It wasn’t even close:
Wisconsin Gubernatorial Recall Vote
Precincts Reported: 99%
As of 9:26 a.m. ET
WALKER (R) 53.2%, with 1,331,076 votes
BARRETT (D) 46.3%, with 1,158,337 votes

Recall Bid Fails in Wisconsin
Gov. Scott Walker’s Win Caps Fiery Battle, Deals Public-Sector Unions a Blow

Here’s his victory speech,

The NYT says he “survived.” In NYT-speak it must mean “won by knockout.” From Instapundit, ANN ALTHOUSE:

Look at the blue-red balance on the map for last year’s state supreme court battle. Now look at tonight’s map.

If you make the tough choices, voters will stick with you

His win should inspire political leaders across the country.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz says “his brand of divisive politics is offensive and wrong“. The Obama campaign tried to underplay Walker’s victory, saying that it sent a strong message to Walker.

That, it did.

Walker’s getting death threats on Twitter. SO MUCH FOR THAT “NEW CIVILITY” BULLSHIT.

Wisconsin Shows Waning Clout Of Teachers Unions. The biggest losers? Democrats, President Barack Obama, public unions, conservative critics and money monks

Republicans walked away united, motivated and organized like never before.

In Florida, Walker’s Huge Recall Win Derails Efforts to Recall Rick Scott.

Law enforcement did nothing as union thugs stormed the Wisconsin State Capitol last night:

Madison – After a wild and raucous night at the State Capitol, the scene inside the building Thursday morning looks just like it was a few weeks ago when protesters camped out overnight.

At 6:30 a.m., there were dozens of people who stayed the night and were camped out in various locations in the building.

Of particular concern to police are a few dozen protesters who spent the night in the antechamber of the Assembly. The Assembly is scheduled to go into session at 11 a.m. Thursday to consider the bill on collective bargaining that the Senate approved last night in mere minutes.

A number of protesters said they had no intention of leaving the area Thursday.

In spite of the fact that

there is a court order that the building would be shut after regular business hours, yet law enforcement did nothing to enforce that court order.

Ann Althouse has photos of protesters streaming in as law enforcement officers stand by. This is what it looked like inside the Capitol, as “Police officers simply retreated,”

Christian Schneider explains How the Wisconsin Senate Passed Walker’s Bill, but Moe Lane has the condensed version,

the Democrats told the Republicans that there would be no further negotiations; the Republicans said “Fine” and took the bill to the floor; and the Democrats were left looking stunned, stammering, and standing there with their naughty bits in their hands.

In today’s Wall Street Journal, Governor Scott Walker explains Why I’m Fighting in Wisconsin
We can avoid mass teacher layoffs and reward our best performers. But we have to act now.

While it might be a bold political move, the changes are modest. We ask government workers to make a 5.8% contribution to their pensions and a 12.6% contribution to their health-insurance premium, both of which are well below what other workers pay for benefits. Our plan calls for Wisconsin state workers to contribute half of what federal employees pay for their health-insurance premiums. (It’s also worth noting that most federal workers don’t have collective bargaining for wages and benefits.)

Heritage:

The courage of the Wisconsin Senate conservatives cannot be understated. Before the vote, lawmakers were threatened with death and physical violence. After the vote, thousands of protesters stormed into the capitol building, ignoring announcements from police that the building was closed. Once inside, and at great risk to the public welfare, activists handcuffed some doors to the capitol shut. When security escorted the Senators to another building, a Democrat tipped off the mob, which then surrounded their cars and tried to break their windows as Senators returned home.

What next? Betsy has a forecast (emphasis added),

Governor Walker and the Republicans can talk all they want about the need for limiting union power to elect their bosses who will then turn around and give in to whatever the unions demands no matter how they are creating the destruction of local and the state governments. Their answer is to raise taxes so that non-public workers can pay for those state employees can keep their comfy benefits. Unless those non-public employees get motivated to come out for these elections, the unions will be able to overwhelm turnout.

That is why Governor Walker, as the most prominent spokesman, needs to be out there. Those legislators up for recall need to be out there also. They need to explain that the union solution is to raise everyone’s taxes so that there will be more money for public employee workers. The can point out how, in states that elected Democrats, like neighboring Minnesota and Illinois, the solution for deficits is raising taxes. Tell the voters that the choice is between their paying more so that public employees can get better salaries and better benefits than they do. Tell them, as Governor Walker does in his column, that the voters have the opportunity to make sure that the unions don’t mandate that, in times of layoffs, the better teacher keeps his or her job, not just the one who has been there longer. Put it in terms that they understand. And one more recommendation for Governor Walker, get more examples than your brother. Every time I see him or read him, he’s using his brother as his example. Mix it up a bit.

But the GOP is fighting now to keep their majority. And the union will be able to get their people out there. Notice how they were able to get hundreds of their members out to the state Capitol last night in a short period of time. Imagine what they’ll do with time to prepare for these elections. The fight is on.

Post re-edited to include omitted paragraphs.

UPDATE,
More video from Ace’s Drew,

h/t Dennis

“It has everything to do with money”, and the states are broke.

Via Instapundit.

From Heritage,

While Protesting Teachers Could Reap $6 Million from Taxpayers to Attend Rallies
Absent educators may be paid to abandon students and march on the Capitol

In Madison, the school district was closed for three days after hundreds of teachers engaged in a mass sick-out so they could attend protest rallies at the State Capitol. That could cost the district $2.7 million.

The head of the teachers union has asked the teachers to go to work,

Mary Bell is president of the Wisconsin Education Association Council. She said on Sunday that it’s time for her members to return to work. For districts that do not recognize Monday as the President’s Day holiday, she said teachers should go to work. Others should report as scheduled on Tuesday.

Bell says teachers will continue opposing the proposal.

Kimberley Strassel writes about the great divide:
Wisconsin 1, Illinois 0
With Springfield raising taxes amidst its fiscal disaster, the new Republican governor of the Badger State is telling Illinoisans, “Escape to Wisconsin.” (h/t Betsy)

On one side are wide swathes of the country that this past midterm elected reformers intent on slashing spending and reviving growth. On the other are the holdout pockets—Illinois, California, Massachusetts, Connecticut—drifting further into the abyss of tax and spend. The chasm has huge implications, not just for local and regional politics but for Washington.

For instance (quoting from the article),

• Wisconsin is working to enact the total elimination of corporate income taxes for two years for firms that migrate
• In Ohio, John Kasich’s Republican legislature has already introduced legislation to kill the state death tax
• Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s first order of business will be to end the 22% surcharge on his state’s job-killing business tax
• Nevada’s Brian Sandoval has vowed to kill the tax hikes passed by Democrats in 2009
• In Iowa, South Carolina, Florida, you name it, new Republican governors have made top priorities of cutting or eliminating state corporate income taxes

This is good. However, all these governors must bear in mind that the problem is spending, not just deficits, a point lost on this WaPo headline,
Tax pledge hinders Obama’s plans to overhaul tax code, reduce deficit. No mention in the article of how Obama and the Democrat Congress have increased the deficit into stratospheric numbers.

Meanwhile, on the front page of today’s Wall Street Journal,
New Hit to Strapped States
Borrowing Costs Up as Bond Flops; Refinancing Crunch Nears.

As Strassel points out,