CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – The Supreme Court is scheduled to release more rulings tomorrow. If they don’t strike down Roe v. Wade, the decision is almost certain to come next week.
When Roe is gone, Wisconsin will revert to a state law from 1849 that outlaws abortion.
Earlier this month Governor Tony Evers called a special session, calling on the legislature to revoke Wisconsin’s abortion ban.
This is a case of raw, cynical politics.
Every other special session the Governor has called took place almost immediately, in a matter of days. This one was called two weeks ago. Why the delay? Tony Evers is hoping that the special session will come up after the court’s ruling. That, he thinks, will put more pressure on lawmakers or shine a spotlight on their inaction.
The Governor’s reelection campaign sent out fundraising emails 6-hours after he called for the special session on June 8th.
Republicans are right to gavel-in and gavel-out. The legislature is a co-equal branch of state government, with no more or less power than the executive branch. The governor does not “instruct” lawmakers on what to do. When he does, he should be ignored.
The governor’s other special sessions, on CVOID, on what to do with the state’s budget surplus, on police use-of-force, and on expanding BadgerCare, all led to no action. And Republicans are poor counter-punchers. How about a legislative panel to investigate the Governor’s response to the Kenosha riots… you know, where he took three days to send in the national guard?
Here’s where Wisconsin stands on abortion: The procedure, under state law, will be banned. And Governor Evers knows that the only way to change that is for people to vote for different state reps and state senators. That’s unlikely to happen.
-Chris Conley
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