The Republicans in Wisconsin, led by the hubris of Gov. Walker, have made a real mess of things for the state, the people, but also for themselves. With Governor Walker’s entire career hanging in the balance, he and the Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald attempted to push through the anti-union bill late on a Friday night, without notice to the public. Now the Republicans are on the run from the law.
When a judge ruled that it appeared the plaintiff in a case against their passage of the bill would prevail, and so ordered the bill not to be published into law, the Republicans violated the court order by having it published by another entity. The judge came back with a second court order. The cowboys said they were going to do as they pleased in spite of the court order, but then the judge clarified her position and suddenly the boys got into line. Third time is a charm, apparently.
And so the bill is not law yet. The judge is now hearing testimony about how the Republicans originally passed the law and it’s clear they have violated the open meeting law, as alleged. They are now claiming legislative immunity in order to avoid the lawsuit.
Currently, the judge is only hearing testimony on the open meeting law challenge. After this, there is the violation of a court order, the violation of the state constitution in the original legislation, the failure to have quorum, and a likely conspiracy charge regarding the pressure put upon another body to publish the law against their wishes– among other hurdles they face. Right now, the judge is looking into their claim that their meeting was an emergency meeting, but the testimony so far as well as empirical evidence via Walker’s press conferences on the subject make it appear as if they deliberately misled the Democrats and the people. Conspiracy and deliberate and multiple violations of the open meeting law are not small matters.
MORE ABOUT THE SHAME OF IT ALL HERE