Wednesday, June 6, 2012

The benefits and the limitations of the Democrats winning control of the Wisconsin Senate ry


This is an interesting read. First, Lehman needs a new district -- as I mentioned last night, this one was brutally gerrymandered. "Under that new set of maps, Lehman in 2014 would have to face a Republican opponent in a new district that will be almost impossible for any Democrat to hold."

The other problem is how the Democrats can gain control of the Senate. There is no way to not block quote this:

Sen. Mike Ellis (R-Neenah) will retain his post as Senate president until the entire Senate meets to replace him. But because the Senate is out of session, it can meet only in limited circumstances, such as if Walker calls a special session or if the Republican-controlled Assembly agrees to hold an extraordinary session.

The Senate president sits on the Senate Committee on Organization, a leadership committee that has the power to set the Senate agenda and take care of administrative matters from determining the pay of aides to whether to hire legal counsel. With Ellis as president, the Republicans would have a 3-2 majority on the committee, meaning they could block the will of the Democrats if they wanted.

If Ellis were to resign as president, Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Leibham (R-Sheboygan) would take his place. Ellis said he didn't know what would happen if Leibham were to then resign as president.

The Democratic leader downplayed any chance of fight. Beyond money and office allocation, there is a a serious "consolation prize."

Republicans and their outside lawyers at the firm of Michael Best & Friedrich have declined to turn over certain records about the redistricting legislation and the work on it to Democratic senators because Democrats had been in the minority in the Senate. Democrats would potentially have more leverage now to ask for those records.
Basically, the Democrats have killed any hope for Walker doing anything further until the next session.


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