Republicans take no prisoners

Being a member of the Republican majority in the Wisconsin Legislature must be akin to being a citizen of Singapore, where public caning is a punishment for even small infractions.

State Sen. Mary Lazich of New Berlin wandered off the GOP reservation Tuesday, saying (it seemed) like she could not vote for the state budget she voted for as a member of Joint Finance not too long ago. Story.

The budget hasn't changed, but Lazich says she has more information now than she had at 6:15 a.m., after one of those infamous all-night sessions, when a punch-drunk committee exhausts itself and finally passes something before falling asleep. And she thinks it spends too much.

The problem for the GOP is that two other Senators, Mike Ellis and Robert Cowles, already have said they will vote no on the budget. That leaves 16 votes, but it takes 17 to pass.

State Sen. Dale Schultz, the majority leader whose job is to herd the cats in his caucus, didn't go off on Lazich, presumably because he still hopes to get her vote. (Those who flip sometimes flop back, after all.)

But Speaker John Gard let it rip. "It's like she's actually working for Jim Doyle," Gard said of Lazich. "She wants people to believe she was sleeping while the committee was actually voting on the budget." (Cut her some slack. Maybe she was sleeping. It was 6:15 a.m)

Lazich fired right back, saying Gard should "do a better job of leading" and questioning whether "John Gard actually approves of this level of spending. It's up to the Senate to do better." In other words, Gard and the Assembly GOP screwed up.

Lazich already is in trouble with her party's right wing because she supported Schultz for majority leader, who the conservatives see as too moderate. Worse, she said she had voted for Schultz's conservative opponent, Scott Fitzgerald. She ended up taking a lot of heat, especially from talk radio, and stepped down from her role as assistant majority leader.

On her latest maneuver, Lazich nemesis Charlie Sykes of WTMJ radio says: "However you feel about the budget, this is pathetic. . . Bottomline here: she votes for the budget in committee, says she didn't know what she was doing, and flip-flops when it comes to the floor. The term "Pulling a Lazich" has officially entered the political lexicon.

For Democrats, there is nothing like a ringside seat. Wouldn't you like to be a fly on the wall in the Republican Senate's closed-door caucus on the budget today?

UPDATE: Conservative blogger Dennis York gives Lazich more than a few lashes. Link