This is not what democracy looks like.
Allegedly, the burglars were after the petitions gathered to recall Dave Hansen, who was one of the Wisconsin Democratic senators who fled the state rather than participate in the democratic process. Which – if this was in fact done by Democratic party operatives or sympathizers – would merely demonstrate that Hansen is in fact fairly representative of his party, at that.
The good news is that the recall folks say that they still have enough signatures, so it should have no insurmountable effect on the recall process, but you can expect that local Democrats will try to wring as much advantage out of any disruption as possible. Whether or not the Democrats were actually involved – and if this story checks out, the Wisconsin Democratic party leadership will heartily regret it if any member traceable back to their party was actually involved; this is felony territory. Serious felony territory.
H/T: @diggrbiii.
Moe Lane (crosspost)
PS: Please note that in fact this is still an ‘alleged’ crime (although the news that the recall folks have enough signatures anyway argues that it in fact happened).