In a referendum vote in Ohio, voters overwhelmingly voted in support of a proposal to repeal a law that limits collective bargaining rights for public sector workers. A popular right amongst liberals and union enthusiasts, this was seen as a major battle ground for union rights, with national unions and interest groups on the other side investing heavily into the state. In light of Mississippi’s failed referendum on embryo recognition (more information here) as well as the removal of Arizona’s Russell Pearce, the author of the notorious immigration bill, it appears as though the nation may be progressively moving left.
With the popular movement of the Tea Party a few years in the past and more media attention on the current “Occupy” movement, one has to wonder how this all came about. It seemed nearly impossible all of a year ago. In the end, however, it appears as though the Tea Party may have been the ones to shoot themselves in the foot, a move that hurts the Republican Party as a whole. Most Americans see the downgrade by S&P of America’s credit rating a result of Republicans, particularly Tea Party members, resisting any kind of debt negotiations to the point of defaulting. Conservatives may love the idea of a limited government presence however it appears as though few share the disbelief with, say Social Security, Medicare, and…uh…I forget. Oops.
Still, conservatives have little to fear. This is not a shift towards the left of the political spectrum: rather, it appears as though we may finally be attempting to center. While this may be terrible news for Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney must be relieved. Now he just has to survive the caucuses without turning into an ultra conservative. That may be harder than it sounds.
