DOWNLOADS: (4375)

PLAYS: (2679)

Embed

Unbelievable. The Republicans in Wisconsin decided to ignore a judge's restraining order and published the bill limiting collective bargaining rights anyway. Lawrence O'Donnell discussed the latest turn of events with the AFL-CIO's Richard Trumka.

Here's more from the Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel -- Collective bargaining bill published despite restraining order:

In a stunning twist, controversial legislation limiting collective bargaining for public workers was published on Friday despite a judge's hold on the measure, sparking a dispute over whether it takes effect Saturday.

The legislation was published Friday to the Legislature's website with a footnote that acknowledges the restraining order by a Dane County judge. But the posting says state law "requires the Legislative Reference Bureau to publish every act within 10 working days after its date of enactment."

The measure sparked massive protests at the Capitol and lawsuits by opponents because it would eliminate the ability of most public workers to bargain over anything but wages.

The restraining order was issued against Democratic Secretary of State Doug La Follette. But the bill was published by the reference bureau, which was not named in the restraining order.

Laws normally take effect a day after they are published, and a top GOP lawmaker said that meant it will become law Saturday. But the nonpartisan legislative official who published the law disagreed.

"I think this is a ministerial act that forwards it to the secretary of state," said Stephen Miller, director of the Legislative Reference Bureau. "I don't think this act makes it become effective. My understanding is that the secretary of state has to publish it in the (official state) newspaper for it to become effective."

Walker signed the bill March 11. Under state law, it must be published within 10 working days, which was Friday.

The law has not been printed in the Wisconsin State Journal, the official state newspaper, as other laws are. Late Friday, State Journal publisher Bill Johnston said in an email that the notice for the law had been scheduled to run but had been canceled. He did not elaborate.

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) claimed it didn't matter that it hasn't appeared in the paper.

"It's published," Fitzgerald said. "It's law. That's what I contend."

Fitzgerald and Miller met Friday. Miller said Fitzgerald asked him to publish the law and, after reading the statutes, Miller agreed that he could do so. He said he has never had something similar happen with the publication of a law during his 12 years running the reference bureau.

After the restraining order was issued on March 18, La Follette sent a letter that same day to the reference bureau rescinding earlier instructions to publish the bill on Friday. "I further instruct you to remove all reference to March 25, 2011, as the publication date and not to proceed with publication until I contact you with a new publication date," his letter said.

Walker's top cabinet official, Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch, gave only a brief statement reacting to Friday's news.

"Today the administration was notified that the LRB published the budget-repair bill as required by law," he said. "The administration will carry out the law as required."

More there so go read the rest.

DOWNLOADS: (3207)

PLAYS: (5155)

Embed

Rachel Maddow took a whack at the hypocritical Republicans in Wisconsin and the Republican governors across the country who will spare no expense when it comes to taking care of their own -- especially big business and their wealthy campaign donors -- and at the same time are willing to raise taxes on the poor and the middle class.

Case in point, we have Stephen Fitzgerald, the father of Wisconsin State Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald and State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald. The elder Fitzgerald, who after losing his election for Dodge County sheriff by a 2-to-1 margin, somehow got appointed as the head of the State Patrol.

And as Rachel noted, in the midst of the potential recall of a number of Wisconsin Senators, there is "another patronage scandal blossoming today."

Senator's girlfriend had help getting job:

Even though the state is supposedly broke, top officials in Gov. Scott Walker's team were able to scrape together enough money to give a state job to the woman identified as Sen. Randy Hopper's girlfriend.

Anything for a political ally.

Valerie Cass, a former Republican legislative staffer, was hired Feb. 7 as a communications specialist with the state Department of Regulation and Licensing. She is being paid $20.35 per hour. The job is considered a temporary post.

Cass previously had worked in the state Senate and for the GOP campaign consulting firm Persuasion Partners in Madison. She also was paid for campaign work for the state Republican Party and U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner before that.

"Ms. Cass' name was among many forwarded to DRL by the Governor's Transition Team as potential candidates for positions with the department," said David Carlson, the agency's spokesman. Read on...

Rachel summed this up rather nicely.

MADDOW: But apart from the awkwardness for the State Senator here, there's also the awkwardness of whether or not Wisconsin state government is so broke because of all those greedy state employees, right? I mean for the Senator already facing the likely prospect of recall, this is not a positive development. But is also really handy as a reminder about the whole nature of this fight in Wisconsin, and why it is resonating nationally.

The Republican justification for the union stripping business in Wisconsin is that it was all about the budget, right? But then something like this comes along and we're all reminded that if it were all about the budget, people hired by the state would not be getting $12,000 raises, whether or not they were State Senators' girlfriends.

She wrapped it up with letting her viewers know about some of Think Progress' Wonk Room reporting on the GOP governors out there and their willingness to raise taxes on the working class while giving their wealthy campaign donors a break -- REPORT: In 12 States, GOP Plans To Slash Corporate Taxes While Increasing Burden on Working Families:

Continue reading »

DOWNLOADS: (2062)

PLAYS: (323)

Embed

It looks like the stalemate between Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and the 14 Senate Democrats who have fled the state is not going to be resolved any time soon.

Walker attacks Dems, succeeds in making them more resolved to hold out:

Governor Scott Walker held a press conference this afternoon in which he hammered away at missing state senate Dems in an effort to force them to cave and return to Wisconsin to pass his proopsal rolling back public employee bargaining rights.

But if anything, Walker's presser has only stiffened Dem resolve to hold out longer. That's what Dems agreed upon this afternoon in a private conversation after Walker's appearance today, one senate Dem tells me.

In the presser, Walker made the surprising claim that two senate Democrats were privately negotiating with him and senate Republicans to reach a deal to end the impasse. As Eric Kleefeld reports, Walker singled out Dem senators Tim Cullen and Bob Jauch, claiming that they had met with Walker and Republicans near the Illinois state line in an effort to reach some kind of compromise. Walker then charged that Dem leaders keep blocking these efforts.

But in going public with this claim about Cullen and Jauch, Walker has only succeeded in antagonizing them and making them less inclined to deal with him, senator Chris Larson just told me in an interview.

"Walker just knocked down the last two people who thought Walker could be reasonable," said Larson, who said he had heard this directly from the senators in question on a call after the Walker presser. "He threw those two guys under the bus. It hardened their resolve."

Walker And Fitzgerald Claim Key Dems Were Going To Come Back -- And Spark Sharp Denials:

Continue reading »