Free Republic

WASHINGTON — Union officials say the result in Wisconsin's recall elections should send a stern warning to other lawmakers who might threaten collective bargaining rights. But unions fell short of their goal by toppling only two of the six GOP state senators they targeted in Tuesday's voting. Some observers say the results show that labor's political clout isn't what it used to be. The outcome could mean an uphill battle for union plans to take the fight to Ohio, where voters will decide in November whether to repeal that state's law curbing union rights. Labor leaders insist their strong showing...

At Milwaukee Ward 259, the Cudahy YMCA in Northwest Milwaukee, election observers vehemently argued over whether members of Wisconsin Jobs Now!, an organization embroiled in scandal and tied to Rep. Sandy Pasch via Citizen Action of Wisconsin, were allowed inside the polling site wearing Wisconsin Jobs Now! t-shirts and buttons. The controversy began just after 12:30 PM when a volunteer election observer challenged whether Wisconsin Jobs Now! personnel driving voters to the polling location should be allowed inside the building. Democrat election observers and Wisconsin Jobs Now! personnel argued that Wisconsin Jobs Now! is not in violation of GAB rules...

While the Wisconsin recalls have taken on remarkable state and national trappings, they’re still local elections waged in local districts.For those who’ll be trying to make sense of the outcome Tuesday night, it's worth revisiting the recent voting history of the six state Senate seats in play this week.All six were carried by Democrat Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential race and by Republican Scott Walker in the 2010 race for governor. That widely noted fact makes these districts sound like perfect political battlegrounds.   But that’s misleading. In fact, the majority (19) of Wisconsin’s 33 state Senate districts voted...