Wisconsin Republicans Pass Landmark Legislation, Wisconsin Democrats Throw Tantrum. (with two updates!)

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Having five teenage kids myself I know exactly what it looks like when a scolded child throws a tantrum when they don’t get away with trying to pull a fast one.  For the past three weeks, ELECTED Wisconsin Democrat Senators fled the state hiding out in hotels eating room service rather than allow the democratic process to move forward.  Their ploy was to prevent there from being enough senators present so that a vote could be taken on important legislation.  These Lilly livered cowards weren’t willing to have any vote taken, instead opting to take their ball and go home.

Flash forward three weeks.  Republican members of the Senate, facing a complete shut down of a functioning Wisconsin Legislature, figured out a way to start moving legislation forward in the absence of the wayward game-playing state Democrats.  These Republican legislators removed the financial aspect of the budget reform bill.  The legislators removed the provisions of the proposed bill that would have increased public union member costs for health and pension benefits leaving only the provisions that provided mild restrictions on public union collective bargaining rights.  By doing so, the legislature was able to lower the quorum requirement allowing democracy to move forward.

The howls of foul and protest coming from the unions and the wayward Democrats can be heard ’round the world.  After subverting the democratic process for weeks, the Democrats whimper that the Republicans have violated the “spirit” of the law by taking this action.  Unions have literally stormed the capital building with such anger, hatred and violence that police had to be called in to quell the near riot.

I think it is downright funny that the unions and the Democrats have the temerity to point out procedural violations when they have chosen a strategy to fully subvert the entire democratic process.  I think it is minimizing things to just say the Democrats have yielded the high ground with their juvenile tactics.  I think the biggest threat to the Democrats at this point is if these wails of protest last for any extended time or if they turn violent.  The Democrats strategy has simply failed, time to lick their wounds and slink back into their darkened den.

Death Threat and Trespassers

A frighteningly matter of fact death threat was sent to all of Wisconsin’s Republican Senators today:

Please put your things in order because you will be killed and your familes
will also be killed due to your actions in the last 8 weeks. Please explain
to them that this is because if we get rid of you and your families then it
will save the rights of 300,000 people and also be able to close the deficit
that you have created. I hope you have a good time in hell. Read below for
more information on possible scenarios in which you will die.

WE want to make this perfectly clear. Because of your actions today and in
the past couple of weeks I and the group of people that are working with me
have decided that we’ve had enough. We feel that you and the people that
support the dictator have to die. We have tried many other ways of dealing
with your corruption but you have taken things too far and we will not stand
for it any longer. So, this is how it’s going to happen: I as well as many
others know where you and your family live, it’s a matter of public records.
We have all planned to assult you by arriving at your house and putting a
nice little bullet in your head. However, we decided that we wouldn’t leave
it there. We also have decided that this may not be enough to send the
message to you since you are so “high” on Koch and have decided that you are
now going to single handedly make this a dictatorship instead of a
demorcratic process. So we have also built several bombs that we have placed
in various locations around the areas in which we know that you frequent.
This includes, your house, your car, the state capitol, and well I won’t
tell you all of them because that’s just no fun. Since we know that you are
not smart enough to figure out why this is happening to you we have decided
to make it perfectly clear to you. If you and your goonies feel that it’s
necessary to strip the rights of 300,000 people and ruin their lives, making
them unable to feed, clothe, and provide the necessities to their families
and themselves then We Will “get rid of” (in which I mean kill) you. Please
understand that this does not include the heroic Rep. Senator that risked
everything to go aganist what you and your goonies wanted him to do. We feel
that it’s worth our lives to do this, because we would be saving the lives
of 300,000 people. Please make your peace with God as soon as possible and
say goodbye to your loved ones we will not wait any longer. YOU WILL DIE!!!!

An investigation is currently underway to determine the source of the threat.

Ignoring a court order hundreds of protesters illegally trespassed inside the Capitol building after it was to close at 6:00 p.m. forcing police to remove those illegally refusing to leave.  To create “memorable images,” the protestors enlisted the help of several handicapped individuals to make sure that one person in a wheel chair was filmed being removed by police.  Earlier in the day, the protesters had swarmed around the Capitol with such ferocity that they prevent the lawful entrance of the elected lawmakers and forced police to struggle to maintain the peace.

This important landmark legislation has now passed both houses in Wisconsin and at least one Democrat from the Wisconsin Senate has announced his return to the state.  Once the Democrats return from their out of state haunts, new legislation can be introduced and passed into law requiring the benefit reductions that were a apart of the original package in place before Democrats fled the state in panic.

Governor Signs Bill – Recall Process Started for 16 Wisconsin Senators

Wisconsin Governor Walker signed into law today the bill passed yesterday that would curtail some collective barganing rights of public employee unions.  According to non-partisan polls the bill is supported by a majority of Americans and a majority of Wisconsin voters.

In addition, CNN reported today that all 16 Wisonsin State Senators eligible for recall (8 Democrats and 8 Republicans) have been “qualified” for a recall election.  If the signatures on the recall petitions are verified and authenticated, then a special election for the recall will take place in six weeks.  Only two lawmakers have ever been recalled in the history of Wisconsin.

The recall effort is garnering national attention:

“A lot of effort is going to be expended by both sides. You’ll see national money. It’s going to generate a lot of passion on both sides,” said Mark Jefferson, executive director of the state GOP. “We’re having a serious debate in this state about some very serious issues.”

In the end, the success of this year’s recall campaigns – and possibly a second round next year – will hinge on the depth and breadth of grass-roots anger and frustration in Wisconsin, feelings that polls suggest now run at feverish levels:

“You can’t pull off a recall unless there is legitimate and real unrest,” said state Democratic chair Mike Tate. “The barrier is too high. You can’t manufacture it.”


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