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Division Among Wisconsin GOP Once Again in the Limelight

Wisconsin's State Capitol
Ann Althouse, Flickr
Tough talk among Republicans raises some eyebrows in the state led GOP

It’s no secret that there’s division among some of the state's Republican lawmakers. After six years of agreeing on major pieces of legislation, they struggled this past summer to pass a state budget. Some exchanged unkind words during the process. 

Over the weekend, the division came to light again, when Assembly Speaker Robin Vos referred to three Republican state senators, who were the key hold-outs on the budget. Vos called them "terrorists," for withholding their support for the spending plan, unless it met their desires. Vos' GOP colleagues demanded he apologize for the remark. WUWM asked former state lawmaker -- and UW-Milwaukee professor Mordecai Lee -- about the rift in the party. He says it's likely due, in part, to ambition -- and perhaps to some dysfunction in the state Senate.

LaToya was a reporter with WUWM from 2006 to 2021.