...and don't realize that they can be overheard. Or recorded on a cell phone as they complain about Walker, the Fitzgeralds... and call a Green Bay high school a sewer because it's got "a poverty problem".
Credit goes to Politiscoop and the Wisconsin citizen who was quick with the cell phone. I'm only a guy who picked it up on the web (it's spreading around on Facebook).
Senators Grothman, Ellis, Harsdorf and Representative Vos are seen/heard in this video, after the cheese doodle.
I've been trying to make out what they're saying. I hear Harsdorf saying something about "You've got to tell him (unintelligible)."
I hear (I think it's Mike Ellis)
"Fitzgerald... you know my brother doesn't know if he can get enough votes... I thought, you little (unintelligible) you... Fitzgeralds, biggest grifters in the west... they play one against the other and that's how they get by (unintelligible)..."
A little later: "If you need to use the Democrats, USE THEM."
According to Politiscoop:
The issue of school vouchers came up and Robin Vos states "Well, there is a way to find $200 million in venture capital" with Sen. Mike Ellis responding "I'd like to hear this". But wait a minute, he can find $200 million for school vouchers but can't find money for public education? The duo continued in the conversation which included a pronouncement that Jeff Fitzgerald and Scott Fitzgerald are basically inept. Neither Vos nor Ellis appeared to be concerned where they were discussing political strategies. Perhaps they believe they live in a bubble or are surrounded by an invisible Cone of Silence.
During the conversation Ellis states "I know what you are doing and you're going to live with me long time after he is gone" in which Vos replies tersely "I know!". Who where they talking about? The soon to be recalled Scott Walker or does Walker have other plans? Then Ellis begins to pat Vos on the back, "I'm impressed with you and I respect you and I need you", Ellis continues on after some unintelligible audio to say "Your orders, my orders, Scott Walkers orders where effed up so we voted for a bill that we didn't like, or I didn't like". Vos responds "I know you didn't" with Ellis continuing "But we voted to get it through, then we scrapped it, but it's still languishing, but uh, Michelle Litchens is on board.
Later:
It was this point that Vos says something about the Green Bay School District to which Ellis replies "I know, I mean we've got great school districts in the Fox Cities, the only one getting close to the margins is the Green Bay area. That's not even the Green Bay school district, its target schools because of the geographic disbursement you've got Preble out there that's got all the poor people. So when we are done with this bill, we modify it so that a segment of the school district may move into this program. Green Bay east is fine, west is fine, Preble is a sewer they've got the poverty possum. We need to not make it the entire school system, we need to make that Preble, that geographic quadrant and make it eligible like Milwaukee is for a voucher program." Vos replies "I'm okay with that". Ellis replies "So am I"
Preble? Oh yeah, that's in a Democratic senator's district - Dave Hansen, one of the Wisconsin 14. So it's a sewer, to hell with those kids, their parents elected a Democrat.
Well, if anyone should know what a sewer is, it ought to be this bunch.
See Politiscoop for the background on the school voucher issue.
If anyone with better ears than I wants to try to pull more conversation out - have at it!
UPDATE - Per Fearlessfred14's correction, Vos is an Assembly rep, not a senator. Diary is corrected.