In Wisconsin, the System Worked

Critics are calling Scott Walker's legislative end run around AWOL Democrats in Wisconsin last night an affront to democracy. But it's "certainly as legitimate as the Democrats fleeing the state to deny the Republicans quorum," writes Ezra Klein in the Washington Post. Think of it this way: Democrats "did something procedurally extraordinary to stop the bill from being passed, and he did something procedurally extraordinary to get the bill passed."

True, Democrats lost this battle on union rights—even if the jury's still out on the legality of the maneuver—but at least they slowed the process and called national attention to it, writes Klein. Based on recent polls, they did a nice job making their case. GOP lawmakers ignored the outrage, and now they'll face potential consequences from voters. "It seems to me that the system worked." (More Wisconsin stories.)