Weigel

Three Wisconsin Senate Republicans Trail in Recall

PPP (hired by Daily Kos) put robo-call surveys in the field in all eight state Senate districts represented by Republicans who can be recalled. Three of them are trailing generic Democrats.

Democrat 55
Dan Kapanke 41

Democrat 49
Randy Hopper 44

Democrat 49
Luther Olsen 47

This is after the raison d’etre for the recall has faded – if two senators are replaced by Democrats, and a pro-union majority arrives in the body, the budget repair bill is law anyway. And the degree to which Democrats are outplaying Republicans on this, weeks after the recalls were launched, is incredible. Click over to the Wisconsin Dems’ website and you see this.

Click to the GOP site – and remember, the GOP is trying to recall the Democrats – and you see this.

Stand with them? Stand with them? How about “Want to slap around those Democrats who fled the state? Here’s how!” This reminds me of the California Democrats’ distaff response to the 2003 gubernatorial recall – they were so annoyed at its very existence, which they considered illegitimate. And meanwhile, Scott Fitzgerald – the majority leader, seen in the photo – is making it clear that Senate Democrats can’t vote even now that they’re back, because they’re in contempt. Surely that won’t fire up Democratic activists.