Following up on her piece about Gov. Scott Walker not holding special elections he fears the GOP may lose, Allegra Kirkland has a reporter’s notebook (sub req) on whether this kind of partisan slow-rolling is becoming a trend.

As long as we’re on the topic, a former Wisconsin legislator who served with Walker wrote in last night in response to Allegra’s piece and made a simple point. The politics obsessed tend to think of legislative seats in terms of passing laws, in terms of numbers and who controls chambers. That’s hugely important. But it’s not the only thing representatives do. This kind of thing hurts all citizens because citizens rely on legislators for constituent service, representing them before the government, helping them navigate it. It cheats everyone. It’s a terrible trend.