For those like myself who consider the Tea Party and its allies to be a mortal danger to this country through their combination of religious bigotry, hostility to feminine values, and almost mindless service to the corporate oligarchy, yesterday’s failure to recall three Republican State Senators was a disappointment. Only two out of the needed three were ousted.

But it should not be a big disappointment.

Think Progress  has a good piece explaining that Tuesday’s  failure was in no small part due to a detail in Wisconsin’s recall legislation: recalls can only happen after the official has been in office for a year.  This is why Governor Scott Walker has not been recalled.  The Republican class in the Senate consists of two groups, those who survived Obama’s large victory and accompanying coat tails in 2008, which means they were in very Republican districts,  and those who came in with the Republican tide in 2010, which means from far more competitive districts.

Because Wisconsin’s recall law requires those being recalled to have served a minimum of a year before being challenged, none of the most vulnerable Republicans were in yesterday’s vote. They enjoy the same buffer that the Governor does, becoming vulnerable this winter.

In other words, two long time Republican districts that survived the 2008 Democratic surge went to the Democratic challenger.

This does not bode well for Governor Walker when he gets his own challenge in a few months, and it would be hard to find a more deserving target.