I don’t agree that the populace was so strongly against this action, and I don’t agree Walker is either power-mad or an idiot.
However, I do agree that the action to deny quorum are perfectly legitimate and have been used by all manner of folks, both saints and sinners.
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Well, he didn’t run on the idea of dismantling union power. He tried to squeak it past with little fanfare. I would say that’s 1. a dumb idea, and 2. enamored of the power he suddenly held. But we can agree to disagree on that point.
Amen.
If doing something that you didn’t explicitly run on was grounds to be recalled, we’d be holding recalls every year. I’ve never seen a politician do those things (s)he explicitly said (s)he would when (s)he ran for office, and nothing more.
Nate Silver has run the numbers on Walker’s recall, based on these recalls and Walker’s previous performance, and finds that it’s basically a toss-up. Of course, by the time he’s actually eligible for recall, we’ll have a lot more data to calibrate that with.
I’d agree. But attempting to destroy unions isn’t the same thing as increasing a sales tax or cutting spending on city parks.
Remember, the unions offered Walker the monetary concessions he wanted. He ignored it, because destroying unions was his goal, not saving money. He knows that corporations favor the right, and unions favor the left. This would be the equivalent of some lefty politician instituting a horridly damaging piece of tax code that reams corporations.
It’s a big deal. And he got away with it because of the Republican Wave. The citizens of Wisconsin didn’t know they were signing up for this and they are rightly angry.
Many citizens are more than satisfied.
If you’ll note the poll I linked, the large majority are not.
The two Democrats up for recall yesterday managed to hang on to their seats.