"Now they show up with a bill drafted, and they expect us to pass it without thinking about it," Schultz says, citing the mining bill as an example.

Schultz, of Richland Center, says he listened to his district on Act 10 and the mining bill, and even changed his position on Voter ID, which he backed in 2011, after hearing from constituents who "don't think voter fraud is a huge problem."

He thinks GOP support for such measures conveys that "we don't feel our ideas are attractive enough" to win elections, and hence must make it harder for some people to vote. He sees this, too, as contrary to Republican heritage, exemplified by President Eisenhower's support for voting rights.

In a recent column, Schultz also inveighed against what he feels is excessive partisanship, which demands orthodoxy to party positions and results in the sides viewing each other as "the enemy."

So what's Schultz's solution? He cites campaign finance reform and nonpartisan redistricting, both of which he's championed, without success. He faults Democrats for not doing more on these issues when they were in charge.