Blogging Blue

First of all, there’ll be no gnashing of teeth or whining here.

Am I disappointed in how things turned out last night? Hell yes, but such is politics. Sometimes your side wins and sometimes they lose; that’s just the reality of our political system.

While I’ve made no effort to hide my dislike for Scott Walker and the job he’s done as Milwaukee County Executive, I wasn’t terribly surprised he won, because Lena Taylor ran one of the worst campaigns I’ve witnessed since I became interested in politics. At times she seemed disinterested, and at others she seemed clueless, and I can’t help but wonder if she was really the best liberal candidate out there to run against Scott Walker.

And sure, I’m disappointed Louis Butler lost to Michael Gableman, but my disappointment has less to do with Gableman’s ideology - though I do disagree with his judicial philosophy, to the extent that he has one - and more to do with the kind of negative and unethical campaign he ran.

While last night had its share of disappointment, there were also some positives. The “Frankenveto” is no more, and that’s definitely a good thing. The “Frankenveto” allowed for tremendous abuses by Republican and Democratic governors alike, and I for one am glad to see it go. Besides, our governor will still have some of the broadest veto powers in the nation without the “Frankenveto.” Another high point was the re-election of Lisa Neubauer to a full term on Wisconsin’s Second District Court of Appeals, defeating newly conservative wannabe Bill Gleisner.

Closer to home, I’m glad to see Pat Jursik won a full four year term on the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors without any opposition, and I was happy to see Tom Zepecki elected to another term as South Milwaukee’s mayor. Pat and Tom have done well during their time in office, and they definitely deserved another term in office.

No Comments »

On the eve of Wisconsin’s spring election day, I’m going to make a few picks.

Wisconsin Supreme Court: This is a no brainer. Michael Gableman has run one of the most disgustingly vile and dishonest campaigns in as long as I can remember, and in doing so he’s exposed himself as supremely unqualified and unfit to sit on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court. Louis Butler has shown himself to be a more than capable jurist, and he deserves a full term on the Supreme Court.

Milwaukee County Executive: There’s no denying Lena Taylor has run a poor campaign, but putting aside the quality of her campaign, she’s the only reasonable choice for Milwaukee County Executive. Scott Walker’s had plenty of time to deliver on campaign promises past and present, and I daresay his tenure as Milwaukee County Executive will be remembered as one of broken promises and incompetence.

Milwaukee County Supervisor, District 8: Pat Jursik is running unopposed, and for good reason. She’s done a good job in her short tenure as Supervisor for the 8th District, and she deserves a full four year term.

Veto Referendum: I’m voting yes. Wisconsin’s “Frankenveto” has been abused by Democrats and Republicans alike, and even if the referendum passes, our governor will still have some of the broadest veto powers of any governor in the United States.

Milwaukee County Circuit Court: Both Rebecca Dallet and Jeffrey Norman seem qualified, but having met and spoken with Rebecca Dallet, I believe she has the temperment and smarts to be an asset to Milwaukee County on the Circuit Court.

No Comments »

The fallout from a wholly misleading and some say racist television ad by Michael Gableman continues, as one of the District Attorneys who endorsed Gableman’s campaign has withdrawn that endorsement. Read the letter:

I am rescinding my endorsement of Judge Michael Gableman for Wisconsin Supreme Court. I endorsed him because he had been a district attorney and I believed he would bring an understanding of law enforcement to the Supreme Court. However, a recent television ad released by him makes me believe that Michael Gableman is unfit for the Supreme Court.

Gableman’s ad states that Louis Butler “worked to put criminals on the street,” and then brings up a case involving Reuben Lee Mitchell and states, “Butler found a loophole and then Mitchell went on to molest another child.”

First, this ad doesn’t tell you that Justice Butler’s involvement with the Reuben Lee Mitchell case was when Butler worked as an appellate attorney for the state public defender and not as a judge or justice. Butler was fulfilling his ethical duty as Mitchell’s appellate defense attorney. He had nothing to do with this case as a judge or justice.

Second, Gableman’s ad is inaccurate. Mitchell served his entire prison sentence. Butler’s legal argument was deemed correct by the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court. However, Mitchell was not given a new trial. Mitchell’s later conviction had nothing to do with Butler.

Third, in the United States of America, defendants have the constitutional right to an effective defense attorney under the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution — one of our most fundamental constitutional rights. The accuracy of our criminal justice system to separate the guilty from the falsely accused is greatly reduced without competent defense counsel. Gableman’s ad mocks this fundamental constitutional right which protects us all.

