This may have been covered somewhere, but if the Wisconsin Democrats disagree with whatever it is that the Republicans are trying to do, why don’t they return to their state and actually vote on it?
Is it because they will lose the vote?
Can a vote somehow not happen if they are not there?
They will lose the vote. By not allowing a quorum they postpone the vote from happening.
Yep. They know they would lose, so they are avoiding the vote in the hope of postponing it long enough that a public outcry will change the equation or maybe even make the vote unnecessary.
Again, yep. My understanding is that only non-budgetary votes can be made without a quorum.
-XT
FYI, it seems like a dick move, but they feel like it was a surprise bill with lots of underhanded stuff in it that the Repubs want to push though without discussion.
see the Gov. Scott Walker thread for more info… or better yet, go to a real news site!
There’s a quorum required for non-budgetary items but it’s a lower number. The WI GOP senators could vote on the union stuff separately from the budget and pass it at the lower threshold but their messaging is tied up in “This union stuff is essential to saving the budget” so they won’t pass one without the other.