Governor Walker’s Game of Chicken

The Takeaway

Wisconsin’s Governor Scott Walker has officially threatened to lay off some 1500 state employees if he can’t get Democratic state senators to return and allow a vote on the Governor’s much-disputed state budget proposal. Beyond the implications for those who might be put on notice as early as April 4th, the move is just the latest in a game of political chicken, in which Republicans and Democrats are trying to assign the blame for the state’s troubles on the other party. Will the threat work for getting Democrats – who fled the state in order to prevent a three-fifths budget quorum – back into Wisconsin? Democratic State Senator Bob Jauch says: not very likely.   Meanwhile, recent polling in the state seems to suggest that while residents are split down the middle on many issues, Governor Walker’s numbers are slipping.  

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