Scott walker, Wisconsin's Republican governor, makes even a painful accident look like a political ploy. Walking into the factory of Blended Waxes Inc, a small firm in Oshkosh, a town best known for making armoured cars, he shakes the hands of workers with his thumb wrapped in plaster. "I was out hunting," he explains, "and my gun, as I shot, the recoil caught me." Lest anyone think this indicates a dodgy grasp of firearms, he is quick to add that he hit the pheasant he was aiming at. This segues into a point about how his Democrat opponent, Mary Burke, could not shoot a gun if she tried. Mr Walker has built a reputation as a Republican who can win in a blue state without sacrificing his conservative principles. Most notably, he has curbed the power of public-sector unions, which he sees as an obstacle to good, cost-effective govern- ment. A law he signed bars state employees from bargaining collectively over matters other than pay. Wisconsin no longer deducts union dues directly from its workers' wages. And public-sector unions must be re-certified by their members every year. Organised labour-and the Democratic Party, which relies on donations from unions-were so outraged that they collected a million signatures to force a special "recall" election in 2012.
展开▼
