Scott Fitzgerald, Senate Majority Leader in Wisconsin, threw a tantrum earlier today after Sen. Fred Risser moved to vote on a bill to restore rights to public unions. The move came amid debate on a contentious bill regarding wetland development. Environmental activists have been up in arms about the bill, as it contains many objectionable provisions. Chief among them is a provision that eliminates the requirement for an entity to fill in a wetland, as long as the entity constructs another wetland of similar size in another location. It is already the duty of the entity to do their best to avoid filling in wetlands. Critics claim that the bill will do away with that responsibility and favor mitigation rather than preservation.
While debating the bill, Madison Dem Fred Risser moved to vote on a bill to restore union rights. The short-tempered Fitzgerald lost it, and decided it was time to adjourn the session and return at 12:01 A.M. Wednesday. Naturally, his cronies fell in line and voted along party lines 17-16 to reconvene shortly after midnight.
These are the same tactics we saw last year as the Budget Repair Bill was passed, along with the rest of the Walker Administrations draconian agenda. They claimed to be on the right side of the argument and even went so far as to claim they held the upper hand on integrity. Now they are back to their old tricks of secret midnight sessions to keep the public out and stifle democracy. Its pathetic.
Walker and the Fitzgerald Klan seem hell bent on destroying any environmental protections we have in this State, and along with it our tourism and hunting industries. Not only are our natural resources in this state beautiful, they generate an obscene amount of cash for our citizens. Nobody goes to Florida to hunt ducks or deer, or to catch musky.
So, without regard to citizen input or regard for our beautiful state, Fitzgerald saw fit to do his best to ram this bill through in the most egregious manner possible. There’s no integrity in this. It’s just another bill meant to be a handout to their supporters. Somehow, I don’t think that I am the crazy one for believing that wetlands, especially those that aid in migration, are a little more important than extending a parking lot or building a hotel. What do you think?