Parliamentary Move In Wisconsin Legislature May Presage Budget-Repair Bill Compromises

I will update this with a separate post about what the Senate just did, without debate or public notice, to pass a bill ending most public employee collective bargaining. Events are moving quickly. Much of the post below had assumed some good faith by the Senate and GOP, which was my bad.

Even though the bill has yet to receive a State Senate vote because of a quorum-blocking boycott by Democrats, the Senate has moved the bill - - which did pass the Assembly - - to a conference committee of legislative leaders.

That's what would happen normally if both houses had passed different versions of a bill; in this case, the Senate has not passed anything.

Maybe this is the way that changes/compromise language can be added to the bill, or overtly ugly anti-union wording initiated by Gov. Walker gets removed - - but without Walker making an overt initiative that his hard-core supporters would call selling-out.

But still get him most of what he wants.

Interesting development. We'll see. It could be just another Scott Fitzgerald/Walker power play to pressure the Senate Dems.

Could also be a way for State Rep. Jeff Stone, (R-Greendale), to get a do-over, and to nudge his candidacy for Milwaukee County Executive as Scott Walker's replacement away from the outer fringes of the hard, anti-worker Right.