Wisconsin Democrats, as well as the nationwide media and liberals across the country, are outraged at what the Republicans are doing in the lame duck session of the state legislature.  State GOP lawmakers want to limit early voting, impose work requirements for Medicaid, and prevent the new state A.G. from joining a suit by Democratic-led states on Obamacare.

We are told that this is thwarting the "will of the voters." 

CNN:

Nearly a day after the legislature's "extraordinary session" began, the state Senate and Assembly concluded their work, passing a raft of legislation designed to curtail authorities enjoyed by Walker and outgoing Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel.  Democrats are expected to challenge a number of the measures in court.

There is no indication when Walker will take up the legislation, but pending his approval, Wisconsin is now expected to reduce its number of early voting days, restrict gubernatorial influence over a powerful economic agency Evers sought to disband, and require legislative backing for certain decisions traditionally made by the attorney general and governor – a move that would likely block Kaul from pulling the state out of a federal lawsuit against Obamacare.

The legislature will also be able to hire its own lawyers to defend state law in court, diminishing the attorney general's power.

Evers accused legislators of ignoring the will of the voters.

"Wisconsin has never seen anything like this," Evers said in a statement Wednesday.  "Power-hungry politicians rushed through sweeping changes to our laws to expand their own power and override the will of the people of Wisconsin who asked for change on November 6th."

"Override" voters "who asked for change" at the midterm elections?  Why does that sound familiar to me?  Oh, wait...that's exactly what Illinois Democrats did to incoming GOP governor Bruce Rauner in 2014.

Rauner was elected on the most dramatic reform platform of any Illinois governor in a generation.  In this case, the incoming governor sought to curtail the power of the Democratic Legislature and its allies in public unions.  Rauner was the clear choice of the voters, winning handily over the sitting Democratic governor, Pat Quinn.

So, of course, Illinois Democrats gave Rauner all the support he needed, right?  After all, "will of the voter" and all that. 

That's not exactly how it worked out.  Democrats thwarted Rauner at every turn, denying him a budget for two years, challenging his public union reforms, his pension reform – every item on Rauner's agenda was blocked.

What are the Republicans in Wisconsin doing that's so different?  Sure, they are using their power in the lame duck session to effect these changes, but if Governor-Elect Evers doesn't like them, get the new legislature in January to overturn them. 

Oh, wait...Evers has a problem.  You see, the "will of the voters" was also expressed by giving power in the legislature to the Republican Party.  The GOP even picked up seats in the state Senate.  What about the voters who voted the GOP legislative power?  Are they chopped liver?  Does their "will" matter?

Wisconsin will have divided government in 2019.  Evers can stop whining about "power grabs" and start trying to work with a Republican legislature.  Otherwise, he is liable to end up like his neighbor, former Illinois governor Bruce Rauner, who was slaughtered at the polls last month.