It looks like Wisconsin Republicans are getting a bit nervous about the possibility they may lose their Senate majority via recalls this year. After a Democrat won a long-held solid Republican seat in a special election last week and ended the Republican supermajority, their legislative calendar has been ramped up.
Republicans, in a rapid sequence of votes over the next eight weeks, plan to legalize concealed weapons, deregulate the telephone industry, require voters to show photo identification at the polls, expand school vouchers and undo an early release for prisoners.
Lawmakers may also act again on Walker's controversial plan stripping public employee unions of their collective bargaining rights. An earlier version, which led to massive protest demonstrations at the Capitol, has been left in limbo by legal challenges.
"Everything's been accelerated," said Republican Rep. Gary Tauchen, who is working on the photo ID bill. "We've got a lot of big bills we're trying to get done."
And they accused Democrats of being radical? Sounds like it might be time for another trip for some Wisconsin senators out of state.
The recall efforts have been surprisingly successful thus far in Wisconsin. Since many other states that have newly minted, er, elected Republican governors, we can expect this same thing to occur, as recall efforts pick up in those states as well.
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