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These non-jobs bills cloud our ability to focus like a laser on putting people back to work. When it comes to helping Wisconsin’s struggling families, we can’t afford distractions.

We join with him, as we did in the previous special session, in advancing bills that accomplish that goal... What we do not want though, is a special session to rush bills that are just payoffs to special interests.

Meanwhile, Democratic Assembly leader Peter Barca says some of Walker’s economic bills won’t create new jobs.

This budget was largely balanced on the backs of public school children across our state and that will become increasingly obvious when school starts this week

"What the people in Wisconsin want is not bi-partisan rhetoric, they want bi-partisan action," said Barca.

Representative Peter Barca states, "The more people that vote see a lot of close races some that are not so close going our way.

It is now clear that Gov. Walker signed these redistricting maps into law in a manner intended to hide his actions with only one goal in mind: giving himself and his fellow Republicans a monopoly on power in our state...

The governor had an opportunity to exercise leadership here and by signing this heavily gerrymandered, highly partisan redistricting plan into law, he failed to lead

The former private businessman said the 2011-13 biennial budget reveals Republicans do not believe "in shared sacrifice … the middle class pays more and gets less."

How does political competition fare in the new GOP redistricting plan? As far as the state Senate goes, very badly.

As debate over drawing new maps for Wisconsin’s congressional and legislative districts rages on, Republican lawmakers now face criticism that their plans overstep the Legislature’s powers

Democrats ripped plans Wednesday to draw new maps for legislators and members of Congress as partisan gerrymandering, while Republicans defended them as legally sound and kept them on a fast track for approval.

After Monday’s meeting, Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, called on Republican Gov. Scott Walker to reject the maps, saying they are aimed at giving the GOP an unfair advantage in future elections.

Democratic leaders expressed shock and anger Friday after Republicans unveiled their proposal for redrawing the [...] districts, saying the new lines favor the majority party and target Democrats involved in upcoming recall elections.

"Because of what the Legislature did, and because of what the Supreme Court did, Wisconsin's reputation for clean and open government is at risk," Barca said.

The budget signed into law today by Gov. Walker that shamelessly attacks Wisconsin's shared values and middle class families is certainly a dark chapter in our state's proud history. But we must remember that it is always darkest before the dawn.

"Let's just do it right," said Democratic Minority Leader Peter Barca. "Let's make sure when we give people this ability, they know what they're doing."

Officials argued the steps were needed to protect those working in the building or the thousands who visit on a daily basis. However, Assembly Democratic Leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) says it was a complete waste of money.

Lawmakers immediately launched into heated accusations. Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, opened by accusing Republicans of raising taxes on the most vulnerable in Wisconsin while spreading myths about "shared sacrifice."

Barca denounced Republicans’ “historic and drastic cuts” of nearly $800 million over two years for state school aids and property tax limits that will prevent schools from making up the state aid cuts from local tax levies.

“We’re hoping they will do the right thing for their constituents and not the right thing for special interests,” Barca said of the Republicans.

Democratic Minority Leader Peter Barca says their first amendment will be to fully fund public education. Gov. Scott Walker is proposing an $800 million aid cut.

The middle class feels like it’s an assault on the middle class, I mean the policy choices are just so against Wisconsin values,” said State Rep. Peter Barca, (D) Madison and Assembly Minority Leader.

Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) said he was "very shocked and certainly extremely disappointed" by the state Supreme Court decision to reinstate Gov. Scott Walker's collective bargaining measure.

We believe an honest budget ought to be open for scrutiny,” Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca said. “We know that the public deserves an opportunity to know what it is in this budget document and to weigh in on it.

If the open meetings law doesn’t mean anything to the Wisconsin Legislature … then it doesn’t mean anything ever.” — Robert Jambois, attorney for Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, arguing before the Wisconsin Supreme Court

Across the board, it seems like we're moving away from Wisconsin's reputation for clean, open and honest government," said Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha). We fear that he's right.

Barca told Walker that he had not mentioned a word of such a radical move during the governor's campaign...

Gov. Walker, are you listening now?” asked Rep. Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) when his turn on the podium came.

Ruling it violated the state's open meeting law, Dane County Judge Maryann Sumi has struck down Gov. Scott Walker's proposed law eliminating most collective bargaining for public employees.

We thought our eyes were deceiving us. Turns out they were. The mirage came during a rare moment of warm, fuzzy bipartisanship on the Assembly floor this week when Rep. Robin Vos, R-Rochester, shocked many of his Democratic colleagues by

Rachel Maddow looks at the voter backlash against Republicans in special elections in New York and Wisconsin and talks with Wisconsin Representative Peter Barca about the extent to which voters are

The fast pace of a bill requiring photo ID at the polls is the latest sign Republicans are moving quickly on their legislative agenda in the face of likely recall elections.

Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker and GOP leaders have launched a push to ram several years' worth of conservative agenda items through the Legislature this spring before recall elections threaten to end the party's control of state government.

Gov. Scott Walker, in a recent opinion column, states he wants to protect the middle class and hold the line on taxes. At first glance, we were

Supporters of Supreme Court candidate Joanne Kloppenburg are calling for an investigation after Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus announced Thursday that she discovered more than 14,000 votes from

Democratic Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca says he would be stunned if Republicans would try to pass portions of a collective bargaining measure after repeatedly saying they would not do that.

