Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is having a good week. Four polls taken since last Tuesday’s primaries find him beating his Democratic recall opponent, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, by an average of six points and new economic numbers show the state added 23,321 last year. But in another key development that received less attention, a Marquette Law School poll released today finds that by a 50 percent to 43 percent margin, Wisconsin voters want to preserve Walker’s public sector union reforms that sparked a wave of protests last year and triggered the recall.
When you look at the partisan breakdown, the poll finds that 78 percent of Democrats want to restore the ability of public sector unions to collectively bargain for benefits and 81 percent of Republicans oppose getting rid of Walker’s law. But by a wide 53 percent to 38 percent margin, independents are against repealing the reforms and going back to the pre-Walker status quo.
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As governors around the nation try to grapple with the stranglehold public sector unions have over state budgets, the Wisconsin experience is a crucial. Walker stood firm, the reforms went into effect, none of the dire predictions of opponents came true and now independents overwhelmingly want to keep them.
