This is the guy who not only held his caucus together under tremendous pressure, who not only signed the orders of contempt dispatching state police to hunt down the Fleebagger 14, but who greeted them with a rhetorical MOAB when they finally returned to Madison this weekend. Now this.

I bet the death threats he’s getting these days are exquisite.

In a sign that Republicans are still smarting from the exodus of Democrats during deliberations on the budget, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) told his caucus on Monday that Democrats remain in contempt of the Senate. That means, he said, that Democrats can’t vote on bills or amendments. Fitzgerald wrote: “When taking roll call votes on amendments and bills during executive sessions, Senate Democrats’ votes will not be reflected in the Records of Committee Proceedings or the Senate Journal. They are free to attend hearings, listen to testimony, debate legislation, introduce amendments, and cast votes to signal their support/opposition, but those votes will not count, and will not be recorded.”

One of the fleebaggers called the move “mean-spirited,” which is a nice big red bow on three weeks of Republicans needing police protection inside the Capitol.

Here’s Scott Walker arriving tonight at a restaurant to meet with local GOP leaders. Exit question: As sweet as this feels, is it smart to further motivate the opposition when they’re scrambling to meet petition deadlines for recall elections?