Tuesday, December 4, 2018

Republicans Change the Rules

By Jeff Simpson

Courtesy of our friend Heather at the Wisconsin Public Education Network! 
Dear friends of Wisconsin public schools,

"Who is asking for this?" "This is not democracy."

We were there last night to bear witness on behalf of our children as the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) adjourned just after midnight, after hours of testimony during which only one person spoke in favor of any measure, Ironically, that one measure (changing the date of the spring 2020 election) was the only bill that did not advance last night. Not even the authors of the bills attended to speak in favor of this unprecedented power grab.

The Senate and Assembly will now take up the three bills that moved forward. THESE BILLS WILL HAVE LONG-TERM IMPACTS ON OUR STUDENTS AND SCHOOLS, and are widely opposed by members of both parties. Even the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial team is taking a strong stand: Once again, it's time for Wisconsin citizens to let politicians know who's the boss. "If you think votes matter, if you think citizens should be in charge of their government, you can stop them by raising your voice."

Capitol staffers tell us the Senate will be called into session at 10 am, and the Assembly at 1pm. IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY DONE SO, PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LAWMAKERS NOW. Find contact info for your legislators here: http://legis.wisconsin.gov

"The optics problem looks bad." - Senator Luther Olsen

The bills are most vulnerable in the Senate, where several members have expressed qualms over the sweeping measures. We also urge you to take a moment to make a call to the following Senators and ask them to put people before party politics:

Senator Howard L. Marklein, Spring Green - (608) 266-0703 - Sen.Marklein@legis.wi.gov

Senator Rob Cowles, Green Bay - (608) 266-0484 - Sen.Cowles@legis.wisconsin.gov

Senator Dan Feyen, Fond du Lac - (608) 266-5300 - Sen.Feyen@legis.wi.gov

Senator Luther Olsen, Ripon - (608) 266-0751 - Sen.Olsen@legis.wisconsin.gov

Senator Jerry Petrowski, Marathon - (608) 266-2502 - Sen.Petrowski@legis.wisconsin.gov

Senator Patrick Testin, Stevens Point - (608) 266-3123 - Sen.Testin@legis.wi.gov

Our message remains the same (and you're welcome to customize it as you see fit):

Stop playing politics, and stop playing games with democracy. Voters said in November that they are ready for a new era of civility and working together for what's best for our children and our communities. Let's respect that and get to work. Vote NO on each of these bills and take time now to start working on policy that ensures the success of our students, schools and communities.

These are the bills that moved forward:

AB1069 Relating to: state and local highway projects; expenditure of transportation moneys received from the federal government; determining a reduction in individual income tax rates; and election of pass-through entities to be taxed at the entity level.

https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/.../session/2017/REG/AB1069

AB1070 Relating to: legislative powers and duties, state agency and authority composition and operations, and administrative rule-making process.

https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/.../session/2017/REG/AB1070

AB1072 Relating to: federal government waivers and other requests for federal approval; public assistance programs; waivers from work search and registration requirements for certain unemployment insurance benefit claimants; granting rule-making authority; and making an appropriation.

https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/.../session/2017/REG/AB1072

Thank you for taking action to support strong schools and good government!

- Heather
Also for some fun reading, the world is watching Wisconsin again.

On CNN, they compared the WISGOP to Walter White.

Scott Fitzgerald doesn't trust Tony Evers.  Who knew gaining BIG Ftz's Trust was the final step to getting elected?   I guess we now have the new "voice of reason" in Wisconsin.  This guy:


3 comments:

  1. Hey Jeffy, I don't seem to recall a similar outrage when Lefty (AKA Dingy Reid) invoked the Nuclear Option, which delightfully came back to bite them in their over-sized tuchus.

    Then there's MA changing the U.S. Senate rules not just once, not just twice, but three freakin' times times to benefit Lefty?

    Ah Lefty; so MUCH hypocrisy, so little time!

    P.S. Kinda lonely here, what's up with that?

    As always, your pal!

    The Gotch

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cornelius Gotchberg asked, "Kinda lonely here, what's up with that?"

      This blog appears to be here to feed Jeff's overblown ego.

      Delete
    2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KgAilTTZnQ

      The Gotch

      Delete