Senators Persecuted for Giving Public a Closer Look

The State of Wisconsin, the nation and the entire world continues to learn all of the sordid details that exist in Scott Walker's so-called "budget repair bill". They are learning that it contains a ton of non budgetary policy that is both sweeping and extreme. The bill has garnered most of this attention because of its attempt to repeal 50 plus years of labor rights in only a matter of days. But as time has passed we have learned more unfortunate details about this political document. From Walker wanting to replace career civil service employees with his own political appointees to his power grab over medicaid to his no-bid selling of Wisconsin assets and much more. We have indeed learned many of the ugly details of this bill and it is largely because of the 14 courageous Senate Democrats who derailed Scott Walker's legislative fast track (or should I say runaway train?).

It was clear that Scott Walker and the Republican leaders in the Legislature wanted to ram this sweeping and radical legislation down our throats before anyone got a close look at it. Democrats are in the minority and Republican legislators have proven themselves as nothing but rubber stamps for an extreme and overreaching administration. Although some media outlets attack the Senate Democrats for slowing down this runaway train, they apparently don't realize that they wouldn't even know half of the things that they currently do about the bill had not been for the Senators actions.

Scott Walker, his rubber stamps in the legislature and the extreme right wing were certainly not happy that Senate Democrats slowed down their runaway train. It is pretty clear that they really did not want the public to get a close look at the content of this bill until after it was too late. So Walker and Co. have deployed every attack and considered every dirty trick that they can to persecute the courageous senate Democrats that dared to stand in the way of his extreme agenda. Consider just some of the nasty attacks and tactics:

• Sending the State Patrol to Senators' homes and accomplishing little more than causing an early morning scene, intimidating the Senator's spouses, and frightening their children and grandchildren.
• Holding the pay of Senators by revoking their direct deposits and instead locking their checks in desks on the Senate floor.
• Conspiring with fellow Republican AG J.B. Van Hollen to try and dream up some imagined felony to threaten Democratic Senators. They seem perfectly willing to potentially abuse the law to conduct a political witch hunt (see "Koch" call).
• After at least one of the Senators received a threat that someone might burn down their home, right wing radicals show up at their Illinois hotel and trespass on private property necessitating police protection.
• On the 18th the usual Walker-boosting suspects at CRG sent extensive open records requests to several Senators (They must have rushed to send them because requests to some Senators asked for the records of a different Senator).
• Also on the 18th Milwaukee's WITI Fox 6 also sent an extensive open records request to the Democratic Senators (I have asked Fox 6 if they sent records requests to the Republican leadership in the legislature or to Scott Walker's office but so far they have not responded to that inquiry). Then they sent a revised request on the 23rd.
• We also know, thanks to Scott Walker's conversation with "David Koch", that he planned underhanded and dishonest tricks to get the Democratic Senators back to the Capitol. In the same conversation joking about bringing his baseball bat to the fake meeting.
• Walker has also tried to pressure Senate Democrats by using the same old shtick that he used repeatedly in Milwaukee County. Threatening layoffs if he didn't get his own way. We know that this is just one of his over-the-top political ploys as he admitted in a radio interview last year.
• Some Utah-recall group threatening to recall Wisconsin Senators.

It is clear that Scott Walker, his rubber stamps in the legislature and the extreme right wing that support them are willing to try every dirty trick in the book to ram this radical bill through. Going into this conspiracy they were overconfident and that is why the brave actions of the Senate Democrats have upset them so much. Walker and Co. were not counting on the public getting a nice long look at his radical bill. Each day new repugnant details of this bill emerge and that is exactly what Walker wanted to avoid by ramming it through fast. That is also why he is trying to use ever dirty trick in the book to persecute the State Senators that forced a full examination of this radical bill.