At what point can the Wisconsin call a special election to fill the abandoned seats?

All this is doing is turning them into martyrs. They'll claim their principles are more important than a few paychecks and a $100 fine, and it will embolden their supporters. There needs to be consequences for failing to show up to work, not a few slaps on the wrist.

"Does anyone know why the state Senate hasn't simply passed the collective bargaining provision as a stand-alone, detatched from the budget process? I understood so long as it wasn't a budget item, a quorum wasn't necessary."

The honest truth is that Scott Walker is an extremely un-confrontational guy. He could have passed that stand alone, but won't. He could fire the staffs, but won't. He could have made the fines large, but didn't. He could have announced the layoffs, but keeps pushing it back. He's just too nice a guy to do what it takes to win this, imo.20

What about the keys to the executive washroom, I'm sure that'll do it.

I want to see them enact a voter ID bill --- required ID to vote. And any related measures to stop the fraud and abuse, particularly in Madison.

I don’t see how this is a PR win for the Dems and PEUs.

The Dem Senators are the ones who picked up their football and stomped away; it’s not exactly a portrait of responsible, bi-partisan government that they claim to crave. Going with at standalone bill would break the logjam, but I think it’s important to call their bluff and make them slink back in shame. Otherwise, they will claim they won some sort of moral victory and be tempted to repeat this tactic when the next hot button issue comes up.

With respect to the PEUs, the longer this drags out the better. The issue is finally getting real play and the general public is starting to realize just how cushy these government jobs are and how spoiled these so called 'public servants' are.

Well, I wouldn't be surprised if tin two weeks they don't raise it more. I have a feeling the Republicans have plans to ratchet up the pressure more and more. I'm certain this is just another match under their toes. I agree, they should have made it at least $200 a day, but anything above that would be more than they make in pay.

"Oh no! Not the parking spaces! We must come back!"

I only see two reasons why Walker isn't trying to harder to get them or take advantage of their absence.

1. He thinks he's winning the PR battle. If this is the case, he'll allow them to stay out as long as they won't, thinking it will just bury them deeper. He may also be worried that taking advantage of their absence will be portrayed as sneaky and villainous by a complicit media.

2. He has no spine. It's going to take a lot to convince me of this one. If he had no spine, he wouldn't have taken on unions in the first place.

I just hope he’s calculating correctly.

I like the strategy. The fine is about the size of the per diem ($88/day, I think) which, it seems, the state senators are collecting despite not being in Madison. The quorum for non-budgetary measures is 1/2, so a lot of business can still get accomplished and I think merely governing the state would send a powerful message. Meanwhile, recall efforts are underway against a handful of the absent senators and it would be hilarious to see my local guy (Bob Wirch - Kenosha), for example, try to campaign for himself out of Rockford, IL. That's real democracy. The squatters in the capitol will look more and more lonesome, and the missing senators will get more and more nervous about their caucus cracking. Either they come crawling back to Madison and vote to pass the budget fix, or, as the days drag into weeks and the weeks into months we'll see Republicans governing as best they can and Democrats hiding out, running up hotel bills and making appearances 'From an undisclosed location just across the border'. More important, the public-employee unions will get more and more scrutiny from those of us who pay their salaries and benefits.