Well, let' start with a tip of the hat to The Daily Kos' Laura Clawson for her usual outstanding job covering the Indiana fight against Right-To-Work (for practically nothing)! Laura you should come and join the Occupy Super Bowl Party. We'll get to that soon but first I'll try to add a few bits and pieces of local insight.
The Indiana House Labor and Pensions Committee passed HB 1001 (the “right to work” bill) by a party line vote of 8-5. No amendments nor public testimony were allowed during the 10-minute committee hearing, causing one member to note that “the light of Democracy just went out.” with Rep. John Bartlett, D-Indianapolis, adding that he’d “never seen a charade like this in my life.”
This prompted Democrats to resume their boycott of the House. Rep. Craig Fry said he had “never seen such a neglect of the constitution and the rules of the House as what we witnessed this morning when they didn’t take testimony or allow amendments on such an important bill. We have to keep fighting all the way to the Super Bowl.”
Dems also broke tradition in boycotting Governor Daniels State of the Union speech. The first time a party had done so since the Civil War. They didn’t miss much with Daniels offering his usual misrepresentations such as “This year, the choice of actions has become obvious. In survey after survey, by margins of 2 to 1 or more, Hoosiers support the principle known as Right to Work." (ignoring the only independent study done by Ball State University's Bowen Center for Public Affairs) and “Almost half our fellow states have right to work laws. As a group, they are adding jobs faster, growing worker income faster, and enjoying lower unemployment rates than those of us without a law.” (Ignoring studies that show this isn’t even remotely true.)
If the crowd inside the State House was a bit thin, he had plenty of company outside with concerned Hoosiers, Unions and the local Occupy groups all turning out to share their outrage. Occupy Indianapolis posted a wonderful video of the local Teamsters Unions and the Occupiers using trucks to block Capital Ave during the speech. I have to say that I'm extremely impressed with the local Indiana Occupiers. In a state with so many unfriendly to the cause they have persevered and have done so with energy, class and a true spirit of care for their fellow citizens.
It appears now that the plan is to continue the boycott until the Super Bowl. Occupy Indianapolis is promising a Super Bowl party that Republicans will never forget but this would be most effective if the vote hasn't occurred by then. This could, and probably will, result in the Democrats participating being fined $1,000 a day. ActBlue is taking donations to help pay those fines. Dems are also turning up the heat with measures like the “Don't Touch My Paycheck” site where you can sign the petition and share your thoughts.
Tomorrow I'll be back with all the new twists and turns in Hoosier's fight for fairness.