Gov. Scott Walker’s promise:
He promised to sign legislation if elected governor that prohibits the Legislature from voting after 10 p.m. or before 9 a.m.
Early this morning, the anti-union bill made it past Wisconsin’s Assembly, effectively stripping public sector workers of their collective bargaining rights. Think Progress, emphasis mine:.
Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly approved legislation stripping public employees of their collective bargaining rights, in the face of ongoing protests that have gripped Madison for well over a week. The bill passed at 1:17 a.m., and Republicans only held the vote open for “seconds.” The vote was called while many Democrats were outside the Assembly chamber, preventing them from casting no votes. Only 13 of the Assembly’s 38 Democratic members got their votes in on time.Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) praised the Assembly’s action in a statement.
Gov. Walker, praised the Wisconsin lawmakers, never mentioning the trickery involved, nor the fact that Democrats were out of the Chamber when the vote was called:
Day after day Assembly Republicans and Assembly Democrats showed up and did the jobs they were elected to do. After an unprecedented amount of debate, they continued to do their jobs by casting their votes. Republicans should be commended for their willingness to cast a vote that will fix this budget and future budgets. Democrats should also be commended for coming to work every day and giving their constituents a voice at the State Capitol. Now all the attention is on the Senate. The fourteen Senate Democrats need to come home and do their jobs, just like the Assembly Democrats did
The bill still has to get through the Wisconsin Senate, and since the Democratic lawmakers remain out of state, they have no quorum for a vote.
Meanwhile, protests are planned throughout the country to fight the Republican goal of ending the middle class in America.
