In Wisconsin, Republican lawmakers are refusing to accept the voters will.
Instead of preparing to work with Gov.-elect Tony Evers, a Democrat, Republicans are furiously working to undercut his authority as well as that of incoming Attorney General Josh Kaul, also a Democrat.
In the wee hours of Wednesday morning, the Republican-controlled Legislature passed bills that affect gubernatorial appointments to agencies as well as the governors ability to make any changes to the states strict voter ID laws or change work requirements for food stamps.
Another measure limits the attorney generals ability to decide which laws to challenge. Legislators also voted to curtail advanced voting to within two weeks of an election, even though a court ruled a similar provision unconstitutional.
Republicans defend the moves as providing better balance between branches of government.
Opponents see it as an outright power grab.
We side with the latter.
Evers and Kaul campaigned on platforms that included extracting Wisconsin from a multi-state lawsuit challenging the Affordable Care Act. Because they won their individual races, it stands to reason a majority of Wisconsin voters also regard the ACA as a valuable asset. Polls show Kansans feel the same, despite the fact that our AG Derek Schmidt has also signed us up to see to its defeat.
In Wisconsin, Republicans went into micro-manage mode, ruling the new attorney general must get a committees approval before withdrawing from the federal lawsuit.
Wisconsin Republicans also want to protect current agencies such as the states Economic Development Corp., which Evers has deemed redundant. In order to ensure its perpetuity, legislators gave themselves the authority to increase their number of appointments to the board and restrict those made by the governor.
And in a last-minute decision, legislators locked in place punitive work requirements for Medicaid and food stamp recipients, despite overwhelming opposition by health-care providers, hospitals and insurers who say their consequences are overly destructive to the very populations the programs are designed to serve.
Republicans further justified the moves by saying laws enacted by a legislature should not be erased by the potential political maneuvering of the executive branch.
But thats exactly how a democracy operates.
If a majority is unhappy with existing laws and practices, it votes in those who will change them.
THE STATE motto for Wisconsin is forward. But on Wednesday, it took a big step backward.
Susan Lynn