The fear that Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and Republican allies such as state Senate majority leader Scott Fitzgerald are turning Wisconsin into the American equivalent of a lawless “rogue state”—dubbed “Fitzwalkerstan” by state Rep. Mark Pocan,

In a stunning twist, Gov. Scott Walker's legislation limiting collective bargaining for public workers was published Friday despite a judge's hold on the measure, prompting a dispute over whether it takes effect Saturday.

The monthlong saga over Gov. Scott Walker's plan to drastically curb collective bargaining rights for public workers in Wisconsin took a turn Friday that could force a dramatic rebooting of the entire legislative process.

A Wisconsin judge issued a temporary restraining order Friday blocking publication of Gov. Scott Walker’s controversial new law designed to significantly constrain collective-bargaining rights of most public workers in the state.

A Wisconsin county executive’s challenge to a bill curbing collective bargaining for most state government workers will be considered at a hearing March 18, a judge said.

Wisconsin State Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca welcomes back the 14 Wisconsin State Senate Democrats who spent 22 days in Illinois to protest the Wisconsin's Budget Repair Bill,

The protests in Madison may have reached a climax Saturday afternoon as an estimated 85-to-100,000 people crowded around the Capitol building. A chilly wind whipped down State Street but the masses were undeterred.

The toughest thing I did today was get into the Wisconsin state Capitol. It took more than two hours. For the first time in a month of protests and restricted access, my press credentials – actually a thick stack of them, one from each day

By the time I got there, it was already over – and it was just beginning. I walked through the doors of the state Capitol at 6:23 pm, having raced back downtown after hearing word that the Republican state senators were meeting

Several Democratic members of the Assembly, frustrated by the public’s lack of access to the Capitol, moved desks and chairs from their offices to meet with constituents on Wednesday afternoon.

A Dane County judge on Tuesday ordered Wisconsin officials to open the Capitol to the public during normal business hours, reversing a temporary policy that restricted access to people who had appointments or other specific business.

Time may or may not be running out to make some crucial decisions in the Wisconsin fight over labor unions and budgets. But the blame game is definitely coming to a boil.

Assembly Democratic leaders said they are researching whether a hasty vote to pass Governor Walker's controversial budget repair bill was sufficiently flawed to be invalidated.

Governor Scott Walker's controversial budget measure that would strip most public employee unions of their collective bargaining rights moved forward in the wee hours Friday morning

Assembly Democratic leaders met Thursday with Gov. Scott Walker's top cabinet secretary.

The Assembly convened today for the first time since the hell-storm on Friday, when the GOP leadership called the chamber to session five minutes before schedule, prompting outrage from Democrats who rushed

The Wisconsin Legislator started a Friday session 5 minutes before the announced time of the "Call of the Chair" and rammed the union bashing legislation through before the Democrats had a chance to get to the floor.

Day six of peaceful Rally for Rights continued at the State Capitol. Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) commended all who gathered on both sides of the issue Saturday for taking part in their democracy and exercising their rights

As Assembly Democrats made their way through the Capitol Rotunda Friday, hundreds of protesters roared with approval in a loud and emotional display, the like of which has rarely been heard before inside this building.

Barca's words drew cheers from the gallery, even while Republicans filed out of the chamber. Barca said Republicans were "observing a continuation of a pattern of behavior, a pattern of arrogance unparalleled in this chamber."

Assembly Democrats entered the Assembly floor this morning wearing orange t-shirts reading Assembly Democrats FIGHTING FOR WORKING FAMILIES!

Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) called on Gov. Scott Walker Thursday to attend a hearing so he could listen to testimony from the public on Walker's plan to take away the union rights of public workers.

Republican lawmakers were unusually silent Monday about whether they supported Gov. Scott Walker's plan to effectively end collective bargaining for nearly all public employees

Union are members questioning the Governor's motives for wanting to get rid the Union's right to collective bargaining. Members believe his proposal is actually an attempt to destroy all State Unions

Democrats say Governor Scott Walker State of the State address offered some big talk about the need to address budget problems facing the state.

Barca went on to say that the democrats have proposed 11 bills to help Wisconsin meet Gov. Walker's stated jobs goal, but was not happy with the governor's inaction on their legislative ideas.

Republicans have blocked Democrats in the Legislature from using their own lawyers to draw maps for legislative boundaries, a sign of how little power Democrats have in GOP-controlled state government.

But before the ceremony, Republican lawmakers were already circulating a series of bills that had as much to do with a conservative social agenda as they did with the economy.

Incoming Governor Scott Walker is expected to declare an economic emergency for the state next week and call lawmakers into a special session, after he’s sworn in this coming Monday.

The incoming leader of Assembly Democrats says it's "shocking" that Republican Gov.-elect Scott Walker would float the possibility of essentially abolishing state employee unions.

A key Republican lawmaker Wednesday floated the possibility of rewriting state law so Wisconsin workers could no longer be required to pay union dues to hold a job.

Drivers can keep talking on their cell phones, but they can no longer send e-mails or text messages under a state law that takes effect Wednesday.

The new Minority Leader in the state Assembly says he’s open to working with majority Republicans. Assembly Democrats on Tuesday unanimously named state Representative Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) to represent them...

State Rep. Peter Barca of Kenosha has been elected as leader of Democrats in the next state Assembly. Barca was the unanimous choice Tuesday to be minority leader for Democrats ...

A hearing to bar implementation of Gov. Scott Walker's measure limiting collective bargaining for public employees will go ahead Friday with or without state legislators named in an open meetings lawsuit

Gov. Walker and his legislative Republicans got a clear message today: they've had enough of the GOP's extreme agenda that favors wealthy special interests and large out-of-state corporations at the expense of Wisconsin's middle-class families.