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To hear it from some other sources, Scott Walker has been a “disaster” for Wisconsin, with “crumbling” roadway infrastructure to “failure” of schools everywhere in the state.

This is largely propaganda put out by the public unions, not necessarily based in fact. Until relatively recently, Wisconsin was a “Union shop” state, in which, if there was an organized union working a particular employment venue, all new hires and all existing employees either had to join the union, or at least contribute a certain amount to the designated representing union, else they would be subject to termination. It was certainly made VERY uncomfortable for any employee in that “represented” industry to resist the union demands upon all the employees.

Now that Wisconsin is essentially a “right to work” state, the role of the unions is very different. Unions took a big hit when General Motors ceased production at the Janesville, Wisconsin, assembly plant, and the Rock County area, once a big union locality, has now petered out and is an almost “red” district. Same when American Motors (for many years Nash-Kelvinator) in Kenosha pulled out, the union membership dropped sharply, and with it, representation by Democrats. This area is now represented by Paul Ryan, who was the Vice-President nominee in 2012 with Romney.

For decades, Wisconsin was home to some of the most “progressive” movements in the country, and its center was the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Until about the 1950’s, there was no Democrat party in Wisconsin, had not been since about the time of William Jennings Bryan. About the time of the rise of Teddy Roosevelt, a home-grown populist, Robert La Follette, was organizing the Progressives as a branch of the Republican party in Wisconsin, and there was simply no room for Democrats. Progressives became the opposition party to the “stalwart” Republicans, even though both sides called themselves “Republican”, but people soon knew the difference.