As a prosecutor, I firmly believe in convicting and properly punishing criminals, but I also understand that I have a duty to be certain that a defendant is actually guilty. A competent criminal defense attorney helps me be accurate.

I am troubled that a candidate for our highest court would belittle our constitutional right to counsel which enhances the accuracy of the criminal justice system. I am equally troubled by Gableman’s cavalier disregard for accuracy in his representations to the public through this ad. The integrity of the criminal justice system should not be allowed to be tarnished by one man’s ambitious desire for higher office. Judge Gableman will not be receiving my vote for Supreme Court justice in April.

Steven G. Bauer
District Attorney
Dodge County

DA Bauer should be commended for standing up for what he believes in and making it clear he respects the adversarial nature of our country’s legal system. Whether liberal or conservative, we should all respect the adversarial nature of our legal system as being absolutely vital to ensuring anyone accused of a crime receives good representation and a fair trail, because we all deserve to have our rights protected when we’re accused of a crime.

If you’d like to read more on Michael Gableman and his campaign shenanigans, check out our archive.

H/T to illusory tenant.

1 Comment »

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I intensely dislike State Supreme Court candidate Michael Gableman, and while my dislike is in part due to my ideological differences with Gableman, much of my dislike towards the man has to do with the stunning scope of his hypocritical and unethical behavior, both during the campaign and prior to him receiving his appointment as a Burnett County Circuit Court judge.

Gableman, who promised to run a clean campaign, has unveiled his newest attack ad against incumbent Louis Butler, and already the ad is drawing intense criticism for its not so subtle racist undertones, as well as its gross distortion of facts surrounding a case Louis Butler handled as a criminal defense attorney. At issue is the ad’s assertion that Louis Butler helped free a convicted sex offender on appeal, only to have that same defendant re-offend once he was freed. However, the truth of the situation is that while Butler did help the defendant in question win an appeal, the defendant’s conviction was upheld by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, resulting in the individual in question serving out the remainder of his sentence before being released from prison. It was only after he was released from prison that the individual reoffended.

Governor Jim Doyle said the ad from Gableman’s campaign was the lowest he’s ever seen a judicial candidate go, and the Wisconsin Judicial Campaign Integrity Committee also issued a statement calling the ad highly offensive and deliberately misleading before calling for the ad to be taken off the air:

“We believe Judge Gableman is deliberately misrepresenting the facts regarding this case and Justice Butler’s role in it, and it appears Judge Gableman is doing so either knowingly or with reckless disregard for the truth or falsity of his campaign statement,”

As I watched the ad - which I’ve included a little bit later in this entry - I couldn’t help but wonder about a fact that seems to escape Michael Gableman and his supporters: Wisconsin State Supreme Court Justices don’t lock criminals up, so being “tough on crime” isn’t as big a deal as it would be if Gableman were running for Circuit Court judge back in Burnett County. Then again, with Gableman’s record when it comes to being “tough on crime,” I can’t blame him for looking for a different job. As Sam Sarver from Brazen Maverick said,

That way, he (Gableman) wouldn’t have to deal with all the nuance and subtlety of the State Supreme Court, for which he obviously lacks sufficient patience.

I’d argue Gableman also lacks sufficient skill and intelligence to sit on the Wisconsin State Supreme Court, but Sam’s got a point.

For those interested, here’s the ad in question:

H/T to Sam over at Brazen Maverick and the ever-amazing illusory tenant.

1 Comment »

Remember when Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Michael Gableman said he’d run a clean campaign? I remember, and I also remember questioning whether Gableman could be trusted to abide by that pledge, given the fact that he hasn’t exactly proven himself to be a model of honest and ethical behavior.

Well it turns out an ad being run against Louis Butler on behalf of the Gableman campaign has come under scrutiny as possibly violating the state’s defamation laws, resulting in the ad being pulled from the air by WBAY. Since being pulled, the ad in question has been modified and has been allowed back on the air, but curiously enough, the Gableman campaign has been mum about the ad. Unlike the Butler campaign, which has publicly denounced all the third-party attack ads that have begun to be aired, the Gableman campaign has only issued statements attacking those ads that have been run against Gableman while staying curiously silent on those third-party ads that attack Louis Butler. The question I have is will Michael Gableman’s campaign come out against all the third-party attack ads being run against each of the candidates, or will he only concern himself with the ads that attack him? If Gableman really wants to have a clean campaign, he should denounce all the third-party ads being run, lest he end up looking like a hypocrite.

1 Comment »