...I'm pleased he is sticking to his principles and not giving one damn inch to these criminals!
I am pleased that he hasn't given up or given in. But in my opinion, he's been giving inches to these thugs every damn day - inches of rope with which he's begging the Democrats to hang him.
This has gone on about two-and-a-half weeks too long. The day after the Democrats fled, Walker held every possible card he was ever gonna hold. They were the ones who were engaging in outrageous, inexcusable behavior, and he should have seen that the longer this went on, the greater opportunity the fleebaggers would have to demagogue the situation to a sympathetic media.
The moment they fled, he should have pressured the state GOP to schedule votes for the entire laundry list of the GOP agenda. Concealed Carry, Voter ID, Right-to-Work, and anything else they could think of should have been put imminently on the table. Then the collective bargaining reform measures should have been separated from the budget items and scheduled for a vote as well.
He could have forced the Democrats to choose between inexcusably fleeing on the one hand, and standing AWOL as the GOP agenda passed without their participation on the other hand. It would have put the fleebaggers in a completely untenable political position.
But here we are, almost three weeks later. The Democrats have indeed demagogued, and the media has indeed given them a sympathetic mouthpiece with which to do it. And poll after poll shows that it is not the Democrats, but Walker and the GOP who are paying the price in the court of public opinion as this thing drags on.
It could have been over by now. Think of it. Old news by now. The protests may have occurred, but against the backdrop of legislation already passed, with no hope of stopping it.
Crucial errors, IMHO. So yeah, kudos to Walker for not giving up or giving in. But damn him for playing the genteel Republican game. That kind of weakness has allowed the Democrats to wreak their havoc against this country, and we need men who will stand up.