Missed this yesterday, but our favorite Republican state senate leader, the inimitable Scotty Fitz, doesn't much like the state's recall procedures, now that they are being used against a bunch of his GOP colleagues and not just against Democrats. Talking Points Memo reports:
Fitzgerald was asked what he would like to see changed about the recall process, and whether he had anything specific in mind.
"Yeah, I mean, I've always been a believer that recall probably would be more appropriate if a legislator was involved in some type of, you know, either criminal activity, or something that could be deemed, you know, unethical," said Fitzgerald. "Not related to simply taking a stance on a tough vote. And you know, I think there's other legislators that feel that way as well."
A couple of notes:
No small irony that Scott Walker was elected Milwaukee County executive, his launching pad to run for governor, in a recall election. The incumbent, Tom Ament, had made some very bad decisions about county pensions, but had done notihng illegal.
Right wingers went into a frenzy, launching recalls, many successful, some not, against large numbers of county board members who had voted for the pension plan.
And if Fitz has any idea the GOP can ram some changes through before his cronies can be recalled, someone should point out that recall procedures are part of the state constitution, which could only be amended if the change is passed by two consecutive state legislators and then approved by the voters in a statewide referendum. They might force passage of something this session, but the next legislature is likely to have a different look, in part because of the recalls now underway.