Amidst the Republican jubilation over the demise of the state employee contracts in the State Senate, one question stood out to me as I watched the proceedings on WisconsinEye and followed the roll calls from my home computer.
Where was Republican Senator Luther Olsen on the night of Wednesday, December 15?
I have a theory. It may sound starkly black-helicopterish, but I believe it is probably true. It is my belief that Olsen probably supported the contracts and wanted to come and vote in favor of them. Hearing this, Senator Scott Fitzgerald, the Senate Minority Leader, likely had to call Olsen and tell him to stay home so he could preserve caucus unanimity. After all, if Olsen gets a pass, then others are sure to seek one, too. It’s the State Senate after all.
It may be that Olsen was at a funeral, attending to a sick relative, on vacation or somewhere else with a perfectly good and legitimate excuse. But my gut, which is usually right (except in my prediction that Roger Roth would be elected to Congress), tells me that he had to be talked out of coming to cast a “yes” vote by Republican leadership in the State Senate.
But Olsen’s silence is deafening.
Olsen could quickly put this issue to rest by issuing a statement declaring how he would have voted. To this point he as not, and I don’t expect him to do so.
Luther Olsen’s constituents deserve to know where he stands on the state contracts, and I hope they are paying attention to his silence on the issue.
By the way… Does anyone else find it ironic that the most liberal Republican in the legislature has a picture of the 2009 TEA Party at the State Capitol on the front page of his state website (you might have to refresh a few times to see it)? There may not be a Republican in Madison who less embodies the TEA Party – and is more opposed to their policy goals – than Luther Olsen. And he knows it.
UPDATE: So, apparently Senator Olsen was in California on a family vacation on Wednesday. Still, I believe that he should tell his constituents how he would have voted on the contracts. They do deserve to know.
