This is the Indiana bill that breaks private sector unions, which is what follows immediately after conservatives destroy public sector unions.
Now Democratic lawmakers from another state seem to be leaving their homes for Illinois.
House Democrats in Indiana are leaving the state rather than vote a bill that would modify collective-bargaining for some workers there, according to the Indianapolis Star.
A source told the paper that Democrats from that state’s lower chamber are headed to Illinois, though the paper notes that some might go to Kentucky. Only two of the 40 Democrats were on the Indiana House floor when the chamber convened Tuesday. The lack of Democratic House members showing up at the Capitol in Indiana prevents the Republican majority from having a quorum.
I don’t know if they’re gone yet.
This is a better source if you want to follow it.
shortstop
What’s in western Kentucky besides barbecue?
I kid! Much of my family is from there. Still, we got plenty of room and a hell of a lot more sympathetic liberals in Illinois.
cleek
@shortstop:
they could go to N-central KY and do laps around the Bourbon Trail.
that’s what i would do.
Kay
@shortstop:
I think they should all leave Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana and meet in Kentucky.
It’s coordinated on the GOP side. Democrats should organize too :)
shortstop
Well, I don’t eat meat these days, but if I did, I’d stay near Paducah and eat pit barbecue all day. The pit ‘cue of western Kentucky and western Tennessee is the best there is, IMO.
shortstop
@Kay: No, ma’am. Illinois is really enjoying our newfound status as an asylum state. We’ve had enough political embarrassment in recent years and this could be our rebirth.
Davis X. Machina
Hope this cuts off President Mitch Daniels off at the knees.
Oops, someone seems to have already done that. Or maybe he really is that short.
kay
@shortstop:
I think it’s typical of Democrats that they couldn’t decide on a state to flee to.
Herding cats.
Another Commenter at Balloon Juice (fka Bella Q)
@shortstop: Illinois, where pro- working people politicians go for asylum. Needs some work, but it’s an idea.
shortstop
@Davis X. Machina: We like to call him Cotton Daniels.
Southern Beale
Why is no one talking about the role of ALEC in all of this? The industry/corporate-funded group which pushes its boilerplate legislation on the state level? I mean, it’s no coincidence so many states are tackling the SAME legislation right now.
Here’s their model legislation page:
.
Thanks a lot. Who is ALEC? Check out their funding:
I started writing about ALEC a long time ago. Used to be you could actually access their “model legislation” on their webpage. Now you need to be a member.
I wonder what they are hiding?
Southern Beale
And by the way, anyone wanting to know about ALEC’s agenda need just look at their “Employment Policy and Regulatory Reforms” legislation. Some if it quite radical. Again, you used to be able to click on these and read the actual legislation. Now it’s protected, but just looking at the titles gives you an idea.
Here’s an example:
These are all conservative wet dreams for paying workers shit, taking away their rights, being allowed to discriminate, etc. It’s all pro-employer, and destructive to employees.
Why is no one talking about this? This is class warfare right here. This is corporations abusing their workers.
Punchy
They have unions in Indiana? Meth Growers Local 6 and Moonshiners Local 19?
kay
@Punchy:
Indiana is really two states. Northern and southern.
Kay Shawn
Indiana wants me! Lawd, I can’t go back there!
Ash Can
::Proud Illinoisan iz proud.:: :)
Attention all Indiana State Dem refugees: You are invited to join WI state refugees at my house for free beer. Offer good through however long it takes for Mitch Daniels to shit himself on national TV. (At which point beer will be replaced by champagne.)
Legalize
Come on over to N. Ky., guys! Take I-71 East and I’ll meet you at the Waffle Hose in Covington. Although when I leave the office around 6, you’re on your own for the night. This is kind of like a diagonal underground rail road.
cat48
The twitter updates of that one reporter from Indianpolis Star are funny:
Governor not commenting on labor rally that he surely hears through his oak door. Chants include “Ditch Mitch.”#INlegis
kay
@cat48:
It sounds like they’re having fun. Yesterday, the assembled protesters “broke into laughter” when the GOP House member told them ‘this won’t affect you”.
kay
@cat48:
I’m also curious as hell why they exempted building trades.
There’s profit in there somewhere!
cat48
I’m getting really excited. There’s an impressive crowd at the rally in OHIO.
kay
@cat48:
It’s going to get bad, I’m afraid. They’re not letting them into the statehouse. They had 4,000 in there for last week’s protest, and now they’re limiting it to 750. It’s 32 degrees.
They have to let them in.
cat48
Are you going today Kay or are you working?
cat48
They may be afraid that they can’t get them to leave if they let them in today Or maybe it’s the firecode. This is making me a nervous wreck. We must win.
Interrobang
Wow, SoBeale, that’s, um…really something. Thanks for the heads-up on that. The more paranoid I get, the worse it feels to get confirmation over and over again that there really are conspirators.
Erikthe Red
The Governors of both Wisconsin and Indiana have been saying that businesses in Illinois are welcome to move to their states.
Illinois is just saying, “Fine, we’ll take in your rogue legislators”.
cat48
Good news, Mitch is killing the Bill…believes in Right to Work, but has other priorities! President.