Wisconsin House Passes Union Busting Bill!
Al Ritter
The absent Democratic State Senators from the state of Wisconsin, say they are doing what their state constitution won’t allow and that is a filibuster. Yet early this morning the Wisconsin State Assembly (congress) completed just that, an action of filibuster by state congressmen that lasted some 59 hours on the assembly floor. The vote was counted at 1 AM and carried from the republican majority to break the public sector union stronghold that threatened to drive the state into bankruptcy due to unfunded pensions and benefits.
Obama has even weighed in twice on his support for the unions, and has even devoted a page on his personal website to the plight of the state senate democrats. The reality is that this wasn’t a move to replace a filibuster absence in state law. If the state congress has the ability to filibuster, then logic says the state senate has that same ability. This was purely a case of “I’m taking my ball and going home” attitude of democrats. What they have done is illegal in their home state, which is the reason they have fled to Illinois. Wisconsin State Police have no jurisdiction in Illinois, and it would be almost impossible judging the political stance from Obama that a federal warrant would be sworn out for the absent lawmakers.
This surprisingly enough hasn’t been the first time this has happened; in 2003 Democratic Texas lawmakers did the same thing fleeing to New Mexico to avoid a critical vote that they didn’t agree with.
Republicans on the federal level have had to deal with Democratic majority rule for 5 years now and not one time have they fled to avoid a vote. This is childish behavior plain and simple, lawmakers are paid to VOTE not to run and hide once the going gets tough. Let’s call this what it really is, and it’s NOT a physical replacement for a filibuster………it is an unlawful action to avoid a quorum vote. I only hope the voting citizens in Wisconsin see this cowardly act for what it truly is in the next election!
