# Republicans aim for a lame-duck power grab in Wisconsin **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [December 2, 2018, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-aim-for-a-lame-duck-power-grab-in-wisconsin/825459 "2018-12-02T20:12:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-aim-for-a-lame-duck-power-grab-in-wisconsin/825459/181 "2018-12-10T14:52:54Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > I could have sworn that’s about what I said. Well, it wasn’t. You said “They already use part-timers instead of giving a lot of OT to full timers.” Overtime is not a benefit. If you were concerned about fiscal responsibility, you would either support hiring more full time cops if proper service demands it or using part-timers to plug occasional holes otherwise. You wouldn’t want them building in overtime pay into standard operating procedure. But yeah, this is a hijack so I’ll stop. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-aim-for-a-lame-duck-power-grab-in-wisconsin/825459/182 "2018-12-10T16:03:23Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > Like, just to make things clear, I could almost understand if it was something like abortion. If the governor had the ability to make abortion legal or illegal, the power grab would make some sense - abortion has always been a big deal for republicans, and throwing democratic norms under the bus to prevent what you see as an ongoing multidecadal holocaust (assuming for the moment that republicans are being honest about how they see abortion) would make _some_ sense. Bad for democracy, but sometimes the ends justify the means, at least in certain people’s eyes. Similarly, I could see myself throwing democratic norms under the bus for the sake of upholding basic human rights. It wouldn’t be good for democracy, but it is at least conceivable that the ends could justify the means. > > But… this ain’t that. [Here’s one thing the bill passed does](https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/12/4/18123784/gop-legislature-wisconsin-michigan-power-grab-lame-duck): > > - Give the legislature more power over the boards of certain commissions, like the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), the state’s jobs-focused agency, which has come under a lot of scrutiny for giving the Taiwanese company Foxconn Technology Group $3 billion in tax breaks in exchange for their $10 billion factory — an investment that even the state’s Legislative Bureau said the state wouldn’t bring returns until after 2043. Evers said he wanted to get rid of WEDC altogether, as it has garnered a reputation for falling short of its jobs promise. > > This is not some life-or-death struggle by any stretch of the imagination. The republicans are saying “to hell with democratic norms” to _preserve their control over a government institution designed to help pick winners and losers_. They are pulling an antidemocratic power grab _in defense of crony capitalism_. And it’s not like the WEDC is some shining example of a well-run agency; [it’s a huge mess](https://www.prwatch.org/news/2015/05/12827/walkers-wedc-full-meltdown-privatization-fail), despite Walker and the republican party having complete control over it. > > Here’s another item on the agenda: > > - Limit Evers’s abilities to change the state’s work requirement laws around food stamps and health care, giving the legislature oversight over any federal waivers the state has received. Walker pushed for Medicaid work requirement waivers and waivers to drug test food stamp recipients. > > Oh yeah, _that_ looks like an important human rights issue. Make sure that they can’t make it easier to get on your state’s welfare programs - this was _totally_ worth an antidemocratic power grab. 🙂 > > What this tells us is that the republicans in Wisconsin either don’t understand that this is an assault on democracy or their attachment to democratic norms is virtually nonexistent. > > This is the direction the republican party is and has been going for quite some time. Since at least 2010, with REDMAP, winning and power has been more important than the will of the people. This is just the natural next step. This path leads to a very, _very_ dark place. And the above is why I take issue with the Frum quote. > [@Red\_Wiggler](#): > > I’m becoming more and more convinced that David Frum is right: > > > [@](#): > > > > If conservatives become convinced that they cannot win democratically, they will not abandon conservatism. They will reject democracy. Insofar as his quote pertains to the Republican Party, they have both rejected democracy AND abandoned conservatism. They are now far-right radicals. And you can’t be a radical and a conservative at the same time. Language may evolve, but it doesn’t evolve into gibberish. Thus endeth the language lesson for the day. Please join me in reciting the Prescriptivists’ Creed. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-aim-for-a-lame-duck-power-grab-in-wisconsin/825459/183 "2018-12-10T16:19:51Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > What if the Wisconsin Republicans think that what the incoming governor promises to do is BAD, and WRONG and EVIL? > > Its wrong regardless of who does it. They are WRONG to think that. Their wrongness arises from the fact that they are Republicans. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-aim-for-a-lame-duck-power-grab-in-wisconsin/825459/184 "2018-12-10T16:24:00Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Thus endeth the language lesson for the day. Please join me in reciting the Prescriptivists’ Creed. [Jackie Gleason voice] “Pharmacies got nothin’ to do with this!” ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-aim-for-a-lame-duck-power-grab-in-wisconsin/825459/185 "2018-12-10T16:31:10Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > And the above is why I take issue with the Frum quote. > Insofar as his quote pertains to the Republican Party, they have both rejected democracy AND abandoned conservatism. They are now far-right radicals. > > And you can’t be a radical and a conservative at the same time. Language may evolve, but it doesn’t evolve into gibberish. > > Thus endeth the language lesson for the day. Please join me in reciting the Prescriptivists’ Creed. I am not going to go back and search out the the Frum quote to read it in the context of whatever else he may have said then. But since I can’t imagine he was talking about conservatism in any other context than how it is practiced today by Republicans in a democracy (okay, not exactly a democracy…), is it not fair to assume that Frum believes that if they abandon democracy, they are by definition _also_ abandoning conservatism? ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-aim-for-a-lame-duck-power-grab-in-wisconsin/825459/186 "2018-12-10T18:16:12Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > And you can’t be a radical and a conservative at the same time. Of course you can. The Nazis were, the Falangists were, the Third Position is… it’s not the most common political position, but radical conservatism (also known as reactionary politics) isn’t exactly unknown. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-aim-for-a-lame-duck-power-grab-in-wisconsin/825459/187 "2018-12-10T18:36:18Z")
No. “Conservative” doesn’t mean “right-wing”; it means “careful, cautious, measured.” ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-aim-for-a-lame-duck-power-grab-in-wisconsin/825459/188 "2018-12-10T18:53:52Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > No. “Conservative” doesn’t mean “right-wing”; it means “careful, cautious, measured.” It does mean those things. It can also mean a member of the Conservative Party of Great Britain, or a member of a similar party (I’m going for US Republicans here, obviously.) Surely that is how From meant it, right? ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-aim-for-a-lame-duck-power-grab-in-wisconsin/825459/189 "2018-12-10T21:30:09Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > No. “Conservative” doesn’t mean “right-wing” It has since the French Revolution, which is the period during which we defined what “Right-Wing” even _means_ in a political context. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-aim-for-a-lame-duck-power-grab-in-wisconsin/825459/190 "2018-12-11T01:02:06Z")
I think we should start talking about police overtime again. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-aim-for-a-lame-duck-power-grab-in-wisconsin/825459/191 "2018-12-14T19:05:37Z")
[Walker signed them into law](https://www.apnews.com/62c976c13a574fa7a8cbb2aa4de425da). ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-aim-for-a-lame-duck-power-grab-in-wisconsin/825459/192 "2018-12-14T19:11:48Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > [Walker signed them into law](https://www.apnews.com/62c976c13a574fa7a8cbb2aa4de425da). Well, knock me over with a feather. Who’d’a thunk it? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-aim-for-a-lame-duck-power-grab-in-wisconsin/825459/193 "2018-12-14T19:14:06Z")
Oh, and since the same shit’s going on in Michigan (where it seems to be getting less play, damned if I know why), [here’s a scorecard for the MI lame duck session so far](https://www.bridgemi.com/public-sector/michigan-lame-duck-tracker). ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-aim-for-a-lame-duck-power-grab-in-wisconsin/825459/194 "2018-12-14T19:32:05Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > [Walker signed them into law](https://www.apnews.com/62c976c13a574fa7a8cbb2aa4de425da). He was so afraid of protests in the state capital, he signed it in a different city. Pathetic. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-aim-for-a-lame-duck-power-grab-in-wisconsin/825459/195 "2018-12-17T05:43:46Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > he signed it in a different city. You prefer he sign it in a motel room in Illinois? Come to think it, that would have been the cherry on top of the Republicans **fuck you** sundae. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-aim-for-a-lame-duck-power-grab-in-wisconsin/825459/196 "2018-12-17T15:04:44Z")
Are you saying that moves made by Democrats with the purpose of increasing the visibility of their actions are equivalent to moves made by Republicans with the purpose of decreasing the visibility of their actions? And Republicans really need to learn that there’s more to governing than just eating a bunch of “fuck you sundaes”. The difference between Republicans and Democrats is that Democrats want to make things better for everyone, and don’t care that that incidentally makes thing better for Republicans as well, while Republicans want to make things worse for Democrats, and don’t care that that incidentally makes things worse for everyone. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-aim-for-a-lame-duck-power-grab-in-wisconsin/825459/197 "2018-12-17T15:30:20Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Democrats want to make things better for everyone, and don’t care that that incidentally makes thing better for Republicans as well, while Republicans want to make things worse for Democrats, and don’t care that that incidentally makes things worse for everyone. Nah. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-aim-for-a-lame-duck-power-grab-in-wisconsin/825459/198 "2018-12-17T19:52:36Z")
Says the guy who, two posts before, was talking about “fuck you sundaes”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-aim-for-a-lame-duck-power-grab-in-wisconsin/825459.md?page=9)