The Devil is in the Details: How the WI GOP Got Their Way

Alas, the battle of WI rages on. What started as a series of protests over an *ahem* unfavorable bill has gone on to become a hallowed battleground in America's class war (along with Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio). The latest is that the GOP senators in WI, amidst a background chorus of millions of Americans wondering "WHAT THE FUCK?!?!," somehow managed to get Walker's bill passed without meeting that pesky 20 senator quorum that we had all been hearing about. Then again, this is America, land of the free and home of the loophole. We're used to seeing these kinds of sneaky maneuvers and writing off the entire standoff as mere theatrics. But this time it's different. The devil is in the details, and I intend to drop a bomb on those who haven't already heard how the GOP managed to turn the tables.

Republicans, ASSEMBLE!!!
(Source: www.beezodogsplace.com)

But first, the quorum. According to WI state law, any bill that is labeled as budget-related (this is the key here) requires 3/5 of the senate to vote on it. That's 20 senators, for you see the GOP has a 19-14 majority in that state. The incredible part is that all they needed was one Democrat to stick around and they would have been golden. Instead, every last Democrat fled the state. All for naught, but still impressive for a party that can't seem to agree on the correct way to put on a pair of pants.

So how did this quorum become irrelevant? Simple. The GOP stripped that little "budget" component from it. In other words, they didn't have to change the bill, just admit the fact that it really has nothing to do with balancing the budget. So the question that remains is this: if this isn't about saving taxpayer dollars, what reasons could the GOP possibly have for slowly chipping away at the workers' right to unionize? Well I don't have the internet completely memorized (only mostly), but nowhere have I seen this question being asked (although FOX does still have a tour de force piece on the Harry Baals building in Indiana hidden on the front page).

Nonetheless, the WI GOP still might not get away with it. The voters there have a terrible case of buyer's remorse, and fortunately the state constitution includes a generous return policy. Any senator who has served their entire first term in office is eligible for a recall, and there are 8 GOP senators that fit the criteria. The process dictates that separate petitions be created for each senator, and within 60 days they must collect a number of signatures equal to 25% of the total votes in the last governors election in each senators' respective district. So far two weeks have gone by since the recall effort was put into place, and Dems are reporting that they have roughly half of the signatures they need in each of the eight districts eligible for recall. As you can see, this isn't just a formality. 

So we could be watching history unfold or this could all just fizzle out... we'll find out in 46 days.