An Unprecedented Move
After a few days of protests, Thursday was the day the sh*t really hit the fan.
That day, the Wisconsin State Senate was scheduled to vote on Governor Walker’s Budget Repair Bill. Instead, we all got a lesson in how the senate works, and on the concept of a quorum!
There are 33 state senators in Wisconsin: 19 Republicans and 14 Democrats. On budget-related matters, a quorum of 20 senators must be present in order for a vote to occur. That is, there are almost enough Republicans to make a quorum for a Budget Repair Bill, minus one—at least one Democrat must be present for the vote to even take place.
When the vote occurs, for the bill to pass and become law, at least 17 of those present must vote “yes.” Since Walker and senate Republicans had made it clear they weren’t interested in compromise on the bill, it was inevitable that any vote would pass the bill.
And so, in an unprecedented move (or at least, one I’ve never heard of before), the Democrats thought of the only way they could stop the bill from passing: not show up to vote.
Run, Dems, Run!
Around noon on Thursday, my coworker got a text from someone who was at the protest: “Senate Dems have fled the Capitol to avoid voting on the bill!”
You could actually hear this news buzzing through the cubicle maze where Ron and I work. “What does it mean?” “I don’t know! I hear they ordered the court officer guy to find them and they weren’t in their offices!” “They must have snuck out!” “Where’d they go?”
It turns out that, if the senators had remained in the state of Wisconsin, they could have been brought forcibly by state troopers to the senate chamber in order to allow a vote to proceed. Even one of them being caught and simply escorted into the chamber would allow the bill to pass. Knowing this, all 14 managed to abscond to Rockford, Illinois, just across the border.
This move by the Democrats electrified us protesters. Suddenly, it felt as though all was not lost! Maybe passage of the bill was not inevitable! The Democratic lawmakers—all of them—were in this with us, doing everything they could to delay the bill’s passage. We suddenly had powerful champions.
After work, returning to the protest, I saw a banner reading, “RUN, DEMS, RUN!” In the following days, the fleeing Democrats would become known as the “Fab 14,” the term appearing on signs, on t-shirts, and even in songs.
The Wisconsin Democrats weren’t the only ones to pull a disappearing act. The next week, Ohio’s Democratic state senators would take their cue from Wisconsin and flee a similar union-busting vote, also landing in Illinois, where that state’s Democratic, pro-union governor welcomed them.
Not Everyone Is Enthusiastic
The Wisconsin senators’ move, while popular among protesters, has sparked venom from conservatives. They feel that running away is irresponsible:
The Senate Democrats who fled Wisconsin for Illinois last week need to do the jobs they were elected to do at the state Capitol in Madison. Running away from their problems won’t solve them.
“Running Away Is Irresponsible,” Feb 21, 2011, Wisconsin State Journal Editorial Board.
The general cry from the right is: “Do your job! As Obama said, elections have consequences!” That goes not only for the senators but for all public sector workers (like Ron and me) who’ve been protesting.
But Walker did not in fact campaign on union-busting. No one suspected a bill like this would be the result of electing him—hence the man I saw carrying a sign that said, “I voted for Walker and I’m sorry.”
So I’m elated that the Dems are in Illinois obstructing the vote. As Walker says, “We aren’t budging,” so staying away is the only way that Democrats can have any say at all in the matter…and thus the only way they can give me and half the state a voice.
Our Political Circus
But despite my glee over the Democrats’ fleeing, I’m also dismayed at the circus that politics in Madison has become. It all comes back to my firm belief in dialogue. I disapprove of Walker’s refusal to budge, to consider compromises. This is political showboating. It makes him look great to conservatives nationwide, setting him up perfectly for some future campaign on the national scene, but it’s not good for the people of Wisconsin.
“The people” didn’t vote Walker in, as conservatives are fond of saying. Around half the people of Wisconsin voted him in. An approximately equal number opposed him and continues to.
State and national policies shouldn’t swing violently from the far left to the far right, dictated by the whims of whichever group happens to have power by a slim margin. Instead we should recognize that in most political matters, there are reasonable arguments supporting both sides—that’s part of why the sides are so even. We need to learn to listen and compromise more, to find policies that are acceptable for most people.
If tens of thousands of people have been protesting for more than a week, and all the state’s Democratic senators have fled to another state, then Wisconsin isn’t ready for this legislation. If Walker truly cares about Wisconsin—the whole state, not just those who voted for him—he’ll need to become more compromising.
The news media increase in coverage includes Fox News. I live in Florida and Fox is all over this, making it sound like the protesters are hoodlums and the tea partyers are getting the better of the verbal exchanges. There was some funny coverage of several brawny, handsome & loud Tea Partyer guys on what looked like the Capital Steps calling public employees parasites, and saying that the teachers are intentionally harming children and parents by illegally not showing up to work, and that they are intent on destroying Wisconsin (Why in hell would they want to do that?). It all looked very scripted and rehearsed. The photography was staged such that the visages were similar to those you see on Hero Revolutionary posters plastered all over countries ruled by despots. Oh! I’m SO Impressed!