You have to hand it to Scott Walker -- he's a wingnut true believer, with the charming personality of a rock and absolutely all the political instincts of a dead fish. Because Wisconsin voters are awake now, they know that class war is being waged, and they're not going to sit and take it:
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's explosive proposal to take nearly all collective bargaining rights away from most public workers represents just one piece of his vision for the state's future. Now he's ready to reveal the rest.
With the union rights proposal stuck in a legislative stalemate thanks to runaway Senate Democrats, Walker planned to forge ahead with the Tuesday release of his two-year spending plan that will include major cuts to schools and local governments to help close a projected $3.6 billion budget shortfall.
Tens of thousands of protesters have demonstrated for two weeks against Walker's collective bargaining proposal, which he calls necessary to free local governments from having to bargain with public employee unions as they deal with the cuts he'll outline Tuesday.
Schools last week started putting teachers on notice that their contracts may not be renewed for next year given the budget uncertainty. Walker has confirmed he will propose cutting education aid by about $900 million, or 9 percent statewide.
[...] School leaders are bracing for more bad news.
The governor is expected Tuesday to announce a new revenue limit that would require a $500 per-pupil reduction in property tax authority. The limits, in place since 1993, have gradually grown to reflect increasing education costs. That part of Walker's proposal alone would reduce the money available to the state's 424 districts by 7 percent, or nearly $600 million, based on a study done by University of Wisconsin-Madison economics professor Andrew Reschovsky.
Looks like his arrogance will cost him big-time. A new poll shows that an estimate 1.1 million Wisconsin voters are willing to sign his recall petition, and that of eight Republican state senators.
Yes, elections have consequences. But when you act as if you're the only person whose opinions count, well, the voters have a way of reminding you otherwise.
