Taking a walk

Three Assembly Republicans that are supposedly opposed to the death penalty missed the vote this week on putting an advisory referendum to a public vote this fall on the death penalty. Representatives Sheryl Albers (R-Reedsburg), Judy Krawczyk (R-Green Bay) and Jerry Petrowski (R-Marathon) all claim they had other commitments and could not be there for the vote. At least Petrowski and Krawczyk had the sense to stay away from the floor when the vote happened.

Why would any legislator have scheduled any items on their calendar on the last day of session? Is anything else they possibly had scheduled more important than giving their constituents a voice on the death penalty? They weren't naming a bridge after someone, they were voting on a serious issue.

If those three had voted with their 'pro-life' beliefs, the resolution would not have passed. Instead they chose to 'take a walk", a practice that has happened many times at the state and local level in order to get things passed.

Petrowski is saying he would have voted for the resolution in order to give people a say on whether or not our state should have the death penalty though. But he couldn't take that actual vote and risk his precious 100% voting record with Pro-Life Wisconsin in an election year. You know, that group that wants to allow mothers to die in childbirth rather than allow them to have an abortion when their life is at risk.

What do you want to bet that if the vote was on taking away yet another piece of a woman's right to control her own reproductive health, Petrowski and friends would have cancelled everything on their schedules to be there?