Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer on Sunday blasted as “despicable” the Wisconsin Democratic state senators who fled the state to avoid a vote on a Republican budget that would curb labor union bargaining rights for public employees . 
 
 
 
 “No one should walk out,” the Republican governor told anchor ABC's Jake Tapper on “This Week.” 
 
 
 
 The Democratic lawmakers “are doing exactly what we ask public employees not to do, and that is to strike, and it is wrong,” said Brewer, herself a former state lawmaker. “They need to get back to Wisconsin, they need to go in there, and they need to vote. It is just so irresponsible. I can’t imagine them – any of them – getting reelected. The only thing you go to the legislature with is your vote.” 
 
 
 
 As part of his proposed budget package, Wisconsin’s newly elected Republican Gov. Scott Walker has proposed stripping public sector unions of most of their collective bargaining rights. The plan has enough votes to pass the Republican-controlled legislature, but Democratic senators have avoided a vote by fleeing the state, depriving the upper chamber of a quorum necessary to pass legislation. 
 
 
 
 “It’s despicable,” Brewer said, “that you have elected officials in the legislature ... that they would leave their job.” 
 
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 Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is still holding fast against collective bargaining by public employees, even in the face of massive protests in the state capital. 
 
 
 
 "I know that collective bargaining has a cost," the Republican governor told NBC's "Meet the Press" via satellite from Madison, Wis.. "If we do not get these changes and the Senate Democrats don't come back, we're going to be forced to do massive layoffs." 
 
 
 
 Walker is attempting to curb collective bargaining for public employees as part of his state budget. The move has sparked massive pro-union protests, and Democrats in the state Senate have walked out and refused to vote. 
 
 
 
 Walker said his proposal would be less restrictive than the rules that federal government employees have today. "Most federal employees do not have collective bargaining for benefits," he said. 
 
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 President Barack Obama is one of America's best politicians ever, according to one of his potential rivals for re-election in 2012. 
 
 
 
 "The president is one of the greatest politicians in the history of the United States," Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press." 
 
 
 
 Barbour's comments came during a discussion of Wisconsin's budget battle - a fight that's sparked widespread protests as Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has tried to curtail collective bargaining rights for public employees. 
 
 
 
 Obama is "quiet [on the issue] because most Americans know this has to be done," Barbour said. 
 
 
 
 "It is critical to get ahold of this," Barbour said. "It is not good enough just to kick the can down the road to next year." 
 
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 If the U.S. Army was using psychological operations on U.S. lawmakers visiting Afghanistan, it didn't have any effect on Sen. John McCain. 
 
 
 
 "That's been tried on me in the past, David," the Arizona Republican, told NBC's David Gregory on "Meet the Press." "I don't see how it could have affected my positions in any way. So we'll see what happens." 
 
 
 
 McCain, a former Navy pilot who was shot down and held prisoner in Vietnam, was addressing a Rolling Stone report that Lt. Gen. William Caldwell ordered a psychological operations group in Afghanistan to use psy-ops tactics on visiting U.S. lawmakers to get them to authorize more money and troops for the war. 
 
 
 
 The Pentagon has launched an investigation into the issue. It's illegal for the U.S. military to use psychological operations against American citizens, and there is normally a distinction between public affairs and psy-ops. 
 
 
 
 "I do know that Gen. Caldwell is a great leader and has done a great job," McCain said. "If Sen. X is interested in the following, A, B, C, D and E, and that I think is perfectly legitimate. Now if it went any further than that, I don't know. Gen. [David] Petraeus is going to make a full investigation." 
 
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– Two weeks of protests in Wisconsin haven't done a lot to soften Scott Walker: The embattled governor tells Meet the Press today that he's not backing down on his opposition to collective bargaining, reports Politico. "If we do not get these changes and the Senate Democrats don't come back," Walker said, "we're going to be forced to do massive layoffs." Walker had to skip the National Governor's Meeting, Politico notes, but tuned in via teleconference. Elsewhere on the Sunday dial: Psy-ops, schpy-ops, says John McCain. "That's been tried on me in the past," he told Meet the Press. "I don't see how it could have affected my positions in any way." Ditto, says Joe Lieberman, calling the story "weird." AWOL Wisconsin Democrats are "despicable," Jan Brewer told ABC today. “No one should walk out." Potential 2012 rival Haley Barbour had glowing words for President Obama today, calling him "one of the greatest politicians in the history of the United States." Mama grizzly Nikki Palin isn't guaranteeing her 2012 endorsement is going to Sarah Palin: " I want them to campaign hard and then when the right time comes I will endorse. But there is no one that I feel like I owe at this time.”