Indiana GOP Leader: No Compromise With Absent Dems

Indiana's House speaker said Wednesday he won't concede to Democrats who fled the state to block contentious labor and education proposals — a strategy employed first last week in Wisconsin, where a legislative stalemate continues.

Like the Wisconsin Senate Democrats, most Indiana House Democrats fled to neighboring Illinois in an effort to block votes on what they viewed as threatening legislation, denying the chamber the quorum needed to conduct business.

Democrats want Republicans to drop efforts to push a voucher bill that would direct taxpayer money to private schools and a so-called "right-to-work" bill that prohibits union membership from being a condition of employment.

House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, said he talked to House Minority Leader Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, by phone on Wednesday morning.

"As Rep. Bauer started going through his list, I just told him that we weren't going to concede to a list of demands, and that he needed to get back here," Bosma told reporters.

He said he told Bauer if those requirements weren't acceptable, "Have fun in Illinois."

House Democrats want Republicans to drop the voucher bill, but Bosma said he would not negotiate to take items off the House agenda.

"The negotiation takes place on the floor of the House," Bosma said. "This isn't the old back room deals that Rep. Bauer's used to cutting."

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