Heading Towards Victory In Wisconsin

It's still a bit of a Mexican standoff at present, but the blowback to GOP overreach is accelerating, particularly with the recall movements under way. Democrats have the staying power that Republicans lack, and that makes all the difference:

After weeks of pitched battle that has clogged the state Capitol with protests and gummed up legislative works, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker hinted in an interview yesterday with the Wisconsin State Journal that he might be willing to make a deal with the public-sector unions.

The gesture was a weak one: He suggested that issues like unions' right to collect dues and hold elections are on the table, but he is still unwilling to negotiate on public employees' right to bargain collectively on non-pay issues like benefits. Such a compromise would be unacceptable to most union activists, but it was the first sign that Walker is feeling pressure and willing to make a deal to resolve the massive protests, now more than two weeks old.

Whether Walker deals or not, it's clear that the protesters are prepared for the long haul. Walker made his biggest tactical blunder by attempting to kick people out of the Capitol last Sunday, just as the protests were starting to die down. Instead of clearing out, protesters rushed in rejuvenated.

...Galvanized by the show of public support, the Wisconsin Democratic Party filed papers to begin recall efforts against eight Republican state Senators. They have 60 days to collect the requisite number of signatures, which ranges from 13,000 to 25,000 signatures per district; 25 percent of voters who cast ballots in the last election must sign the petitions. If organizers meet the deadline, recall elections would occur as early as mid-summer.

Organizers also have their sights set on Walker himself: Michael Brown, a Web developer based in Joseph McCarthy's hometown of Appleton, launched a website, www.unitedwisconsin.org, which already has 79,000 signatories supporting an effort to recall Walker.

...Before then, Walker faces the possibility of a more general strike -- one that includes members of private-sector unions.

...A general strike would surely bring Walker to his knees. It would also be the first attempt to hold one since 1934 in San Francisco. Many private-sector unions might avoid signing on to avoid being sued by their employers -- striking in support of other unions is illegal under the Taft-Hartley Act -- but the fact that it has entered the discussion shows how serious the fight has become.