They’ve been called heroes for defending democracy, and they’ve been called cowards for shirking their duties.

But Sen. Fred Risser said he and his colleagues are simply giving Gov. Scott Walker and other Republicans more time to listen to constituent outcry.

“We are doing our job. We are bringing public attention to what the governor is trying to do, which is wipe out 50 years of worker’s rights in just days,” said Risser, a Madison Democrat, in a telephone interview from an undisclosed location in Northern Illinois. “We think we’ve accomplished our goals, and people have reacted.”

Risser and the other 13 Democratic senators fled the state on Feb. 17 in order to break quorum and stall a vote on Walker’s controversial budget repair bill, specifically the section stripping state employee unions of most collective bargaining rights and requiring increased benefit payments.

They haven’t treated their absence as a vacation; Risser said they are working harder than ever through constant phone contact and e-mails with staffers to keep abreast of the situation in Madison.

So exactly how long will the senators stay just outside the reach of Wisconsin State Patrol? Risser said the answer relies largely on the Republicans’ next move.

And for the most part, there really hasn’t been much movement from Republicans, outside of the occasional press release decrying the absentee senators for basically slapping democracy in the face by running away.

However, there was one Republican who tried suggesting a compromise on the issue: Sen. Dale Schultz of Richland Center wrote a column on Wednesday saying he would offer an amendment that would restore collective bargaining rights after two years. The increased benefit payments would still be required, but Schultz’s amendment would require this sacrifice of all state employees-Walker’s current bill exempts certain law enforcement and fire departments from these union changes, which many critics attribute to campaign favors.

“We are capable of a thoughtful approach with all the stakeholders at the table, to protect the pocketbook of taxpayers and preserve the quality education and public services that make Wisconsin great,” Schultz wrote.

Finally, it seemed like there is some hope of a resolution of this deeply divisive issue. But Risser and the other senators are not quite ready to come back to the Capitol yet, and I can’t say I blame them.

For one thing, Schultz did not actually introduce his amendment on the Senate floor on Friday. He blamed this on the fact the Democrats weren’t available for a bipartisan discussion of the amendment, but I’d wager it had more to do with the fact that Republican legislative leaders as well as Walker completely shot down the idea.

And from his tone, it does not seem likely Schultz is going to try his amendment again.

“It is with a great deal of disappointment that I am not going to put this amendment in today and put this body through a prolonged debate, and harden opinions anymore than they already are in this body and across the state,” Schultz said on the floor Friday.

This strikes me as a cop out on the one chance of reasonable negotiations between the two parties. Just give up after one try with barely any effort? This debate is already “prolonged” with the 14 Democrats holed up in Illinois, so why not at least try a little harder to meet in the middle?

When I asked Risser about Schultz’ proposed amendment, he seemed open to the idea but said they had concerns about its chances of survival.

“Even if the compromise worked out in the Legislature, you’d want to be darn sure the governor wouldn’t turn around and undo it,” Risser said, referring to the executive’s line-item veto power.

There’s the kicker. Walker has repeatedly said that he will not back down on his proposal, even with union bosses agreeing to the increased benefit payments if he would leave collective bargaining intact. And he can afford to hang tough with the Republican-controlled Legislature following his every whim. This hard, unyielding stance is doing wonders for Walker’s popularity with the national Republican Party and will undoubtedly put him on track for a higher-up political post.

So with Democrats holding out on a compromise and Republicans not willing to offer anything substantial, a new border war is raging between Wisconsin and Illinois.

“We will be back at the appropriate time, and that timing is not yet determined,” Risser said.

Guess we’ll just have to wait and see who breaks first.

Alicia Yager ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in journalism and French.