Wisconsin residents live under a Republican dictatorship.
As a result of the 2018 midterm elections, the state will now have a Democratic governor and attorney general, but the GOP-controlled legislature is burning the midnight oil to strip them of power in order to thwart the will of the voters.
The legislature itself is an undemocratic institution. The numbers show it. Wisconsin’s legislature consists of a lower house (Assembly) and upper house (Senate). Assemblymen are elected every 2 years, while senators are elected to 4-year terms in staggered elections. Thus, 99 Assemblymen were elected in 2018, and the 33 Senators were elected in 2016 and 2018. Here’s how the voting results break down:
2018 Assembly Elections
Democrats won 1,307,586 votes and got 35 seats
Republicans won 1,104,433 votes and got 64 seats
2016 and 2018 Senate Elections (combined)
Republicans won 1,293,605 votes and got 20 seats
Democrats won 1,244,687 votes and got 13 seats
As you can see, Democrats can’t win in Wisconsin by getting more votes, because Republicans have gerrymandered the entire state to ensure GOP control no matter who the voters choose. Some people call this unfair. I call it tyranny.
Opponents of an extraordinary session bill submitted by Wisconsin Republican legislators gather for a rally outside the Wisconsin state Capitol in Madison, Wis., Monday, Dec. 3, 2018. (John Hart/Wisconsin State Journal via AP)
It is representative Democracy. With both primary parties gaming the system and keeping it a two party system as it’s in their best interest.
It is going to be messy, but sometimes lame ducks and their partners in the legislature get a last hurrah, and it takes time to undo the hurrah if it can be undone. In the American system of government it’s is the legislative branch that has the power at the state and federal levels. Many Americans are unaware of this, and both parties do all they can do to keep the ignorant masses ignorant.
Democrats do this too? Really? Please provide a specific example.