Dems and Unions Thwarted in Wisconsin...by a Democrat

Chaos in the Wisconsin legislature:

Stunned Democrats stripped Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker of his leadership position after he abruptly turned on them and voted against new contracts for state workers.

The deals looked all but dead after Decker's about-face late Wednesday night. Senate Democrats planned to reconvene at 10 a.m. Thursday, but they can't approve the contracts without the Weston Democrat's support.

Democrats and union leaders said Decker never hinted he wasn't with them.

Wisconsin State Employees Union executive director Marty Beil lashed out at Decker, calling him "a whore" for siding with Republicans who opposed the contracts.

"There's no reason for what Decker did here tonight," Beil said. "No one saw it coming."

Decker declined to respond. The 20-year Senate veteran lost his re-election bid in November and is out of the Legislature in three weeks anyway. "I have no regrets," he said.

Decker's move capped a wild night that featured behind-the-scenes wrangling and a legislator let out of jail to cast the crucial vote.

Read the whole thing. Lots of drama and the big winner is the incoming Republican governor who will have a chance to work in this mess. Big losers - the unions which will not get as generous a deal as the Democrats tries to jam through.