State Democrats criticized a Republican senator for switching her stance on expanding the state's ""do-not-call"" list to include cell phones Tuesday.
On May 29, state Sen. Carol Roessler, R-Oshkosh, withdrew her support from legislation she previously sponsored along with state Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, which proposed expanding Wisconsin's popular do-not-call list to cover cell phones in addition to land lines.
Roessler withdrew her support a day after Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce released a memo stating they oppose the bill.
WMC is an association working to advance state policies that are in the interest of businesses and the public.
According to Jim Pugh, the spokesperson for WMC, the bill would be bad for businesses because it would hinder their ability to reach people.
""People always have the option of hanging up,"" he said.
The WMC has been known to spend significant sums of money in the interest of the Republican Party in the past, according to Jason Stephany, political director for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.
Pugh said he did not know why Roessler changed her mind, but was pleased to hear of her change of heart and believes she did the right thing.
According to Stephany, it would make sense that Roessler has withdrawn her support after viewing the memo from WMC.
The group has a long history of claiming to be a non-partisan organization that supports Wisconsin businesses while giving millions of dollars to the Republican Party, Stephany said.
""WMC has really just become an organization that is not necessarily out there fighting for the best interest of Wisconsin businesses—they are just out there attacking Democratic candidates and supporting Republican candidates,"" he said. ""That's their whole business.""
Stephany said Roessler might have heeded the suggestion of the WMC because she is facing a tough upcoming re-election.
""The proof is in the pudding here,"" he said. ""You can look at the millions and millions of dollars they spend each and every session to defeat Democratic candidates, and that's just the reality of the situation.""
Nineteen senators of both parties also support the extension of the do-not-call list, but Roessler is the only one who has dropped her support at this point. There are currently 1.1 million phone numbers on the do-not-call list, which is popular with Wisconsin residents.
The legislation is still moving forward after being amended slightly last week, and at the moment awaits floor scheduling.
