Republican Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner and State Rep. Chris Kapenga held a listening session earlier this week in Delafield, Wisconsin -- and now, according to two attendees, it appears Kapenga openly admitted that the GOP has plans to make Wisconsin a "right-to-work" state and they’re just waiting for a politically opportune time.
"This is just another example of Republicans here in Wisconsin not getting it," said Laura Hauser-Menting, Democratic candidate for the 71st Assembly District. "Instead of taking a break from dividing our state, Republicans are doubling down on more partisan policies."This is the kind of understanding and courage that I wish more of the Democratic politicians and candidates would show.
Two days later at a debate in Wausau, Kapenga's colleague in the Assembly, Rep. Jerry Petrowski -- also a Republican candidate for State Senate in the recall election -- was asked about "right-to-work" legislation. According to the Wausau Daily Herald, Petrowski claimed, "...I don't believe there is the support for it."
Yet at the meeting in Delafield, according to some in attendance, Petrowski's colleague Rep. Kapenga responded to a constituent by saying, ”We have right-to-work legislation in (three) different offices ready to go. If we had done it earlier, when we wanted, then Prosser would not have been elected. Right now is not the right time. We have to wait until it is politically feasible.” Another constituent at the meeting also heard Kapenga say, “…if we did it now, we’d be burning political capital, and we just don’t have excess capital to burn now.”
And despite Petrowski claiming there is no support for this issue, Petrowski's own leader in the State Assembly, Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald, stated recently about Gov. Walker's collective bargaining proposal that "My caucus wanted to go further. I had people in my caucus that was, you know, were wondering if we were going to do Right to Work in this state."
"It seems like what Republicans say about this divisive issue depends on whether they sit in a safe, right-wing area like Rep. Kapenga and Speaker Fitzgerald do, or whether they're in the middle of a heated political race in a more moderate area like Rep. Petrowski," said Hauser-Menting. "Either way, these folks voting together lockstep the past year and a half, and they should get their stories straight and be honest with the people of Wisconsin before the recall happens."
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