Political Rambles (Wisconsin Edition)

It doesn't happen nearly enough, because rarely do states tackles issues so divisive. But minority Senate Democrats in Wisconsin know how to preserve their relevance.

With a 19-14 majority, Republicans need one Democrat to hold one of those union-busting votes up in almost every legislature where Republicans rules. Budgets have suffered from the recession, and unions are an easy target - and the cause of all problems not caused by Obama, in case you didn't know. At least that's what I hear.

My belief is employment standards need tweaking, especially when states are in a financial bind. Too often unions stick to monolithic policies and refuse to budge. They should accept when change is necessary.

This "crush the unions" mentality is conservative payback against organizations which elevated workplace quality for all Americans. Unions have their dark sides --- Cadillac health benefits and leadership disconnected from reality at times. The largest union for local employees was founded in Madison, Wisconsin, so bill is steeped in symbolism.

However, the Wisconsin Senate Democrats have vanished. All 14 left the state to urge the new governor and Republican majorities to slow it down a notch. No one has said to where they fled. They're holding up the vote.

Minority political parties are good for about one flight a decade. The last one of note was bigger than the others, but appropriate given the location. In 2003, U.S. House Majority Tom Delay helped engineer a second round of redistricting of Texas Congressional and State Assembly seats. Republicans won the Statehouse for the first time since Reconstruction, and the Hammer decided it was payback time.

He would later have to order the Texas Rangers to find the Democrats (which he didn't have the power to do), who wisely bolted for a hotel across the Oklahoma border. They dodged the vote for a while, but later recanted. In that out-sized Texas way, it was great drama.

I could see Ohio's statehouse Democrats pulling the same tactic, but most would end up drowning in Lake Erie or the Ohio River. In Tennessee, Democrats are too inconsequential to matter after they wasted 130 years of dominance.

This isn't about partisanship or favoring a party. I don't enjoy majority tyranny. Period. Bush II barely won and he used it. Obama won big then used it, but has wisely backed off after the 2010 elections massacred the Blue Dog Democrats.

Now, a breed of recently elected governors and freshmen legislators wants to flip the establishment on its head. I worry this is the Tea Party brand of governing, a few quick fixes to soothe the savage political based without a thought for long-term consequences. Obsessing about destroying your political enemies never works well -- Richard Nixon had some great accomplishments, but that desire to pulverize led to his resignation. It's self-defeating.

By attempting to to demonstrate how hard they're working to upend that status quo, lawmakers tend to forget the deliberate nature of politics and rush into major changes. In the parlance of our times, it means "pulling a fast one."

I don't know if Wisconsin Democrats will slow that progress. They might get some concessions, but they cannot stop majorities of that magnitude.

There's nothing wrong with taking it slow. If we need a few stunts to get our brand of democracy to work, then by all means --- run legislators, run.