Sensenbrenner says Republicans need to act, vote like Republicans

U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner said that Republicans have lost their way and are paying for it at the ballot box.

The Menomonee Falls Republican, who was a leader in instituting the Real ID program, criticized Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch, R-West Salem, for passing a budget repair bill that stripped the program of its funding.

He commended Republicans in the state Senate for voting against the legislative budget repair plan that diverted $22 million earmarked for Real ID into the general fund.

"Unfortunately Speaker Huebsch decided to push it through the Assembly, and he did so in a manner that does not fix the problem of over-taxing and replaces transportation fees with more state borrowing. Exactly the same move that helped destroy the Republican brand nationally," Sensenbrenner said. "Everyone sees this as a political shell game that simply postpones hard decisions."

He said Republicans need to get back to their core values.

"We need to act like Republicans and vote like Republicans," he said.

Sensenbrenner drew applause when he said sometimes leadership consists of saying no to bad policies, such as when he opposed President Bush on immigration issues.

Listen to audio here.

-- By Greg Bump