Chait defends them as a democratic exercise:
My view is that the recall elections played the role here that proponents of the Senate filibuster once claimed on its behalf — a rarely-used tool of strong minority dissent. The governor and his majority took office and quickly enacted legal changes they did not campaign on and which were designed in large measure to create a permanent partisan advantage. The Democrats responded by targeting Republican legislators who supported Walker.
Shikha Dalmia thinks the results are very bad news for Dems. E.J. Dionne is more ambivalent. I remain uninterested.
The Dish 