Minimum wage issue a loser for GOP

My hope is that we can put this behind us soon and focus on the state budget. -- Assembly Speaker John Gard on the minimum wage issue.

Gard, in a rare candid moment, accidentally tells the truth. Republicans are no doubt delighted and relieved to put the minimum wage issue behind them, because it is a flat-out loser that has done them considerable political damage.

Virtually everyone in the state, except the Republicans in the legislature, favored raising the minimum wage from its slave labor level of $5.15 an hour. But they stalled and stalled, and went on record repeatedly in roll call votes against the raise.

They won a compromise from Gov. Jim Doyle, who agreed to sign a bill pre-empting local minimum wage laws. But even without that pressure from local communities, the GOP will be hard-pressed, next time around, to explain their opposition to the next raise. And they won't have the pre-emption argument for cover.

The minimum wage itself may not be a so-called voting issue that decides how people vote. But it speaks volumes about Republican values and priorities, and whose side they're on. While they enjoy a respite from the public pounding they were taking on the issue, they can expect another round come election time next year. It ain't going away.