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Dale Schultz, the Republican State Senator who has been on the fence on the budget repair bill that will strip away public employee collective bargaining rights, will vote against the bill, according to protest organizer leadership. According to the Capitol City Leadership Committee, Schultz told State Sen. Lena Taylor (D) that he’s a no on the bill.
This was very expected among the community in Wisconsin. Schultz represents the 17th Senate District in Wisconsin, which Obama won 61-38 and even Kerry carried. Schultz has been a longtime moderate, and there are a lot of union members in his district. He offered a compromise, since removed, to sunset the collective bargaining restrictions after two years. He has been trying to find a way to bridge the gap here, and with the Republican leadership not budging, he finally had to side with the people and say no.
I would not be surprised if the Tea Party groups in Wisconsin reacted to this with a recall for Dale Schultz. The way recalls work in Wisconsin is that it basically sets up a do-over election. There is a special election called with a primary and then a general ballot. Schultz would have to face a Tea Party primary.
At a meeting of the “Fighting Bob” coalition, the progressives in Madison, yesterday, John Nichols of the Nation told the assembled that they would have to help Republicans who stood with the people on workers’ rights. They would potentially get involved in Dale Schultz’ election, to help him win the primary.
The other notable part of this is that there is now bipartisan, bicameral support for blocking the Walker assault on workers. Four Assembly Republicans, most of them from rural districts, voted against the bill last week in the quick-strike vote. Now Schultz joins the Democrats in the Senate in opposition. No Democrats have even considered crossing over to support the bill.
Protesters were enthusiastic about Schultz’ defection. There’s been a big sign up in the Capitol for at least a week saying “We need 3 Cou(R)ageous Senators,” referring to the three votes needed to block the bill (there are 19 Republicans and 14 Democrats in the State Senate). One down, two to go.
UPDATE: Officially, the chief of staff for Schultz has said that he’s still undecided. They’re a little gun shy on this, I think. But I’m fairly confident that he’s a no in the needed, especially because his vote is not needed for passage.
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Democrats will win this one through the support of the people and because they’re smarter and because not all Republican are stubbornly self-destructive, either politically or with transvestites. The Democrats will continue through the press and the web sites (and one fantastic gonzo journalism Skype phone call) top expose this Republican plan, this transparent, craven plan.
From the UK Guardian:
Wisconsin is making the battle lines clear in America’s hidden class war
The brazen choices of the Republican governor shows the real ideology behind attacks on unions – in the US and beyond
LINK.
Excellent!
“I would not be surprised if the Tea Party groups in Wisconsin reacted to this with a recall for Dale Schultz.”
Dale Schultz was just re-elected in November. I’m pretty sure that means he cannot be recalled until Jan 2012 at the earliest.
Meanwhile, here’s what sort of havoc Walker’s already creating:
Hey, FOX News! You’re looking for “chaos”? You won’t find it among the peaceful grannies and firefighters in the Rotunda of the Capitol building. You’ll find it in your buddy and fellow Koch fiend Scott Walker’s wasteful slash-and-burning of the state he’s supposed to be governing, not looting.
That’s what my HS classmate in Madison told me. He’s 67 and is retired. (Taught at WI junior college.) But reported that many of his somewhat younger acquaintances were retiring in panic, whether they could afford it or not.
Yeah: I wondered about that. If a ton of peoople retire now, THEN it’ll really put a burden on the pension system, plus leave the State in chaos.
Then again, I doubt if the Koch brothers or other MOTU care what happens to the state of WI. The ends justify the means in their minds.
David,
I want to add my thanks for all you are doing for us and keeping us informed on what is happening on the ground in Madison.
We planned on coming to Madison last Saturday to join the protestors and make connections. My mother-in-law went into the hospital Friday night so we spent all weekend at the hospital with her. Priorities have to be made.
We are hoping that this coming Saturday goes better for our plans. I also plan to stop by Eli’s to donate some cash for the cause.
One question that has been bugging me and maybe it has been answered, is there any anger about this bill giving away the utilities in a no-bid agreement that lets the Gov. repay his friends?
Mike Taibbi on MSNBC said just now that a republican source told him there may be as many as four Senate Republicans who are “wobbly” on Walker’s bill, who may be willing to support the compromise that Schultz put forward last week, or even willing to vote ‘no’ on the bill.
Citizen Phoenix Woman:
Our local school Superindendant used this argument on his teachers to get them to settle last month with the 5% give back on pension and 12.5% share of all health insurance. Then last Friday he announced that he was sending layoff notices to all teachers so that they could rehire after the new budget was settled and of course they wouldn’t be held to union seniority or tenure in the layoffs.
Look at the difference between Dayton and the school districts in Minnesota and Wisconsin, most of the districts in Minnesota that have the largest potential deficits are workin with the unions to put together budgets for the next contract period that don’t require layoffs to tenured faculty and some are goin after levy increases to shore up their longer term problems. Two of my three kids teach in Minnesota and the difference in the politics of all this at the local level is incredibly different with Democrat in the statehouse who refuses to cut services before increasing taxes.
