Total recall

It is official: there will be a gubernatorial recall election sometime in early June in Wisconsin. The Governmental Accounting Board, in their cursory review of the petitions submitted, didn't find enough obviously fraudulent signatures to avoid the recall.

The amount of time and money pouring into this recall effort - most of it from national unions - is staggering. It would be one thing if the unions were incensed because Governor Walker's policies weren't successful in achieving the goals he claimed they would. But they are in a greater frenzy because they are working.

School districts have saved millions now that they no longer are forced to take the union-backed health insurance plans at exorbitant rates, and workers are contributing a larger portion of the premium. That in turn saves property owners on their tax bills. Jobs are being created in an environment that is now more conducive to business. The $3.6 million deficit created by years of Democratic overspending has been all but erased.

And these are supposed to be grounds for a recall?

The issue at the most basic has nothing to do with policies, but with cold, hard cash. The elimination of the collective bargaining provision for government workers carried with it another provision - the elimination of the mandatory requirement for those units to collect union dues through payroll withholding. That is what really has the union knickers in a twist.

For better or worse, we are a test case for the rest of the nation. Can an administration that has done a wealth of good for the state by enacting tough, but fair policies survive an all-out assault by well funded special interests? What will we listen to - the documented facts, or the emotion-charged accusations of the unions?

We'll find out in June.