Madison - After a bitter, 61-hour debate that was the longest in living memory, the sleep-starved state Assembly voted in just seconds early Friday to approve a watershed proposal repealing most union bargaining rights held by public workers.

Just after 1 a.m., Republicans cut off debate on Gov. Scott Walker's bill and in pell-mell fashion the body voted 51-17 to pass it. In the confusion, nearly one-third of the body - 28 lawmakers including 25 Democrats, two Republicans and the body's lone independent - did not vote on the bill at all.

All Democrats voted against the proposal along with four Republicans - Dean Kaufert of Neenah, Lee Nerison of Westby, Richard Spanbauer of Oshkosh, and Travis Tranel of Cuba City.

Democrats erupted after the vote, throwing papers and what appeared to be a drink in the air. They denounced the move to cut off debate, questioning for the second time in the night whether the proper procedure had been followed.

"Shame! Shame! Shame!" Democrats shouted in the faces of Republicans as the GOP lawmakers quietly filed off the floor and a police officer stood between opposing lawmakers.

"Cowards all! You're all cowards," yelled Rep. Brett Hulsey (D-Madison) as another Democrat tried to calm him down.

Most Republicans had no comment on the vote afterward and some were escorted out under police protection. Earlier in the night, Majority Leader Scott Suder (R-Abbotsford) said that Democrats had been given more than two full days and nights to make their case - effectively turning the debate into a filibuster - and that Republicans had done nothing wrong.

"It seems clear our side wants to vote and I challenge anyone watching to say we have not held out for an adequate debate," Suder said.

“The democrats were clearly stalling,” said Rep. Joel Kleefisch (R-Oconomowoc). “That’s why Assembly rules allow for a vote on final passage. We took that vote and did what the people of this state asked us to do on Nov. 2 – get spending under control.”

Democrats said they still had 15 speakers and had not heard Republicans invoke and carry out the rarely used rule to end the debate before voting on the bill. That rule requires a motion seconded by 15 members and then a roll call vote. Assembly Chief Clerk Patrick Fuller said afterward he was not sure whether that had occurred, saying he had heard the order to start a vote on the final passage of the bill and had done so.

Later Rep. Kelda Helen Roys (D-Madison) said, "We never imagined they would do it as they did, not even properly using the nuclear option."

Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) said Democrats would "explore every option" in deciding whether or not to challenge the vote.

The measure would give the Walker administration broad powers to reshape health programs covering 1 million low-income Wisconsin residents and use borrowing and cuts to employee benefits to fill a $137 million hole in the two-year state budget ending June 30.

The national spotlight and the full pressure of continued protests now returns to the state Senate, where one GOP senator has said he wants to amend Walker's plan and where Democrats have blocked a vote on the proposal by holing up in Illinois.

In the Assembly, the session was rocky, with the tired and unshaven lawmakers hurling harsh words at one another and Democrats unsuccessfully attempting to remove the body's presiding official.

Republicans hailed the bill as a bold effort to tackle government spending on employee benefits and help solve the state's more than $3 billion budget deficit over the next two years.

"In the end, we're going to head the state in the right direction. It's not going to be pretty," said Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald (R-Horicon). "But two years from now if we're in a better place with the state's fiscal house, we're going to be much better off."

Democrats said the bill gutted public unions in the state that had first recognized them. They said unions had already agreed to make cuts to their pension and health benefits that Walker says will save the state nearly $330 million through mid-2013.

"What a sad day for this state when we are willing to ignore the traditions that people died for in this state, that people fought bitterly for," Barca said. "We ignore our forefathers who made this a great state."

Walker and the GOP-led Senate have only a few days to pass the bill and have it signed into law before a key part of the proposal is lost. A refinancing of state debt that would free up $165 million must be done by early next week or it will fall through and Republicans will have to find more cuts to balance the budget.

But Walker stood firm late Thursday on eliminating most public employee bargaining rights, saying massive layoffs of state and local workers hung in the balance. Failure to approve his budget-repair bill intact, the Republican governor said, could mean job losses of up to 12,000 state and local employees.

In a Capitol news conference, Walker spoke of the need for urgency in passing his bill to prevent local governments from enacting any more labor contracts without including increased health and pension contributions for workers. His office said a half dozen local government contracts had been approved or proposed in recent weeks with no worker concessions, while some included pay raises.

"I'd do almost anything to avoid laying people off," Walker said during a 30-minute news conference at the Capitol. "We need to avoid those layoffs for the good of the workers, the good of the people."

In the Assembly late Thursday, Democrats exploded and jumped to their feet after Republican lawmakers moved Walker's bill toward a vote on final passage. Democrats said Republicans had used an improperly quick vote in order to advance the bill to a stage in which they could shut down debate on the proposal.

An unidentified Democratic lawmaker yelled an obscenity. Outside, the hundreds of protesters still in the Capitol surged to within a short distance of the chamber and shouted, "Kill the bill!"

Inside Barca yelled, "We must stop the corruption in this body!"

Also citing a Friday vote that Democrats also said was improper, Barca unsuccessfully sought the removal of Assembly Speaker Pro Tem Bill Kramer (R-Waukesha), who oversees debate on the floor.

It was then that Suder made his point that Republicans had done everything possible to give Democrats a chance to debate, saying it was "poppycock" that the minority party hadn't had a chance to properly speak to the bill.

During the debate Democrats offered more than 100 amendments, and Republicans voted to block about 84 of them before shutting down consideration of the rest of them. The amendments included measures to restore collective bargaining rights, eliminate the health-care provisions, and add more safeguards to the sale of state power plants.

In the increasingly contentious debate, Rep. Brett Hulsey (D-Madison) said, "We are becoming a national laughingstock."

At one point, Rep. Louis Molepske (D-Stevens Point) asked Republican leaders to take a break to allow lawmakers to sleep, saying he was so tired his speech was slurring.

But Rep. Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said that Republicans need to move forward and do what was needed to balance the budget without raising taxes.

"It's painful. This debate has ripped families apart. It has ripped communities apart. These are tough choices," Vos said. "We're making this decision because this is the best of the bad choices."

At his Thursday news conference, Walker gave no indication that he would negotiate changes or lay aside the controversial portions of his state budget-repair bill.

He also brushed off a question about a prank caller conversation that surfaced Wednesday, saying he hadn't said or done anything improper. A recording of the call showed Walker had considered planting troublemakers among Capitol protesters but decided against it.

Madison Police Chief Noble Wray said Thursday he wanted to hear more about what the governor had considered, noting he found it "very unsettling and troubling that anyone would consider creating safety risks for our citizens and law enforcement officers."

Senate Democrats, meanwhile, continued their sojourn in Illinois, giving no sign of returning as Walker has demanded.

"(Walker) just seems to say he can wait it out and not feel any consequences and be impervious to public opinion," Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller (D-Monona) said in a telephone interview. "He's got to realize there's more to leadership than just demanding your own way."

The Republican governor softened his rhetoric somewhat on the Senate Democrats, saying it's "still my belief that in the end, they'll come home."

Journal Sentinel reporters Cary Spivak and Don Walker contributed to this report.