Associated Press Wisconsin highlights

Via the SF Chronicle:

Wis. Governor Scott Walker and GOP leaders have launched a push to ram several years' worth of conservative agenda items through the Legislature this spring before recall elections threaten to end the party's control of State government.

Six of eight incumbent Republican Senators face recall elections tentatively set for July. Winning three would give Dems the Senate.

That likelihood is strong.

Republicans plan to legalize concealed weapons, deregulate the telephone industry, require voters to show photo ID, expand school vouchers and undo an early release for prisoners.

The latter initiative probably won't encounter much public resistance, even though there are substantial cost savings to placing low-risk defendants in community monitoring programs as opposed to prisons. Which goes to show that the Fitz Van Walker administration isn't really as committed to fiscal discipline as it claims to be.

The GOP may also act again on its controversial plan stripping public employee unions of their collective bargaining rights. An earlier version, which led to massive demonstrations at the Capitol, has been left in limbo by legal challenges.

Note the "may." Personally I think the thing is dead in the water, unless the Supreme Court decides to declare Wisconsin's Open Meetings Law unconstitutional, which would be a real hoot.

Obviously the Fitzwalkerstanians don't have the votes, otherwise they would have properly noticed and passed it months ago. If they try again, we're entering nicer protest weather than it was in February.

eta: Much more from Publius No. 9.