Wis. Sen. Grothman: Recalls Hinge on ‘Silent Majority’

GOP State Sen. Glenn Grothman says the success of recall efforts mounted against Wisconsin Republicans will show who holds the upper hand in the Badger State -- the silent majority of taxpayers who want to see spending curbed, or those angered by the recently enacted law stripping most public-employee unions’ bargaining rights.

“The government employees in Wisconsin – some of them – have certainly worked themselves into a frenzy, and want the eight Republicans replaced, in most cases by a Democrat, who presumably will restore the right for public employees to have their own pensions without paying for any of it, restore their very generous health insurance benefits, and give them a big raise in take-home pay,” Grothman, one of the targeted senators, told Fox News’ Neal Cavuto Wednesday.

Union supporters in Wisconsin have launched a recall effort targeting Republican state senators who backed Gov. Scott Walker’s move to curtail public union collective-bargaining rights. Wisconsin allows recall efforts to begin one year after a lawmaker is elected; eight Republicans fall into that category.

Cavuto asked Grothman if he felt vulnerable, as the unions have the manpower to canvass for the needed signatures from the 25 percent of those who voted in the last state election, in order to get the recalls on the next ballot.

“Well, I think they will be able to do it, because they are so motivated, and so aggressive,” Grothman said. “What we’re going to find out in Wisconsin, is whether there is a silent majority out there who want some fiscal restraint, or the angry government employees are going to get their way, and in essence get back their larger salaries.”