From the diaries by Erick

I’m not an expert in how the legislative process works in Wisconsin, but I’ve heard enough in the last few days to gather that the Democrats have been able to stop the budget bills from passing because they require a quorum. Without the Dems being there, the GOP is one vote short of the required number.

The flip side of that is that non budget bills do not require a quorum, so the legislature can do pretty much anything that they want, without any interference from Democratic State Senators, so long as it isn’t budget related.

So my question is this: Why not bring up a vote on Right To Work? It’s not a budget bill, so the GOP wouldn’t need a quorum to pass it. They have the votes in the House, and with no Democrats left in the Senate, it would be assured passage.

The main purpose of bringing such a vote to the floor would be to lure the Democrats back to Madison. The union bosses running the Democrat’s show wouldn’t allow such a bill to pass unchallenged. The Democrats would be forced to come back to Madison. Even if Right To Work wasn’t passed, the Senate Majority Leader would suddenly have the quorum he needs to pass Governor Walker’s budget.

It’s a win-win, as far as I can tell. Let me know if I’m missing something.

—

Originally posted at http://bit.ly/eihagh