I agree. It’s true that elections have consequences, but it’s also true that elections ARE consequences. The voters have the final say on these tactics.
There is a movement to recall the 8 Wisconsin senators who are able to be recalled. Yes elections have consequences. So does not doing the peoples work. Perhaps some of them will pay with their jobs. that somehow seems right.
Agreed.
They ARE doing their jobs.
Agreed. In retrospect, I’m sure Packwood wished he had gone to Canada rather than into hiding in his office.
I’m a Republican and I always loved this story. Didn’t they have to chase another Senatoor down a hall?
But the young women of Canada are willing to repulse an old lecher and sexual harasser than young employees in Washington, DC.
I’m sure the thrill of the chase just took Byrd back to his early days
Silly me. I thought that they were elected to go to Madison and represent their districts in the State Senate chamber to debate and vote on matters presented to them or introduced by them. Not to flee the state and stifle the budget process.
An absence for a personal reason is different than an absence to purposefully thwart the purpose of your job. Sort of like the difference between a sabbatical from work and a strike.
How does the recall of a state senator work? Is it up to the voters of his or her district? If that’s the case I’m skeptical that a recall would be successful, since they won their last election and are probably doing exactly what the majority who elected them are wanting them to do as we’ve seen in this thread.
You’re not getting it. Their absence is the method by which they are fulfilling their legislative responsibilities. They are denying the Republicans the ability to pass an anti-union bill, which is probably what their constituents want them to do when they were elected. There are more ways of legislating than sitting in a chamber and voting.
You’re partly right.
They are elected to represent the interests of their constituents.
They are doing that.
Nothing says they have to sit in chambers to do that.
It is spelled out in the state constitution (or law). I think each state has its own rules about this stuff.
And yeah, you’d think they’d just get voted back in except, as I have gathered in reading about this, this whole mess is making the republicans less popular…even among republican voters.
Two of the republican senators on the list apparently won very close races. One by less than 200 and the other by 1000-2000 votes (I forget the exact numbers). As such it may not take a lot to topple them.
Regardless, no senator wants to face a new election before they have to (which is what would happen in Wisconsin). The threat, if credible, that they might have to could see them knocking on the Governor’s door telling him they don’t feel like toeing-the-line anymore.
Denying a quorum is fairly routine in politics at all levels. It is up to the conscience of the individual politician based on his/her constituents needs and subject to the constituents refusing to re-elect or recall the politician denying the quorum. What constitutes a quorum may be subject to legal interpretation, however nobody has taken it to the Courts yet.
Over the years I’ve attended many political gatherings where a quorum call has been successfully made to block business by one or the other side.
Are they? Are they doing anything other than hiding out? I mean, they’re adding dollars to my state’s economy, but I curious if they are still working.
what I would like to know is if someone, operating under the color of legality or not, went into Illinois and fetched one (or whatever number is needed for quorum) of the missing Senators.
Surely that person would be guilty of kidnapping (under IL law) but I’m curious what the effect would be on the quorum in Wisconsin…
anyone?
They’re stopping a bill that they’re strongly opposing.
If the people of Wisconsin don’t like it they have the power to recall them. Unless they get recalled they’re doing the will of the people.
I don’t think the will of the people in a democracy is to completely disable the democratic process.
The people in Wisconsin are fairly strongly against this law. The law (at least the collective bargaining portion) wasn’t something Walker ran on. So a solid majority really want it to not pass.
then they are entirely free to elect an entire legislature and executive to overturn it. or if they don’t want to wait, apparently they can get recalled.
the claim that democracy is functioning here - by not showing up and parttaking in a democratic polity - is only a few notches of stupidity below claiming that one legislator killing another to prevent legislation from being passed is part of a legislator’s job in the democratic process.