The Chemo Pill and the Badger Game

Update: Now that Assembly Bill 19—impeding veterans and others getting compensation for asbestos exposure causing Mesothelioma cancer—has passed on a party-line vote, Scott Walker has a decision to sign or not sign.

Walker's latest position on shafting veterans is that legal advocates for veterans need to be blocked from helping veterans.

Who knows when Walker will sign this deplorable insult to the people who fight bullshit wars, and who serve our country only to come home and get the shaft from the Republican Party.

Walker told reporters this week, he didn't know what was in the Mesothelioma cancer either.
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As Scott Walker offers his latest position on Senate Bill 300, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) still won't guarantee an up-or-down vote on the popular bill helping cancer victims obtain chemo pills as they would chemo IV treatments.

Walker has been all over the map on the bill, cracking jokes to reporters as late as Monday that he didn't know what was in the pill guaranteeing health insurance plans include chemo pills for cancer victims.

And the worse thing that can happen to politicians like Wisconsin Republicans happened: People paid attention to their elected representative selling them out to the health insurance industry.

Here's Walker latest position, a step up from cracking jokes:

"I think it makes sense," Walker said of the bill. "You look at the vote total to pass what the Senate had, if they're going to make any modifications my hope would be that if they did something like that it would be something that the Senate would be amenable to. I don't think anybody wants to go through this whole process and then have it stuck because one house passes one version and the other house doesn't agree with it."

How does Walker's taxpayer-financed health insurance plan cover cancer? I bet it offers access to oral chemo pills.

No one wishes cancer on anyone, the best treatment is a human right when cancer does strike. Republicans don't get that.

This is not a partisan editorial. So, let me note that Mary Burke, putative Democratic Party challenger to Walker for governor, hasn't done jack-shit on this issue.

Vos should hold a vote, Walker should sign the bill and everyone can watch the Badger game at 11:40 a.m in the conference room or on streaming video.
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Many Assembly Republicans still won't say where they stand:

The Journal-Sentinel sent emails and called all 99 members of the Assembly on Monday and Tuesday. All 39 Democrats said they supported it. . 

And the there's this:

Rep. Mike Kuglitsch (R-New Berlin): "I really don't have an opinion."
Rep. Daniel LeMahieu (R-Cascade): "I'm not saying anything about oral chemo."
Rep. Duey Stroebel (R-Saukville): "We're still working that out."
Rep. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green): "We'll talk about it Thursday."
Rep. Rob Hutton (R-Brookfield): "I'm still discerning it."
Rep. Mary Williams (R-Medford): "Uh, I'm not going to talk to you."
Rep. Tyler August (R-Lake Geneva): "I have to take a look at it."
Rep. Rob Swearingen (R-Rhinelander): "I'm going to wait for caucus on Thursday."