by Kerry Thomas
February 21, 2011
As Senator Jim Holperin and his 13 Democrat colleagues in the Wisconsin Senate shirk their responsibilities as elected officials and refuse to even show up in Madison (or the entire State of Wisconsin) to debate and vote on Governor Walker’s budget proposals, I recalled a letter Senator Holperin wrote to the Lakeland Times on July 24, 2009.
In the letter, Senator Holperin bragged how the Democrats
(who at that time controlled both houses of the State Legislature and the
Governorship) had not only eliminated a $6.6 billion deficit in the State’s
2010-11 budget, but had actually left the State with a $270 million surplus.
In reality, Wisconsin is currently projected to end this
fiscal year with a $137 million deficit.
Of course, in order to claim the budget was balanced, the
Democrats had to borrow money from segregated funds (including the 911
emergency dispatch fund), raise taxes, and use $2.2 billion in one-time federal
“stimulus” funds to pay the State’s bills instead of using that money to
“stimulate” Wisconsin’s economy.
Senator Holperin and his Democrat colleagues also increased
Wisconsin’s spending by 7%, and called it a budget cut.
In November 2010, the voters of Wisconsin said “enough!”
Wisconsin voters handed control of the Legislature and the
Governorship to Republicans, who had promised to reign in the excessive State
spending.
All through the budget debates in 2009, Democrats demanded
to see where Republicans would actually cut spending. We’ve now seen the proposals presented by
Governor Walker. Republicans in the
Legislature like the proposals; Democrats don’t. In a legislative body, such proposals are debated and voted upon.
Two years ago, when Democrats controlled Madison, the
Democrat budget proposals prevailed.
Republicans were in the minority then, but they did show up and vote on
the measures.
Today, when Senator Jim Holperin and his fellow Democrats
find themselves in the minority, instead of doing the jobs they were elected to
do, they won’t even bother to show up for work to debate the matter.
Senator Holperin has spent 12 years in the Assembly and 3
years in the Senate, in addition to his time as the State’s Tourism Secretary. And with all that experience as a public
employee, having learned all the parliamentary procedures and tricks he could
use to slow debate, the best he can do is take his ball and flee the State?
If Senator Jim Holperin and his Democrat colleagues, and,
indeed, any of our public employees, are unwilling to show up for work and do
their jobs, it’s time to replace them with people who will.
According to the Chicago
Tribune (February 21, 2011 8:05 pm):
Sen. Jim Holperin,
D-Eagle River, said they don't want protesters showing up at their doors.
"We are at work and we do need to have the ability to do that
without distraction," he said.