Were you as baffled as me by the Assembly Democrats’ decision not to introduce amendments to the state budget?
I mean, I know it was crafted by Gov. Scott Walker, the Republican members of the Joint Finance Committee and the Republican legislative leaders without public input. Or Democratic input.
And I know that Assembly Democrats were powerless to make any changes to it.
And I appreciate the thoughtful debate going on at Blogging Blue about making the GOP own and eat this terrible budget by not giving them cover with palatable Democratic amendments.
But still.
Come on.
Fight!
I think the Democrats badly mishandled this one.
Mixed messages filled yesterday’s press conference after the vote.
The budget was too crappy to fix.
The Republicans won’t listen to us.
Robin Vos won’t listen to dissident Republicans.
None of us wanted to put lipstick on a pig.
The people of Wisconsin need to know what’s in the budget but we’re not going to debate it on the floor of the people’s house.
We had 211 amendments ready to go but we’re not going to introduce them.
Robin Vos told us none of our 211 amendments would pass.
To which I say, fight!
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Of course none of your amendments were going to pass. You’re in the minority and the Republicans have shown time and time again that they are only going to listen to their fellow Republicans (and they do that on a selective basis).
But how are you supposed to fight something with nothing?
Did your constituents elect you to hold press conferences that nobody will watch or to raise holy hell on the Assembly floor?
Come on.
Pick your battles. The state budget is one of them, even if you know that you’re going to lose. And lose badly.
Offer a handful of amendments instead of 211, if you must, to focus your message and let your righteous anger go viral around the state.
Demand change.
Stand up to leadership.
Don’t let Robin Vos write the headlines and gloat about his power.
Give your allies something to rally around.
Fight!
