The first round of Wisconsin state Republican senators slated for recall elections has just been approved. Senators Dan Kapanke, Randy Hopper, and Luther Olsen will face a recall election in July. There are still six other recall petitions -- 3 GOP and 3 Democrat -- under consideration.

It appears that Scott Walker is beginning to take these recalls seriously, too.

Six Republicans and three Democrats are targeted for recalls starting as early as July 12. Democrats need to pick up three seats to take control of the Senate from Republicans. If that happened, the Republican agenda would come to a grinding halt in the Statehouse, where Democrats currently are unable to stop Walker's proposals from passing. Walker, speaking to about 1,000 Republicans at a Wisconsin Dells resort, said the only thing that could stop the GOP's momentum in the state are the recall elections.

Aw. That would be a shame. Of course, that's exactly why these Republicans are vulnerable, since we still live in a country where the people do get to vote for the outcome they see as best for them.

Just to prove there's no hard feelings, Governor Walker's sidekick, Scott Fitzgerald said this:

The protesters, as well as the fleeing Democrats, were frequent targets of derision at the convention. "It's been a long time since I've been around this many people who weren't chanting and yelling, sometimes at me," Fitzgerald said. "And I also got to tell you, you all smell a lot better too."

Now there's the way to win friends and influence people.

Meanwhile, Democrats are feeling pretty confident. They believe it's a battle of ideology rather than personality, and as such, they'll win and win big.