Scott Walker tried to trot out a Venn diagram to explain how he really wasn’t stripping powers away from incoming Democratic Governor Tony Evers, but it didn’t go very well.
Walker, already under fire for signing a law passed by Republicans in a lame-duck legislative session that takes powers away from Evers ahead of him taking office, was roasted online for a Venn diagram that failed to actually serve its purpose. In the diagram, Walker tried to show that Evers would have the same powers as him but listed only general powers that the Wisconsin executive branch holds and failed to mention all of the powers that Republicans were taking away from Evers. He also seemed to fail to understand the entire point of a Venn diagram.
Walker’s diagram showed the same powers in circles for both himself and Evers, which Vox noted is not how Venn diagrams are supposed to function.
“There’s just one problem — Walker doesn’t seem to understand how Venn diagrams work,” the report noted.
“Venn diagrams illustrate commonality between two sets of things that are different. So if the powers Walker and Evers share are really the same, there’d be no need for a Venn diagram at all. The powers could be listed on a single circle.”
As the report noted, the bill hastily passed by Republicans and signed into law by Walker actually makes significant cuts to the power Evers will have as governor and hands much of those to the Republican-controlled legislature. The measure gives more powers to certain commissions, including ones that helped pass legislation favored by Scott Walker and Republicans. It also limits the powers Evers will have to change requirements that Republicans put in place for food stamps and health care and give Republicans in the state legislature oversight power over federal waivers.
The measure also takes power away from the incoming Democratic attorney general, including stopping him from withdrawing from a federal lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act.
As the Huffington Post noted, the internet had no problem sharing with Scott Walker just bad of a job he did at his Venn diagram.
https://twitter.com/Schmidtyschtuff/status/1073708896928309248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Hydrogen + Time (@AgedHydrogen) December 14, 2018
Political experts expect that the measures to strip power from Tony Evers will be met with a legal challenge and could likely be overturned. Republicans have tried to institute similar measures in other states where Democrats have won governor’s races, but they have been overturned by courts as unconstitutional.
