In Wisconsin, the System Worked

Ezra Klein: Republicans fought legislative trickery with their own
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 10, 2011 12:26 PM CST
Ezra Klein: In Wisconsin, the System Worked
Opponents to the governor's bill to eliminate collective bargaining rights fill a hall outside the Assembly chamber in Madison, Wis., Thursday.   (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Critics are calling Scott Walker's legislative end run around AWOL Democrats in Wisconsin last night an affront to democracy. But it's "certainly as legitimate as the Democrats fleeing the state to deny the Republicans quorum," writes Ezra Klein in the Washington Post. Think of it this way: Democrats "did something procedurally extraordinary to stop the bill from being passed, and he did something procedurally extraordinary to get the bill passed."

True, Democrats lost this battle on union rights—even if the jury's still out on the legality of the maneuver—but at least they slowed the process and called national attention to it, writes Klein. Based on recent polls, they did a nice job making their case. GOP lawmakers ignored the outrage, and now they'll face potential consequences from voters. "It seems to me that the system worked." (More Wisconsin stories.)

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