Bizblogger

Site for Free Markets and Free People

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Wisconsin Retains a Republican Majority

It's tough to get too excited about last night's result if you're a conservative because there was only downside. The GOP held on to 4 out of the 6 elections, and lost a nail-biter in one of them. Next week, the Democrats have two seats where they could potentially lose. Nonetheless, the results are that that Republicans control 17 seats, vs 16 seats for the Democrats.

This comes after an election for the Supreme Court Justice where a Republican victory was upheld earlier in the year.

It's good news that the GOP retains control, but does anyone have a feeling that the Unions in Wisconsin are acting a bit like Al Gore in 2000? My sense is they will keep going after people until they go up by 1 man, and then they will call it quits. Dems are vowing to go after the Governor himself next year.

Unfortunately, Wisconsin is one of the few states in the country where elected officials can be recalled for almost no reason at all. Most states do not allow it, and of the few that do allow it, half of those restrict recalls to people who have committed crimes while in office. Wisconsin is an outlier.

It's definitely sour grapes if you're a democrat or if you simply want lots more spending and sustained higher wages and benefits for all unions. But if you're in favor of common sense, you should be happy today with the result.