The WI saga goes against the general 2012 strategy of the GOP moving to the middle in the face of a general election. In a mid-term like 2010, you want your base fired up, so you allow your moronic attack dogs to run off the leash. That's why the Palin-Beck-Hannity faction got so much leeway.
But as you move towards a presidential election, you need to attract the middle -- moderate voters who are turned off by ideology -- which means muzzling those more partisan factions. What's been most interesting is watching the GOP intelligentsia slowly back away from it's radical wing and try to recenter, but without giving offense.
The attack on unions is great example of a double-edged sword. The GOP loved it in 2009, but it's not whole-heaertedly approved in 2011. Union members vote at a high clip. I think Walker is going to discover that he's not popular within the party in the next 18 months.