One thing that has been amazing to me about the whole Wisconsin budget/union busting debacle is how little the GOP cares about the will of the people. There’s been at least 2 polls that show the state is against removing collective bargaining rights by a 2:1 margin. 70,000 protesters have shown up to express their displeasure and it still didn’t seem to matter. Last night the Wisconsin Assembly voted to approve the budget measure. Watch what happened.
The debate in the Assembly appeared to be a few hours away from ending when Speaker Pro Tem Bill Kramer interrupted their speeches and called the vote. It was gaveled in with lightning speed, less than the standard 15 seconds — it was so fast that 28 members did not even vote on it, some out of protest but some failing to reach their buzzers. There were 51 ayes and 17 nays, and the nays included Republicans Dean Kaufert, Lee Nerison, Richard Spanbauer, and Travis Tranel.
Democrats exploded as soon as the vote was called, yelling “Cowards!” and “Shame!” at the Republicans filing out of the room.
The budget still needs to pass the Wisconsin Senate, which can’t meet because the Senate Democrats are out of the state, denying quorum. There’s been several reports that the budget needs to pass by today to do the debt restructuring. I guess we’ll have to watch to see what happens next.