Via the Atlantic comes this report of a town meeting held by moderate GOP state senator Dale Schultz, and by all accounts the chickens of Scott Walker's horrendous poll numbers are coming home to roost.
Schultz faced 300 constituents in Reedsburg, WI, suggesting to them that the Democrats should agree to the compromise bill he had suggested a couple of weeks ago (eliminate collective bargaining rights now, but restore them in two years when the budget emergency would in theory be over). The crowd responded with a resounding "NO!" One person yelled out: "That won't do!"
The good folks of Reedbsurg are following the news:
Several audience members who took the microphone during the three hour program reminded the senator that public employees were already making a compromise, and that The Teacher's Association of Reedsburg said members are willing to pay up to 15 percent of their health care and have wages frozen.
More on the flip....
Judith Boe, a retired music teacher from the district, had this to say:
"He speaks a good game and I admire him for pushing back against his party. But I don't think he can be effective unless he joins the 14 Democrats" who have fled the state in order to stall passage of the governor's bill. Boe believes, as many others I spoke with at the town hall do, that the 14 Democratic senators will not compromise on the collective bargaining issue because and if they do, they will also be voted out of office.
"The only glimmer of hope I see in this situation, which I often find very hopeless, is that this governor has revived a spark in our unions and the Democratic Party I haven't seen for years," Boe said.
That spark extends beyond union members and Democrats:
After Schultz ended his comments, a man of about 60 approached the microphone and said, without rancor, that before he came to this meeting he considered himself an independent voter.
"After hearing you speak," he said to Schultz, "I've decided to become a Democrat."
The longer Walker holds out, the stronger the Democratic Party of Wisconsin is becoming. Hold out till June, Scottie! We'll recall all your Senators -- and you're next on the list!