The longer this goes on in Wisconsin the more likely it is that the fascists will be forced to reconsider their actions of last month that changed the legislative requirement for tax increases to a super majority and the more likely it is that a short term bi-partisan compromise that includes this change will be the end-game in this. In the mean time, the fascists in the Minnesota legislature have gotta be sweatin’ bullets because they’re gunna hafta eat some kinda tax increase or increase in general revenues or they will be the ones that get tagged with losin’ the Vikings and their new stadium.
Blue Texan’s regularly scheduled post is now available: Mitch Daniels Thinks Criticism of His Performance as Bush Budget Director is “Lame”
Here is something that I just found on Facebook:
A unionized public employee, a member of the Tea Party, and a CEO are sitting at a table. In the middle of the table there is a plate with a dozen cookies on it. The CEO reaches across and takes 11 cookies looks at the tea partier and says,”look out for that union guy, he wants a piece of your cookie.”
why don’t union members recall everyone on board with this “budget devastation bill”
they MUST rename that bill when they talk about it, they CANNOT keep using “budget repair bill
and they MUST start talking about recalling everyone who is on board
Four wobbly Repubs or more say they won’t support the bill; duped Dems form quorum, Repubs vote and pass bill. Then what?
Schultz proposed, if I remember correctly to suspend collective bargaining until 2013, then reinstate it.
That is no bargain because once they get it off the table, it will NEVER be put back on again. No, no, no to any removal of collective bargaining from this process.
We all need to stand firm on this. Now if Mr. Schultz wants to vote “no” to the entire bill, I support his actions.
“they MUST rename that bill when they talk about it, they CANNOT keep using “budget repair bill”
It is my understanding that the phrase “budget repair bill” has specific meaning in Wisconsin’s budget process and statutes. Wisconsin does their budgets over two year periods; we’re currently in the 2009-2011 budget, and are gearing up to put together the 2011-2013 budget. If things go ‘bad’ during a two year cycle, there are statutory ‘triggers’ that can require the legislature to take up “repair bills” as adjustments to the two year budget. Though those triggers have (probably) not been met right now, Walker has called his bill a “repair bill”.
right.. only the assembly can be recalled immediately
back from my second trip there. yes they are angry and I have never, in my long life, seen so many people getting it, that it is the corporations that are the problem. We need a mass awakening nationwide with the kinds of anti banks, corporations and kOch signs they have in Madison
After what Walker said on that phone call, they know they cannot be trust.
They closed down the capital and won’t let elected democrats in and are now welding the windows closed (I shit you not) so people can not get food to the protestors.
You’ve got it right there. Either this goes national, and everyone gets it, and the war against corporate serfdom gets started with overwhelming victories and the entire corrupt elite of both parties are swept from power straight into jail cells, or it will unfortunately die and go nowhere. Whilst it’s true that more people than ever before are “getting it”, the number across the whole country who’ve reached this stage of enlightenment is still piffling. It seems to me that this issue in Wisconsin is far far bigger than something just concerning the state. This is truly the key moment for Wisconsin.
“right.. only the assembly can be recalled immediately”
Well, only half of the senate was (re)elected in 2010; the other half was (re)elected in 2008, so that half could face recall right away.
Splendid article. Thanks for flagging it.
So, let’s say that several more Wisconsin Senate Republicans “switch” and say they will not vote for stripping collective bargaining from Wisconsin public workers…and the Wisconsin 14 are lulled into the belief that they can return, expecting these Wisconsin Senate Republicans to side with them in voting down Gov. Walker’s bill…only to discover that once the Wisconsin Senate had a quorum, due to their good-faith return, that these Senate Republicans switched back, supporting Gov. Walker?
We already know that Walker and Wisconsin Republicans are considering ways to trick the Wisconsin 14 into returning, so anything any union-busting Wisconsin Republican says is suspect, including any “promises” that are made to try to break this log-jam.
IOW, public workers in Wisconsin will not be safe until the culture of corruption, greed and lying Republicans are out of office, just as our nation will not be safe until the U.S. House of Representatives is no longer under the control of lying, deceitful, corrupt and greedy Republicans and their lying, deceitfal, corrupt and greedy corporate paymasters.
Dale Schultz has been in the WI state senate since 1991. That is, at least two of the Dems have been working with him for upwards of 20 years. I expect the 14 Dems know who they can and cannot trust to keep to an agreement.
We should be recalling him
Please.
You tell us that Schultz is deathly afraid of being primaried by the baggers. You tell us that his CoS says he won’t actually announce publicly as a “no” vote on the union-busting bill. You tell us that he’s likely to feel safe voting “no”, if he actually does, because the Rs won’t really need his “yes”, as they didn’t need the votes of those 4 Assemblypersons, and so let them vote “no” without fear of repisal.
You’re telling us that he’s only voting our way if that wouldn’t make any difference, if the Rs already have the vote won without him.
Our side should be recalling him. Don’t wait for the baggers to do it. If they do take the initiative, of course our side should run an actual Democrat to represent this obviously Democratic district. This loser’s political corpse needs to be left by the side of the road where his Republican friends dumped the body.