Today is election day in Wisconsin, the first one since Tea Party Gov. Scott Walker set out on his anti-worker/anti-union crusade. And the outcome couldn't be more critical.

Under normal circumstances the only challenger with the strength to take out an incumbent state supreme court justice is the Angel of Death, but conservative Justice David Prosser could well become the first electoral victim of the anti-Walker backlash that's been sweeping through Wisconsin. And while there's been little polling on which to base predictions, anecdotal reports suggest that turnout is unusually strong, particularly in Democratic precincts... and that's gotta bode well for challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg.

At stake is more than just bragging rights. Conservatives currently hold a 4-3 majority on the state's highest court, which a Kloppenburg victory would presumably flip. And that could control how the court rules when Walker's arguably unconstitutional legislation finally comes before it.

Either way, there's a movement afoot in Wisconsin that could end up revitalizing the progressive base and redefining the terms of the 2012 election. Enough signatures have already been gathered to hold recall votes on two Republican state senators, and they're only halfway toward the 60-day deadline. Within a few months, Wisconsin Democrats could potentially flip control of both the senate and the supreme court. And then Walker himself is eligible for recall come January.

Interesting times.