The leader of state Senate Democrats explains why they skipped town on Thursday. They haven’t talked yet, but Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller said Democrats will be in contact with majority Republicans and the governor’s office over the weekend. Their message? “In Wisconsin we resolve problems through negotiation. We’ve had a long history of that, we want you to sit down with the state employees and invite them into the conversation as how they can be a partner in solving a portion of the budget deficit.”
Miller believes public employ unions would give Walker the benefit and pension concessions he wants. “They have in the past, and I’m sure they would do it again the future,” Miller said, but that Democrats and public employees are not willing to concede the loss of collective bargaining rights the governor included in his budget repair bill. “All that the governor’s talking about is just punishing the workers that are so important to the state of Wisconsin.”