Democrats to End Union Standoff, at Some Point
"Democrats to End Union Standoff," The Wall Street Journal announced in a headline on Sunday night, citing an interview with Democratic State Senator Mark Miller:
Playing a game of political chicken, Democratic senators who fled Wisconsin to stymie restrictions on public-employee unions said Sunday they planned to come back from exile soon... Sen. Mark Miller said he and his fellow Democrats intend to let the full Senate vote on Gov. Scott Walker's "budget-repair" bill, which includes the proposed limits on public unions' collective bargaining rights.
Wow! That's huge news. So, when are they returning to Wisconsin?
Mr. Miller declined to say how soon the Democratic senators, who left for Illinois on Feb. 17, would return.
Oh, huh. So... what's the hold up?
He said the group needed to address several issues first—including the resolution Senate Republicans passed last week that holds the Democrats in contempt and orders police to detain them when they return to Wisconsin.
"We are now looking at returning to the state capitol and requiring the senators to take a vote and have them declare who they're with - the workers or the governor," Mr. Miller said.
Ah. So, maybe a better headline would have been "Democrats Look at Returning to State Capitol, But Only After Addressing Several Issues"? Or—just to make it simpler—"Budget Standoff Continues." Or, how about, "Same Shit Going on in Wisconsin Since Last Time You Checked."
[WSJ; image of Democratic State Senator John Erpenbach via AP]