In Wisconsin, voters defeat a campaign of union revenge.
Opinion
The Wall Street Journal
6/5/2012
The resounding failure by unions and Democrats to recall Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker on Tuesday is a significant moment for democratic self-government. It shows that an aroused electorate can defeat a furious and well-fed special interest that wants a permanent, monopoly claim on taxpayer wallets.
The crisis unfolding in Europe is less about the euro than it is about whether the union-dominated entitlement state can reform so it can pay its bills. In Wisconsin as in Greece and France, unions and the political left were trying to demonstrate that power and privileges once granted are eternal. They wanted to run Mr. Walker out of Madison as an object lesson that trying to limit collective bargaining and mandatory dues collection for government unions will end your political career.
One of the stranger analyses of the Wisconsin brawl has been that it could have been avoided if only Mr. Walker had sought “consensus.” We’re all in this together, yada, yada. Tell that to Governor John Kasich, who passed similar reforms in Ohio to much less fanfare, only to see unions use a referendum last year to repeal his collective-bargaining changes. Public unions are never going to cede their dominance over taxpayers without a fight.
And it’s worth recalling how brutally they fought…
The article continues at The Wall Street Journal.
Update: Voters in California Appear to Approve Pension Cuts
LOS ANGELES — As Wisconsin residents voted on Tuesday not to recall Gov. Scott Walker — who has become an enemy of labor unions nationwide — two California cities dealt blows of their own to organized labor…
Also, ‘Kill Scott Walker’: Left Unleashes Death Threats . Must be the new civility.
Update 2: Walker: If you make the tough choices, voters will stick with you at HotAir.com
