One, by far cooler heads: The Courts.
Chances are cooler heads will nonetheless, cause some heads to roll… perhaps the heads of those who decided to hold an illegal meeting and invent a new legislative way of passing laws.
Two: It would appear that grandstanding before cameras was actually more the point in all this pointless dribble of time and resource during this ‘irregular meeting’. One might think this was not even to please Wisconsonite corporate kings, but rather to try to be the ‘first kings of Congress’ across the country, trying to claim Union Busters R Us while actually looking like on TV, a trammel of uncivilized ninnies.
It’s one thing to claim you’re going up against Goliath. But there is no honor in going up against the air; when the Goliath isnt even present.
This much seems likely. The folks back home, many of whom are working class people, not corporate bosses, will also have their say. Either now or not that far down the road. Votes are a terrible thing to waste.
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disclosure: I’m a union member, National Writers Union, under the wing of the AFL CIO, Autoworkers Union, even though our little union still struggles to get writers paid more than a pittance for our work for the ‘big guys.’