The lone Republican critic of Gov. Scott Walker's budget-repair bill issued his most blistering words yet, accusing his colleagues of "classic overreach."

In a radio interview, Sen. Dale Schultz (R-Richland Center) said earlier this week:

"All I know is, we're not talking. We're wasting valuable time about collective bargaining, which I don't ever remember being a part of the last election whatsoever. But most of all, you know, to me, this just looks like the classic overreach we see every two years."

Schultz, who has served in the state Senate for 20 years, told interviewer Scott Thompson on WEKZ-AM (1260) in Monroe that Republicans and Democrats are guilty of this.

"Both political parties have a tendency, at least in these days, to kind of overreach, and people are tired of it, I think."

Schultz - whose office confirmed the authenticity of the recording - has been the only one of the 19 Senate Republicans to criticize the budget-repair bill, which would curb the collective-bargaining rights of public employees and require them to pay more toward their pension and health insurance costs.

Walker has said he won't remove the collective-bargaining provisions or put them in a separate bill. Schultz has not said how he would vote on the measure, though he has offered compromise proposal last week that went nowhere.

Action on the bill is stalled because the 14 Democratic senators fled to Illinois, preventing a vote on a financial measure.

In the radio interview, Schultz described a financial supporter who said he was upset about the "extremism" taking place in Madison right now. The guy went on to say that it was just like every time one party gets control and "they sort of forget the main mission."

Schultz responded:

"Well, that hurt me because, you know, I'm proud to be a Republican. I've been a Republican for 40 years. I want to do good things. But I also know that each political party needs people that are going to hold them to the highest standard."

He also said he didn't consider Walker's interview with an impersonator of billionaire businessman David Koch to be "very flattering."

The veteran lawmaker said he doubted Senate leaders would split collective bargaining from other provisions in the budget-repair bill, even though he suggested the right to bargain has "given us labor peace for 50 years in this state."

To segregate the collective-bargaining items, he said, would involve "an embarrassing admission" by Senate leaders that these provisions had nothing to do with the state budget.

"The majority leader doesn't want to say that," Schultz said of Sen. Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau).