The holdup in Wisconsin has been caused by the exodus of the Democrats from the Capitol. They left because any bill that spends money requires a quorum of legislators, and even though they are the minority they are enough to deprive the chamber of a quorum (somewhat akin to the filibuster power of the Senate). So the bill that spent money AND took away collective bargaining powers for public employee unions regarding their benefits never got voted on. Now, after weeks of fighting and drama, the Republicans last night simply rewrote the bill without any of the spending provisions but with the union changes. Since this didn’t require a quorum, they passed it easily. The question now is whether this will hold up legally (probably, is my guess) and what will happen when election time comes around since some estimates have this as a wildly unpopular set of developments in Wisconsin. It’s over, and now it’s just begun.
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