Fleebaggers Coming Home - UPDATE: Maybe Not

Looks like the Fleebaggers have had enough of flitting from Illinois motel to Illinois motel:

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 Wisconsin standoff, which drew thousands of demonstrators to occupy the capitol in Madison for days at a time, has come to highlight efforts in other states to address budget problems in part by limiting the powers and benefits accorded public-sector unions.

Sen. Mark Miller said he and his fellow Democrats intend to let the full Senate vote on Gov. Scott Walker's "budget-repair" bill, which would also limit public unions' collective bargaining rights. The bill, which had been blocked because the missing Democrats were needed for the Senate to have enough members present to consider the bill, is expected to pass the Republican-controlled chamber.

He said he thinks recent polls showing voter discontent with Mr. Walker over limits on bargaining rights have been "disastrous" for the governor and give Democrats more leverage to seek changes in a broader two-year budget bill Mr. Walker proposed Tuesday.

I'll return you to a post I wrote earlier today: Why Gov. Scott Walker Shouldn't Care What Anybody Thinks. The damage to his popularity rating will be temporary, and should his reforms results in financial benefit to Wisconsin, no amount of union demagoguery will matter.

Rather than the voters turning on Walker, I think the Fleebaggers have much more to fear from all those union people who will not be happy that they've given in and allowed the bill to pass.

Gov. Walker played this exactly right.

UPDATE:  Fleebaggers say the WSJ got the story wrong:

Wisconsin State Senator Chris Larson: Sen. Miller’s comments are taken out of context in the Wall Street Journal article just released. Dems will return when collective bargaining is off the table. That could be soon based on the growing public opposition to the bill and the recall efforts against Republicans. Unfortunately, the WSJ fished for the quote they wanted, skipping this key step in logic: we won’t come back until worker’s rights are preserved.

Well, then they're never coming back because I don't see any sign that Walker is willing to pull collective bargaining out of the bill. He's not afraid of the poll numbers, and though some Republicans may be a little more nervous, the State can't afford to have the GOP back off now.