It is unclear who Romney thinks he’s running against, but it is clear that he is not running against President Obama. At least, he’s not running against “IRL” President Obama. Mitt Romney is running against a strawman, all the while erecting strawmen and promptly setting them on fire.

While Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker cruised to victory in Tuesday’s failed recall — a stinging defeat for public employee unions in itself — two lower-profile municipal referenda in California that could slash public sector pensions passed overwhelmingly as well. The confluence suggests 2012 will be marked by fights at both the local, state, and national level over retirement security for public sector workers.

Voters overwhelmingly approved ballot measures in both conservative San Diego and liberal San Jose that seek to close municipal budget gaps by cutting worker pensions — not just pension plans for future workers.