The rumor bouncing around the Twittersphere from the Associated Press is that Senate Republicans are going to propose changes to the governor's budget repair bill. What these changes are remain unknown, but it seems to coincide with the response Republican Sen. Dan Kapanke gave earlier today, when asked where his party stood on the bill: "That's a good question. I really don't know."
Republicans have large majorities in both chambers, but those majorities are based on wins in many swing districts, some of which have a large presence of public workers and union members. For instance, Joe Knilans, the freshman Republican who took down former Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan, who I interviewed earlier today, is almost certainly under pressure from union members in his largely blue-collar Janesville district to vote against the bill. If he has any sense of political pragmatism, he is likely to ask Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald for a pass to vote Nay.
However, it's not the Assembly but the Senate that attention is focused on. Although Sens. Mike Ellis and Scott Fitzgerald both declared their caucus had the 17 votes needed to pass the bill yesterday, the sheer force of the protests may have scared one or two Republicans into proposing changes to the bill.
My guess: Anything from a slightly more modest proposal on collective bargaining rights to completely removing collective bargaining rights from the proposal.
Follow The Sconz on Twitter or Facebook to get regular updates on city and state politics. Please send anonymous tips, interview requests or any other comments to jcraver@isthmus.com.
