[guelo]

> Unemployment ticking under the national average

Wisconsin's unemployment has been lower than the national average since before Walker took office.

> dismantling public unions

Except police and fire unions because it was more a political attack on the left's power base than a principled stand.

[rayiner]

That's a fair point. But it's worth noting that Wisconsin's overall drop in unemployment rate since 2011 has slightly outpaced the drop in unemployment rate nationwide, which isn't a mean feat considering that neighboring Illinois has trailed the nation in the recovery.

As for the public unions--I'd like to see someone take on the police and fire unions too, but that probably has to wait for another day. Walker's motivations for those measures are irrelevant. Pension and healthcare liabilities are going to take state and municipal finances off a cliff. There's pretty much no hope of averting disaster, but states that don't deal with their public union problem will catabolize more of their GSP base before the inevitable crash happens.

[tptacek]

If that's what it was, why did he publicly back expanding Act 10 to hit police and fire unions on the eve of his Presidential campaign announcement? You think WI isn't a swing state, and he won't need every cop in the state to GOTV for him?

Something else I hate about political arguments on HN: they put me in a position where I might actually have to speak up in defense of Scott Walker. Blech.