- Scott Walker and Wisconsin Republicans campaigned in 2010 on making significant changes to public sector unions' benefits and collective bargaining agreements to help straighten out the state's (very real) budget mess. They won.
- As 14 Democratic State Senators remain holed up in Illinois, blocking a vote by refusing to do their jobs, the State Assembly -- also controlled by Republicans -- had been conducting a passionate debate over Governor Walker's controversial bill. Following its introduction, the two parties sparred over the legislation for more than 60 hours, as Democrats mounted a de facto filibuster of sorts by introducing a cascade of amendments, most of which were defeated.
- After this unprecedented period of open, round-the-clock debate (the "longest in memory"), majority Republicans called an immediate, surprise vote early Friday morning. Sleep-deprived Democrats, many of them clad in orange "solidarity" t-shirts, didn't know what hit them. The bill passed by a large margin, and victorious Republicans quietly filed out of the chamber. Democrats and their union masters allies threw a prolonged, deafening tantrum. They chanted "shame!" and one legislator threw papers and a beverage.
Elections. Consequences. Go:
The Scorecard:
Wisconsin Assembly Republicans: Fulfilling a campaign promise by winning an up-or-down vote, following an unprecedented period of consideration.
Wisconsin Assembly Democrats: Shrieking like stuck pigs after losing a vote in a chamber they failed to win in November.
Wisconsin Senate Democrats: Still hiding out in pillow forts somewhere in another state in order to prevent a vote on a bill they don't like.
I'll let you draw your own conclusions about which party is populated with adults.