On Wisconsin: Mr. Goose, Meet Ms. Gander by Lawrence Spaulding

We Are Wisconsin from Finn Ryan on Vimeo.

An idealistic new executive gets elected along with majorities in both legislative houses. He sets about pursuing a pungently ideological agenda that he says the voters sent him to do. The minority party says, “Whoa, don’t over read a rejection of the status quo with a mandate for your ideas.” The executive and his legislative majorities plow forward, making hay while he sun shines, knowing this moment may be fleeting. The minority party in the legislature begins to throw in the way every procedural hurdle imaginable to slow down the momentum. “Unfair!” cries the majority, “you are blocking the will of the people!” “Fair” cries the majority,” these are the rules and we are playing with in them to stop your extremist action.”

Sigh.

Where are we? The US Federal government in 2009 or Wisconsin state government in 2011?

The substance is dramatically different, but the extreme legislative tactics and organic uprising of grass roots politics places these two moments as analogues. But here the substance and the difference in claims matter—as well as the willingness of the minority to compromise. Republicans in 2009-10 made it clear that the primary reason they objected to Democratic legislative proposals was primarily to defeat Obama and wound his political prospects. In Wisconsin, the minority Democrats are leaping to compromise. They are willing to grant concessions left and right with one grand exception: collective bargaining rights for public employees that no one, not Governor Walker or his legislative associates and certainly not the commentariet has been able to reasonably suggest is necessary to balance the state budget.

As with Obama and the Democrats in 2009-10, the Republicans in Wisconsin may likely win their legislative battles. But they might do well to recall the price being paid by that party. Elections, especially in Presidential years, are strongly influenced by independents. How will they view the actions by Governor Walker? They might say, “yeah, stick it to those overpaid government workers!” Yet, in a small population state like Wisconsin, such a mistaken view of the situation is not likely to hold. State workers make noticeably less, combining salary and pensions, relative to other workers of the same status in the private sector.

“If you prefer it in non-graph form: “Wisconsin public-sector workers face an annual compensation penalty of 11%. Adjusting for the slightly fewer hours worked per week on average, these public workers still face a compensation penalty of 5% for choosing to work in the public sector.”

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/

So the question is how long can this exercise exist? Can Wisconsin’s budget handle it? Can the Republican Party sustain such a partisan exercise?

– Lawrence Spaulding