Instead, one month after the people of Wisconsin rejected the divisive agendas of outgoing Governor Walker and Attorney General Schimel, legislative Republicans spent the final throes of this session doubling down on their record of failure.
They held an unprecedented lame duck session, extraordinary only for its failure to do anything for the people and taxpayers who paid for it.
Did they come in to deal with Wisconsin jobs at Kimberly Clark, the whole point of this session in the first place? No.
Did they come in to make good on Governor Walker’s promises to people with preexisting conditions and their families? No. They proved those promises empty, and worse.
After seven years of trailing the nation in private sector job creation, legislative Republicans acted to make WEDC - an agency that has proven itself unable or unwilling to count jobs, a permanent source of hefty handouts at your expense.
After working tirelessly to take protections away from people with preexisting conditions, Republicans offered ineffective protections with one hand while the hand behind their back guaranteed their ability to continue the greatest threat to people with pre-existing conditions: Republicans' costly and anti-Wisconsin lawsuit to repeal the ACA.
Then they created a blank check so they can hire a legion of high-priced attorneys at your expense to file endless lawsuits. Then they created a whole new bureaucracy in a legislative committee to create more red tape, delays and cost.
This was another act of a seven year pattern of GOP politicians putting their own jobs ahead of the people who vote, and pay, for them. They’ve granted themselves powers the constitution gives to the executive branch, and thanks to the heavily-gerrymandered districts they drew for themselves in 2011, they won’t be giving back that power anytime soon.
Unfortunately, it's the taxpayers of Wisconsin who have to live with, and pay for, the consequences of this contemptible pettiness.
Senatory Janet Bewley
Last Update: Dec 06, 2018 12:55 pm CST
