The Spoiled Rich Kids of Wisconsin and Their Latest Tantrum

Scott Fitzgerald talks to the enemy: the press.

"Wisconsin's looking curiouser and curiouser," cried Alice. And Alice should know. She's in Wonderland, where nothing is as it seems. Or maybe it is as it seems, which is even curiouser.

The latest curiosity in the madness that has become the Banana Republic of Wisconsin's trademark is a laughable dictate from from Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald. He has decreed that Democrats will no longer be allowed to vote in that decreasingly-august body, which has already lost just about any credibility it ever had. The pouting and tantrums being thrown around by the majority party (and we're talking about 19 Republicans and 14 Democrats in a small state) are bringing derision nationally, not to mention protesting crowds of 100,000, the size of one of Wisconsin's larger cities.

In a story in The Nation today, John Nichols writes, "On Monday afternoon, Fitzgerald, who has publicly admitted that he and other Republicans advanced the anti-labor legislation in order to strengthen the position of the GOP in 2012 elections, sent a letter to senators that read:

'“Dear Members: With the return of the Senate Democrats this weekend, questions have arisen regarding Democrat members’ participation in Senate standing committee public hearings and executive sessions. Please note that all 14 Democrat senators are still in contempt of the Senate. Therefore, when taking roll call votes on amendments and bills during executive sessions, Senate Democrats’ votes will not be reflected in the Records of Committee Proceedings or the Senate Journal. They are free to attend hearings, listen to testimony, debate legislation, introduce amendments, and cast votes to signal their support/opposition, but those votes will not count, and will not be recorded.'”

We won't even bother to insult your intelligence by talking about how many basic principals of democracy that little fit violates--not to mention how many laws it must violate. It is enough to point a finger at Republicans trying to govern and showing us what we've known all along. Spoiled rich kids don't do well with power.