Wisconsin - an excellent analysis
Here is what you need to realize. The quorum vote is ONLY for things that are involving fiscal items.
That is what is happening in WI, we need the Dems to come back to do a floor vote on the fiscal bill that this is involving.
The phone and fax votes are for non-fiscal items that need votes.
So, things like Voter ID Cards, Concealed Carry, 2/3’s Requirement for passage of any new or increase in taxes and some other items that we citizens of WI have been wanting for years CAN be voted on and passed with the simple majority (which we have WITHOUT the dems being on the floor).
What Walker and the Republicans SHOULD do is this…
Take the current bill, and under a huge amount of fan fair strip out the union collective barganing rights, the collection of union dues and the other stuff the unions are bitching about; make it a bill that is ONLY the concessions that the unions already ‘accept’. That would be the 5 percent contribution to their pensions and 12 percent of their healthcare, both under the national average (if you have a pension at all). If that were the only thing in the bill, there would be no reason for the dems not to vote yes on it, because that is what they have been saying all the time here. They would take the concessions, just not the bargaining rights…
Then once that is passed have a senator step up with the bill removing the collective barganing rights and the reforms that are stopping this bill from passing right now.
See, here in the wonderful state of Wisconsin, as I stated above, ONLY a simple majority is needed for bills that are NOT fiscal in nature. See… If you remove the pay cuts from the current bill, it removes the fiscal component. And it wont matter if the dems run to moscow, the Republicans have a simple majority without ANY dems present. So, they can pass a bill to remove collective barganing terms and state/local automatic collection of union dues from payrolls from public union contracts without any dem involvement. Lovely isnt it.
But, sadly I dont think there is any Republicans that have the backbone to do it…
What I think Walker is doing right now is forcing the dems that have missed more than two days to HAVE to show up IN PERSON AND on the FLOOR to pickup any checks (payroll, reimbursement or otherwise) IS quite Brilliant. The second one of them steps onto the floor, the vote can be called. Once on the floor and the vote called, they can walk out and the quorum is satisfied. And a bit less confrontational than the idea above.
Posted by B3
02/23/2011 at 07:10 PM
I would make it like being AWOL from the military.. If they aren’t at their duty station (the senate floor) for a designated time, they get dropped.
And after 30 days - it becomes a Federal crime (i.e. any LEO anywhere in the US can arrest them) - Sounds good to me Doctor!
