By State Representative, Leon D. Young
Leon D. Young
One would have to be deaf, blind and damn near dead to be oblivious to the political turmoil that has ensued since Scott Walker took office. In many respects, January 3, 2011 has become a day of infamy in the history of the state.
To say that Walker ’s political agenda has been divisive would be an understatement. His right-wing, corporate giveaway approach has literally torn the pillars of state government asunder. First, it was the forced exodus of the 14 Democratic members in the Senate. The absentee Wisconsin Senators felt that they had no other alternative but to flee to state, in an effort to buy time by giving the public the opportunity to understand the full ramifications of Scott Walker’s collective bargaining power grab. The stalemate lasted 22 days, before the Senators returned to the state from Illinois.
Next, it was the debacle in the State Assembly. Assembly Republicans attempted to ramrod an ill-fated budget repair bill through the Assembly that contained a controversial collective bargaining provision, without giving Democrats the opportunity to vote. Democrats raised so much ruckus about the undemocratic nature of the process that the Assembly Speaker had to concede to the vigorous objection by Assembly Democrats, and agreed to schedule an actual debate on the legislation the following week. Once on the Assembly floor, Democrats debated the bill (in earnest) for 61 consecutive hours, before debate was abruptly halted in the early morning hours. And again, a number of Democratic members were denied a chance to vote, because of the rapid and undemocratic manner in which the roll call was taken.
Now, the vitriolic nature of Scott Walker’s politics has spilled over to the state Supreme Court. Two justices (David Prosser and Ann Walsh Bradley) reportedly became embroiled in a physical altercation in which Justice Prosser allegedly placed his hands around Justice Bradley’s neck in a threatening fashion. The alleged incident occurred a day before the Court released its decision to uphold passage of a controversial bill that terminated the collective bargaining rights of most state workers. Two state agencies are currently investigating the veracity of the chokehold allegation.
By way of review, in the short time that Scott Walker had been chief executive, he has managed to divide the state Legislature, to divide the state electorate, and now to divide the state Supreme Court. So much for judicial dispassion.