Thursday, February 24, 2011

Wisconsin Assembly Vote

UPDATE, February 25, 2011: Wisconsin Assembly Passes Budget Repair Bill (Video)
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The Dems have cracked.

Wis. Assembly reaches deal to end debate, vote

Wisconsin Democrats in the state Assembly agreed to a deal in the pre-dawn hours Thursday to limit debate and reach a vote, perhaps by midday, on a bill taking away public workers' collective bargaining rights.

The deal announced shortly after 6 a.m. was designed to force a vote on Republican Gov. Scott Walker's bill following more than 42 hours of debate that began Tuesday morning.

...Passage of the bill in the Assembly would be a major victory for Republicans and Walker, but the measure must still clear the Senate. Democrats there left town last week rather than vote on the bill, which has stymied any efforts there to take it up.

...The marathon session in the Assembly was grand political theater, with exhausted lawmakers limping around the chamber, rubbing their eyes and yawning as Wednesday night dragged on.

Around midnight, Rep. Dean Kaufert, R-Neenah, accused Democrats of putting on a show for the protesters. Democrats leapt up and started shouting.

"I'm sorry if democracy is a little inconvenient and you had to stay up two nights in a row," Pocan said. "Is this inconvenient? Hell, yeah! It's inconvenient. But we're going to be heard!"

Time to put on the big boy pants and vote.

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