#NotMyWisconsin -- lack of decorum at the Capitol demonstrates how low Republicans can go

Wisconsin GOP, under Gov. Walker's leadership, is sinking our state

"I've been in the Legislature over 50 years, through different majorities and different minorities...

... and I have never experienced the abuse of power by the majority party that I experienced today."

-State Sen. Fred Risser

Wisconsin, as we know it and love it, is falling apart.

Politically speaking, Wisconsin was once considered a wonderful place, where liberals and conservatives could be bitterly divided in the Capitol, yet still have time to put aside their differences for a beer across the street on the square.

Mike Ellis loses it as he refuses to allow debate

And while being divided on the floors of the legislature, Democrats and Republicans alike still had a sense of decorum, of understanding that our differences made our state stronger.

That changed with the inauguration of Gov. Scott Walker. His attack on workers signaled a drastic departure from respectful dialogue.

Instead of finding the middle ground, Walker refused to budge on the issue of collective bargaining for state employees, preferring instead for his friends in the legislature to pass the bill in the dead of night, violating procedural rules in the process.

A lot of good compromises were offered during the protests of 2011. None were considered -- not even an offer of dialogue proposed -- by Scott Walker and his Republican allies.

The attacks didn’t end there, and the methods of passing controversial bills without consideration for the rest of the state continued. In two short years, Wisconsin Republicans have attacked health care for the poor, tax credits for minimum wage-earners, funding for public education, access and ease of voting for the citizenry, and more recently intruding on the rights of women when it comes to their reproductive health.

That’s just the short list, an abbreviated version of what state Republicans, under the leadership of Scott Walker, have done. I could go on and on with a long story of how those actions have and will cause problems for Wisconsinites down the line.

But right now, I want to focus on what happened today. The actions of Republicans in the legislature today, of ending debate abruptly, of disregarding established norms and rules of legislating, highlights the problems and difficulties that we are at odds with.

Debate was cut short, and only two lawmakers were allowed to speak, before a vote on a controversial bill took place. Senate President Mike Ellis, who broke his gavel while trying to shout down Democratic legislators’ objections, made it clear: “Sit down, you’re not recognized!”

And that’s the point, isn’t it? The Republicans refuse to recognize objections. They refuse to listen to studies, to questions from citizens and analyses from experts alike, and have tossed all reasonable discourse out the window.

Is this the Wisconsin you voted for? Is this the Republican Party that a majority a minority of Wisconsinites put into power last fall?

This most certainly isn’t the kind of government we want for our state. A legislature that doesn’t listen to its constituents, much less its own members, is a failure. More importantly, it’s an affront to democracy, and an embarrassing depiction of how far our state has fallen since Gov. Walker and his ilk have taken office.

#NotMyWisconsin