Like it or not, the majority of Wisconsin voters elected Walker and other Republicans to run the statehouse for the next two years. The Democrats can’t change that until subsequent elections.

Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, met with the State Journal editorial board late Tuesday afternoon, urging us to urge the governor to slow down his bill. We agreed with Erpenbach that the public deserves more than a week to consider such a major piece of legislation. And we said so in an editorial Thursday morning.

But we don’t agree with Erpenbach failing to show up for days to work and, on Sunday afternoon, suggesting from a hotel in Chicago that the Senate Democrats might not return until Walker gives in to their demands.

That’s irresponsible.

Moreover, Erpenbach has his own history of rushing legislation. We scolded him back in 2009 for scheduling a public hearing with barely 24 hours notice. We did so even though we strongly supported the bill he was moving — a statewide ban on smoking in bars and restaurants.

The many lawmakers who opposed the controversial smoking ban didn’t head for the hills. They responsibly showed up at the state Capitol to represent their constituents as best they could, even though their side didn’t prevail.