Wisconsin Republicans' Last Minute Power Grab

Out-going Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker

As a last f*ck you to the Democrats who won the governorship and other key statewide offices in the recent November elections, outgoing Republican Gov. Scott Walker and GOP lawmakers are passing last-minute changes to limit the powers of the new governor and other incoming Democrats.

From the Huffington Post:

Wisconsin’s lame-duck, Republican-controlled state Legislature passed on Wednesday a host of measures designed to kneecap Gov.-elect Tony Evers, other Democrats elected to statewide offices and hurt the Democratic Party in general, sending the legislation to the GOP governor Evers defeated ― Scott Walker ― for his signature.

One part of the package would prohibit municipalities from allowing more than two weeks of early voting. That presumably would cut down on voter turnout, which generally helps Republicans.

Other provisions would give the Legislature full control of a state economic development agency, block the governor’s ability to write regulations and allow the Legislature to hire its own lawyers to file lawsuits on behalf of the state.

Republicans still control the state Senate and Assembly, due to the gerrymandered nature of the legislative districts.

It's worth noting that the GOP retained a supermajority in the Assembly even though they received a minority of the overall votes cast in those races.