For all the talk from Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald and Governor Scott Walker about how the 14 State Senate Democrats are falling apart at the seams, it certainly seems that the Republican caucus in the State Senate is falling apart with each passing day.
For example, here’s what State Senator Dan Kapanke had to say to constituents about collective bargaining rights for public employees (emphasis mine):
Kapanke was asked by several different people why state unionized workers were losing the ability to collectively bargain for benefits under the budget repair bill even after they have given in to the fiscal demands of the governor.
“That is not a done deal,” Kapanke said. “Those issues are still on the table.”
And here’s State Sen. Rob Cowles explaining how Republicans already got what they want from the state’s public employee unions:
In a telephone conversation with the Green Bay Press-Gazette, Cowles, R-Allouez, said Republicans already got the lion’s share of what they were looking for from unions in pension and health care contributions, and a compromise with Democrats on the rest of Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill is expected soon.
“The important part is the monetary concessions. That’s the part that helps balance the budget. The other things are less monetary in nature,” said Cowles, co-chair of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee.
“It’s the challenge of the senate to go through those and find a conclusion on items that have little or no connection to finance.”
While the two Scotts – Walker and Fitzgerald – want the public to believe the Republican caucus in the State Senate is rock solid in their support of Gov. Walker’s plan to bust Wisconsin’s public employee unions, it certainly seems to me that the reality is much different.
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