On Nov. 20, 2013, WisconsinEye senior producer Steve Walters hosted a Civil Dialogue with Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) and Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) at the Wisconsin State Capitol. The leaders covered many topics related to the end of the 2013 legislative floor period.

The session kicked off with a review of the recent special elections and a summary of Vos and Barca’s thoughts on the upcoming special election in District 82, then moved on to another special topic – the special floor session on healthcare.

After briefly discussing how public perceptions vary when it comes to federal representatives and state ones, the conversation moved on to a review of the topics and structure of the last day of the fall floor session. Also looking forward to the spring, both leaders say they hope to focus on education.

When Walters brought up the current John Doe investigation, both leaders became very animated. Vos considers the probe a political witch hunt while Barca contends that it is a legitimate function of the justice system. One thing that became clear from the conversation is that Vos and Barca are not part of the investigation because they were able to speak openly about it.

The conversation wrapped up with a discussion of Gov. Walker’s new book and speculation about the upcoming gubernatorial and presidential elections.