If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

And if you try, don’t succeed, try something else and still don’t get your way, try pulling out an obscure constitutional power and perverting its original purpose to fit your needs.

Ethical issues? Recall. Misconduct in office? Recall. Fundamental disagreements in governance? Recall. Boredom? Recall. Fly unzipped? Gentle reminder, then recall.

The various groups hyping the need for recalls, the vast majority of them Democratic-leaning, are cramping the hand of democracy with never-ending petition signing. Though there are certainly some merits to the complaints against the Republican-dominated Legislature, the constant effort toward tipping the political scales is less of an attempt at throwing the bums out than it is a study in mob rule.

Electoral do-overs have no place in a rational, civil society. Decisions are made, consequences are accepted and votes are cast in the next regularly scheduled election. Luckily for us though, any measure of civility or reason died more than a year ago to the drone of vuvuzelas and a chorus of “Kill the bill!”

With what is hopefully the final round of recalls taking place next month, Wisconsin may finally be able to pick up all the pieces of its fragmented political landscape and move on.

That is unless the recall elections fail to adequately satisfy the mob, in which case we’ll be in for another long and stupid year.

R.I.P. democratic process, mourn ya ’til we join ya.