Wisconsin Unions Try to put Some Lipstick on a Pig

Wisconsin unions and outside pro-union forces spent as much as $40 million trying to recall enough Wisconsin GOP Senators to force a change of party control. They failed miserably. Unions only won 2 of the 6 recall contests. One of those was in a very democratic district. The other GOP candidate was mired in scandal. Of course, unions are trying to spin this into a victory.

But in toppling only two of the six lawmakers they targeted, some observers said the outcome could be a sign that labor's political clout isn't what it used to be.

Unions celebrated the ouster of two Republican state senators who supported Gov. Scott Walker's bill to curb collective bargaining rights for most state employees. Despite the historic wins for Wisconsin Democrats in Tuesday's voting, they still fell short of their goal to knock off at least three Republicans so they could take majority control of the state Senate and be able to block Walker and the Republicans' conservative agenda.

The outcome falls somewhere between a victory and a loss for beleaguered unions, said Doug Schoen, a Democratic political strategist.

"Organized labor certainly didn't lose any ground," Schoen said. "They didn't fundamentally alter the political environment, but they sent a strong message to Republicans that what they are doing is not without peril."

That's the silver lining union officials were spinning Wednesday. Keep on reading...