The veteran character Phil Roth - - no, not the more famous author Philip Roth - - played a doctor in the film adaptation of Joseph Heller's "Catch 22" which chronicled the insanity of war.
Now another Roth is playing a role in the insanity that is the GOP-led Wisconsin State Legislature.
Appleton GOP WI State Senator Roger Roth was caught with his pants on fire by PolitiFact for saying that his party's lame-duck legislation did not take away any of now-Gov. Evers and AG Kaul's powers - - a noteworthy bonfire of the of the State Capitol insanities because Roth
is no rookie back-bencher.
He's President of the State Senate where those lame-duck power-grabbing bills were approved and moved along for Walker's signature.
The Senate President is that body's presiding officer, says the official Wisconsin Blue Book in the legislative section and p. 133, which makes Roth more of less like the crew chief umpiring at a baseball game.
Now I also see that when Roth was ram-rodding the bills towards passage he had cleared the galleries, so perhaps he told himself to stand out in the hallways for a while during an admittedly strenuous session and maybe he'd missed something:
Or saw the morning Wisconsin State Journal's Dec. 5th story after his State Senate cast its deciding vote:
And speaking of games, PolitiFact in fact explains the game that Roth - - or should I say the staffer he sent out to take the fall - - was actually playing:
Said PolitiFact:
Now another Roth is playing a role in the insanity that is the GOP-led Wisconsin State Legislature.
Appleton GOP WI State Senator Roger Roth was caught with his pants on fire by PolitiFact for saying that his party's lame-duck legislation did not take away any of now-Gov. Evers and AG Kaul's powers - - a noteworthy bonfire of the of the State Capitol insanities because Roth
In the lame-duck session, "no power was taken away from the governor. Power was not taken away from the attorney general."
is no rookie back-bencher.
He's President of the State Senate where those lame-duck power-grabbing bills were approved and moved along for Walker's signature.
The Senate President is that body's presiding officer, says the official Wisconsin Blue Book in the legislative section and p. 133, which makes Roth more of less like the crew chief umpiring at a baseball game.
Now I also see that when Roth was ram-rodding the bills towards passage he had cleared the galleries, so perhaps he told himself to stand out in the hallways for a while during an admittedly strenuous session and maybe he'd missed something:
Republican Senate President Roger Roth ordered the galleries cleared shortly after debate began Tuesday. That led to an outburst of anger and shouts of "Shame!" from those forced to leave...
The Senate is debating lame-duck measures taking power away from the Democratic-elect governor and attorney general.If not, you then have to wonder if Roth even reads the bills he's presiding over.
Or saw the morning Wisconsin State Journal's Dec. 5th story after his State Senate cast its deciding vote:
GOP lawmakers vote in wee hours to pass lame-duck bill curtailing powers of governor, attorney generalOr had read how his hometown Appleton Post-Crescent described the legislation the next day, December 6th, a full ten days before Roth lit his pants on fire:
The proposals would restrict the powers of Gov.-elect Tony Evers by, among other things, giving Republicans more control of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., including a program that can give tax breaks to businesses.
The legislation, which was passed only after hours of closed-door meetings among Republican lawmakers, will also hamper soon-to-be Attorney General Josh Kaul by making it more difficult to withdraw from a federal lawsuit to overturn the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare.So it's hard to see how Roth could get this wrong. Like I said, it would be like the crew chief umpiring a baseball playoff game but unaware of what happened in the the bottom of the ninth inning.
And speaking of games, PolitiFact in fact explains the game that Roth - - or should I say the staffer he sent out to take the fall - - was actually playing:
Asked for backup, Roth spokeswoman Angela Roidt said the powers of the governor and attorney general are spelled out in the state Constitution, and that wasn’t changed. So, she said, their powers were not affected by the bills.
But that’s a very narrow and technical view. Merriam-Webster defines power as "the ability to act or produce an effect."
Roidt also argued the bills only affected "legislative oversight." But power and oversight are generally a zero-sum game — if one entity is gaining it, another is losing.Remember: We all pay these legislators more than $50,000 a year and load them up with perks so they can have their fun.
Said PolitiFact:
Roth said lame-duck laws didn’t take any power away from the incoming governor or attorney general, contradicting even the explanation from other leaders in his party.
His camp is promoting a narrow reading of "power"...
The lame-duck bills transparently limited Evers’ and Kaul’s power on numerous fronts, including appointments, spending and rule-making.
Roth’s claim is not only wrong, it’s ridiculous. We rate it Pants on Fire.