Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Wisconsin free speech doomed by double-speak

The state of democracy in Scott Walker's Wisconsin has come to this:

The Governor's pledged stance against supporting 'right-to-work' legislation turns out to mean 'I will sign the bill.'

The Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald says he is not rushing the bill, then rushes it towards consideration outside of the normal rules of legislative consideration.

The rushed bill is touted as a workplace freedom measure, but freedom of speech is denied as the rushed committee hearing is cancelled and a quick party line vote is taken with the GOP prevailing in favor before all citizen registrants, some waiting hours, were allowed their allowed three minutes.

The rushed Senate 'process' to get the bill signed by the Governor who said he had no interest in signing it - - this bill that alleges to ensure workplace freedoms - - is being overseen to its rushed conclusion by the Senate President, Mary Lazich, who threatens to further stifle free speech and clear the galleries.

This charade will be repeated in the Wisconsin Assembly.

Details, here.

Following which both houses will pass a separate bill cutting the wages of workers on state-financed projects.

Then both houses will take up Walker's budget - - more an ideological manifesto than a spending plan  - - stuffed with non-fiscal or major policy initiatives, like taking policy-making away from the public's Wisconsin Natural Resources Board - - which in earlier years would have been the subject of separate considerations and hearings.

Which the Senate over the last 24 hours has shown to be irrelevant today.

Wisconsin Democracy '15. R.I.P.

Walker '16.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The Walker philosophy of governing: shift the tax burden; create a deficit, blame government and government employees; defund government; create another deficit by giving out unfunded tax cuts; REPEAT.