You may remember that WI GOP Assembly Speaker Vos decided that obstruction and humiliation were the best ways to deal with a request by paralyzed Democratic State Representative Jimmy Anderson who sought permission to occasionally call into meetings when he could not be driven with his wheelchair to the State Capitol.
Back when this issue arose, and Vos was stung when Anderson publicly aired his complaint, Vos responded by accusing Anderson of "grandstanding."
History, here.
Let that sink in for a minute. Vos was accusing a quadriplegic confined to a wheel chair of grandstanding.
And you say to yourself or to anyone who is listening, 'what kind of a person would actually say that?'
Well, the same kind of a person who would wait more than two additional months before doing what everyone knew had to do or lose a discrimination lawsuit, and that is meet Anderson's simple, humane and completely reasonable request.
Except that Vos could not bring himself to cleanly meet - - shenanigan-free - - Anderson's request, because a) Vos wanted to fold the 'solution' into a package of unrelated rule changes to award Republicans multiple new partisan procedural advantages, while, oh, yeah, b), include in an announcement a concession to Anderson's paralysis and dependency on care-givers' by allowing any Representative with a certified and officially-disclosed-and-noticed disability blah blah blah to call into meetings...if...iff...ifff....he gave two hours advance notice.
All of which is laid out in this complete Madison Capital Times story, which includes this spot-on summation from the Governor's office:
That reality could have been communicated to Vos had he worked on the details of a proposed call-in participation plan with Anderson - - commonsense, don't you think? - - since Anderson is the person at the heart of the issue - - common courtesy, don't you think - - and is the Capitol's resident expert in such matters.
But Vos has made it clear from the beginning of the ugly political mess he's made that he sees definitely does not see Anderson as a resource, let alone a colleague, and especially one with value.
The two-hour window was not included because it would take legislative staffers two hours to set up a speaker phone. That, and a call, email or text from Anderson shouldn't take more than fifteen minutes. Twenty minutes, tops, should the speaker phone have to be carried to the farthest reaches under the Rotunda.
The two-hour window was included so that Vos, in all his signature pettiness and ever-present arrogance, could exact another measure of control over Anderson, his participation in the legislative process and the quality of representation Anderson can provide to his constituents.
Control and burdens Vos would never have laid on a Republican representative.
The framers of the Wisconsin Constitution vested strong powers in the Office of the Speaker to create a problem-solving leader in the government.
Little did they know that in 2019, a partisan, power-addicted potentate would use the position to pervert the people's business through small-minded grandstanding and humiliation.
Back when this issue arose, and Vos was stung when Anderson publicly aired his complaint, Vos responded by accusing Anderson of "grandstanding."
History, here.
Let that sink in for a minute. Vos was accusing a quadriplegic confined to a wheel chair of grandstanding.
And you say to yourself or to anyone who is listening, 'what kind of a person would actually say that?'
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Well, the same kind of a person who would wait more than two additional months before doing what everyone knew had to do or lose a discrimination lawsuit, and that is meet Anderson's simple, humane and completely reasonable request.Except that Vos could not bring himself to cleanly meet - - shenanigan-free - - Anderson's request, because a) Vos wanted to fold the 'solution' into a package of unrelated rule changes to award Republicans multiple new partisan procedural advantages, while, oh, yeah, b), include in an announcement a concession to Anderson's paralysis and dependency on care-givers' by allowing any Representative with a certified and officially-disclosed-and-noticed disability blah blah blah to call into meetings...if...iff...ifff....he gave two hours advance notice.
All of which is laid out in this complete Madison Capital Times story, which includes this spot-on summation from the Governor's office:
Evers spokeswoman Britt Cudaback slammed the proposal on Twitter, writing: "It’s wholly unsurprising that Vos would pass on the chance to do the right thing for the right reasons and instead turn it into an opportunity for political retribution."The two-hour window will no doubt nullify the call-in arrangement from time to time because no Representative like Anderson can know on which days or parts of days physical movement to Capitol would be impossible.
That reality could have been communicated to Vos had he worked on the details of a proposed call-in participation plan with Anderson - - commonsense, don't you think? - - since Anderson is the person at the heart of the issue - - common courtesy, don't you think - - and is the Capitol's resident expert in such matters.
But Vos has made it clear from the beginning of the ugly political mess he's made that he sees definitely does not see Anderson as a resource, let alone a colleague, and especially one with value.
The two-hour window was not included because it would take legislative staffers two hours to set up a speaker phone. That, and a call, email or text from Anderson shouldn't take more than fifteen minutes. Twenty minutes, tops, should the speaker phone have to be carried to the farthest reaches under the Rotunda.
The two-hour window was included so that Vos, in all his signature pettiness and ever-present arrogance, could exact another measure of control over Anderson, his participation in the legislative process and the quality of representation Anderson can provide to his constituents.
Control and burdens Vos would never have laid on a Republican representative.
The framers of the Wisconsin Constitution vested strong powers in the Office of the Speaker to create a problem-solving leader in the government.
Little did they know that in 2019, a partisan, power-addicted potentate would use the position to pervert the people's business through small-minded grandstanding and humiliation.
