Report Says “Wisconsin 14″ Democrats Will “Soon” Return

The 14 renegade Wisconsin Democrat State Senators who fled to Illinois to prevent passage of Gov. Scott Walker’s “Budget Repair Bill” may be about the flinch. Maybe.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the Democrats “plan to come back soon” and allow a vote on the bill:

WALL STREET JOURNAL: Playing a game of political chicken, Democratic senators who fled Wisconsin to stymie restrictions on public-employee unions said Sunday they planned to come back from exile soon, betting that even though their return will allow the bill to pass, the curbs are so unpopular they’ll taint the state’s Republican governor and legislators.

The Republicans rejected the idea that the legislation would hurt the GOP. “If you think this is a bad bill for Republicans, why didn’t you stand up in the chamber and debate us about it three weeks ago?” said Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald. “People think it’s absolutely ridiculous that these 14 senators have not been in Wisconsin for three weeks.” . . . . Read More

However, the liberal Talking Points Memo reports that the Dem Senators are saying the Wall Street Journal has taken their comments “out of context,” and that they will only return when collective-bargaining rights are “off the table.”

It is clear that pressure is mounting. We’ll see if they actually crack this week.