Wisconsin Waterloo for Labor?

[Geee]

American Spectator:

Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker pulled ahead of his Democratic challenger in the recall election scheduled for June 5, according to the Marquette Law School poll last week. It showed Walker beating the Democratic candidate, Mayor Tom Barrett of Milwaukee, by 7 points.

Democrats maintain that their private polling shows the race to be a dead heat and expect Bill Clinton appearance in Milwaukee last Friday to have rallied the troops.

The entire recall saga has been a true circus with sit-ins and demonstrations in the state capitol and Democratic state senators fleeing the state and hiding out at the now infamous Clock Tower Resort in Rockford, Illinois. Evading their constitutional responsibilities, they aimed to deny their chamber a quorum and block a vote on Walker's public labor union reforms.

Mayor Barrett won a contested primary beating organized labor's candidate in a hotly contested race. This is his second try at defeating Governor Walker, to whom he previously lost two years ago.

Walker has mobilized donors nationally in what has become a signature battle over public labor unions and their long-standing control over state and local budgets distorted by overly generous, and unsustainable, pension and health care plans. His most controversial action was to roll back collective bargaining for public employees, a privilege which even federal workers do not have.

The inevitable firestorm in Madison, the state capitol, and a union-led petition drive led to this recall election costing the states millions of dollars.

Fortunately for Governor Walker, Wisconsin's school districts and local governments have been experiencing the concrete benefits of his labors, e.g., reduced budget outlays and the avoidance of layoffs of teachers and other staff. This has resulted in pretty good karma for the Walker campaign in recent months. Cost savings also resulted due to liberation from a monopoly union insurance carrier with uncompetitive rates.

Over the course of this recall election, and understanding that the labor controversy was not a winner, at least with the dwindling number of undecided voters, the Democrats pivoted to the jobs issues. They saw an opportunity in a statistical downturn in job creation in the Badger state early on. However, even on that issue, newly released data indicate increased job creation and allowed Governor Walker to regain the offense.

Adding insult to Mayor Barrett's injury, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, his hometown paper, endorsed Governor Walker.

"It's time to end the bickering and get back to the business of the state," opined the paper's editorial. "We've had our differences with the governor, but he deserves a chance to complete his term. We recommended him in 2010. We see no reason to change that recommendation. We urge voters to support Walker in the June 5 recall election."