SHAME

Republican-Led Wisconsin Legislature Passes Bill to Hobble Democratic Successors

Voter outrage doesn’t stop a last-gasp power grab.

The Republican-led Wisconsin legislature passed sweeping measures Wednesday to hobble the state’s incoming Democratic governor and attorney general. In an all-night session, the Assembly and Senate approved legislation designed to effectively prevent Governor-elect Tony Evers and incoming Attorney General Josh Kaul from delivering on their campaign promises. The Senate passed the measures 17-16, while the Assembly approved them in a 56-27 vote. The package will now go to Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who lost his bid for re-election in November, for signing. The lame-duck legislation will, among other things, prevent Evers from fulfilling a campaign pledge to take Wisconsin out of a multistate lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act. Evers said the legislation “flies in the face of democratic institutions and the checks and balances that are intended to prevent power-hungry politicians from clinging to control when they do not get their way.”