Columbus, Ohio (AP) - With barely a whimper of the protests that have convulsed Wisconsin, legislation to curb public employee unions is speeding toward passage in Ohio, an even bigger labor stronghold.

Labor experts said the greater tumult in Wisconsin reflects the state's long history of progressive political activism; the Statehouse's location in Madison, the famously liberal home of the University of Wisconsin; and perhaps a feeling of hopelessness among Ohio's working class, which has been hit particularly hard by the recession.

Days of protests in Columbus haven't added up to the numbers seen in a single day in Madison. The rallies there have topped more than 70,000 people, compared with roughly 8,500 on the largest day of demonstrations at the Ohio Statehouse. When the Ohio bill passed the Senate 17-16 on Wednesday, the crowd was estimated at 450.

"One tough Nerd"?  BWAAAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA!

Ohio's bill could go to House committee hearings as early as next week. The measure is likely to receive strong support from the full chamber and Republican Gov. John Kasich.

Ohio's bill would restrict the bargaining rights of roughly 350,000 teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public employees. They would no longer be able to negotiate health care benefits or certain working conditions, and they would be barred from striking.

The speed with which the Ohio bill cleared the Senate is energizing Republicans as they push to break what they see as labor's stranglehold on state and local governments, schools and public safety departments.

Political observers at the Ohio Statehouse were flabbergasted by how fast the legislation was moving in a longtime labor stronghold like Ohio. The state has 655,000 union members, who constitute 13.7 percent of the workforce, compared with 335,000 members, or 14.2 percent of the workforce, in Wisconsin, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

"For as far-reaching this thing is and how many lives it will affect, I can't believe how fast it moved," said Columbus Police Sgt. Shaun Laird.

Many union backers were also clearly disappointed by the turnout in Columbus given the high political stakes in Ohio, a political battleground state that decided the 2004 presidential election.

A law undercutting Ohio's unions could kneecap the state's Democratic Party ahead of the 2012 race for the White House by depriving it of a major source of contributions and organizational muscle.

Did Chair Schostak catch that?  Or, is Chair Schostak going to sit around playing pocket pool and suckling hind teat to the MDP with nothing to lose?

"Michigan is obviously an important state," state Republican Party chairman Robert Schostak said. "We have relevance. My job is to keep us relevant."