State Sen. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, said that Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, is attempting to stop conservative legislation by accusing Nass and two other senators of terrorism.
“Speaker Vos didn’t make the ‘terrorist’ statement in a moment of heated debate over the budget,” Nass said in a statement Monday. “In my view, it’s a shallow political ploy to reignite the budget disagreement to lay the groundwork to thwart conservative legislation from advancing in the Fall Floor Session.”
Vos was appearing on UpFront with Mike Gousha in a taped interview which aired on television Sunday morning in Milwaukee and Madison when he made the terrorism charge.
“Frankly I wish Governor Walker hadn’t negotiated with terrorists,” Vos said. “That’s a bad way to operate the legislature.”
“Terrorists? You’re calling rogue senators ‘terrorists’?” Gousha asked in a rare follow-up question.
“That’s what they are,” Vos answered.
Nass criticized Vos by saying for 16 years America’s armed forces have been fighting the War on Terror.
“Serving the people of Wisconsin in the Legislature is my second greatest honor,” Nass said. “My greatest honor, however, was the ability to serve our state and nation in the Wisconsin Air National Guard for 33 years with so many noble citizen-soldiers.”
“It is beyond outrageous for anyone, especially a person serving as Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly, to label as a ‘terrorist’ another person for simple public policy disagreements,” Nass said.
Nass said Vos should apologize for his remarks.
“Speaker Vos issuing an apology would certainly be appropriate,” Nass said. “More importantly, the people of Wisconsin need the Speaker to cease the inappropriate behaviors that have become all-to-common from him this entire session.”
