Indiana Dems: This Is Our Moment And We're Seizing It

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http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/02/indiana-dems-this-is-our-moment-and-were-seizing-it.php

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) changed his tune on Wednesday, after Democrats said they're staying put in Urbana, IL rather than letting the GOP majority push through Daniels' education reform agenda. Gone was Daniels' conciliatory tone from Tuesday, when he told his party to drop the right-to-work bill that sent House Democrats across the border to Illinois. In its place a was a pledge to wait out the Democrats and keep the Indiana legislature open as long as he has to in order for votes to take place.

Color Indiana Democrats unimpressed.

"At first we thought the Governor was being the good cop and (House) Speaker (Brian Bosma) was being the bad cop," state Rep. Scott Pelath (D) told TPM in a phone interview from his Illinois hotel room. "Now it looks like the governor is taking both of those roles in his own person."

(snip)
"We may not have a lot of numbers right now," he added. "But this shows...we're not just going to roll over and play dead." (State Democratic Party chair Dan Parker )

[snappyturtle]

1. The reps (D) went to Urbana and the Senate got down to business:

While people were focused on the Indiana Democrats who have fled to Illinois, the back door of the Senate was open for business....as usual. In a vote of 30-19, with six Republicans dissenting, the bill essentially takes teachers out of control of their classrooms among other matters, see link:

http://www.indystar.com/article/20110223/NEWS05/1022303... |topnews|text|News


"Even as House Democrats fled the state in protest over proposed limits to collective bargaining, the Indiana Senate on Tuesday approved a bill that would strip teachers of the right to negotiate key work rules.

Senate Bill 575 passed 30-19, with six Republicans voting against it. It would limit teacher unions to bargaining only on wages and wage-related benefits such as health insurance while giving administrators freedom to set rules without union talks on other matters ranging from the methods for evaluating and dismissing teachers to class size.

Senate Bill 1, a separate bill that creates a new teacher evaluation system based on student test scores among other factors, also passed on a 30-19 vote."

More...........at link above

Note: The Senators went home about mid-day today. They usually don't go home until after Thursday's session.
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Here's a little different explanation of whythe Democrats walked out of the House:

"Only three Democrats stayed, thus denying a quorum and preventing the House from considering House Bill 1468, which supporters call a "right-to-work" bill and opponents call a union-busting measure. The bill would make it against Indiana law for employers in most industries to require employees to belong to a union or pay union dues, which would weaken labor organizations' bargaining power.

The bill emerged from committee Monday on the strength of a party-line vote. If the bill is not reported from committee to the full House within a day, however, it dies on procedural grounds.

A House without a quorum cannot accept a committee report, which is why the Democrats walked. In the process, they also may have killed 22 other bills.

More...........

http://www.nuvo.net/indianapolis/democrats-block-anti-u...

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2. Pretty soon Chicago is going to be

Sanctuary City for the Dems.