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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

So Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Michael Gableman has said his campaign will not resort to dishonest attack ads during the race between him and Louis Butler, but given the revelations that Gableman may have gotten his seat due to some generous campaign donations to former Governor Scott McCallum, can he really be trusted?

I’m thinking not, considering the fact that despite his promise to run a clean campaign, Gableman’s already pulling out all the stops in his attempt to unseat Butler. What’s more, surrogates of Michael Gableman have spreading blatant lies in regards to with Justice Butler’s vote in the case of to the case of Richard A. Brown, a sexual predator whose petition for supervised release had been denied in Milwaukee County Circuit Court, resulting in an appeal. The attack in question follows:

Louis Butler provided the deciding vote to overturn a sexual predator decision by a circuit court, resulting in the release of the predator into Milwaukee County.

Quite a damning attack on its face, except for the fact that Richard A. Brown was never released from custody at any point. Further, Justice Butler didn’t cast the “deciding” vote - he simply joined the majority decision.

So if Michael Gableman can’t be counted on to keep his word, and he can’t be trusted to go through the proper channels to get his job, how can he be counted on to act ethically as a Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice?

As I first noted a few days ago, the folks at One Wisconsin Now have been busy exposing the sordid details behind Michael Gableman’s appointment to the Burnett County Circuit Court.

As first reported by OWN, former Governor Scott McCallum appointed Gableman to the Burnett County Circuit Court after bypassing the established appointment process, and it was also noted Gableman had donated $2,500 to McCallum’s re-election campaign, including $1,250 in the midst of the appointment process for the Circuit Court seat that Gableman was appointed to. As sordid as the entire situation is, it’s gotten worse for Michael Gableman, with Scott McCallum’s admission on Thursday he manipulated the judicial appointment process established
by his own executive orders in order to appoint Michael Gableman to the Burnett County Circuit Court.

“[A]s governor, the final decision to appoint a judge was mine
alone…,” McCallum said through a Gableman campaign press release.
The media has reported McCallum has refused press calls since an
investigation by One Wisconsin Now released Wednesday showed Gableman
was appointed judge after McCallum ignored established protocol for a
candidate who neither applied in time, nor was a finalist recommended
by McCallum’s own judicial advisory council.

“Governor McCallum confirmed what we already knew, that Mike Gableman
got his job as a judge because that’s what McCallum wanted for his
donor and fundraiser,” said Scot Ross, Executive Director of One
Wisconsin Now.

If Michael Gableman couldn’t be counted on to act above reproach and get his Circuit Court seat without having to buy it, then how can he be counted on to act in an ethical and impartial manner as a justice on the Wisconsin State Supreme Court? Wisconsin deserves nothing less than a judiciary with the highest judicial ethics and experience, and the circumstances surrounding Gableman’s appointment to the Burnett County Circuit Court hang over him like a dark cloud, much like Annette Ziegler’s own ethical problems have continued to hang over her even after her term on the Wisconsin Supreme Court began.

Wisconsin can ill afford two ethically challenged Supreme Court Justices.

With the race between Louis Butler and Michael Gableman for Butler’s seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court due to heat up, I figured now would be a good time to take a closer look at the candidacy of Judge Gableman. As first reported by the folks at One Wisconsin Now, it appears Judge Gableman was appointed to his seat on the Burnett County Circuit Court under some suspicious circumstances. In the interest of keeping things neat and tidy, here’s a list of the suspicious circumstances surrounding Michael Gableman’s appointment to the Burnett County Circuit Court:

• Gableman did not go through the process for selecting judges which had been established by then-Governor Scott McCallum.
• Gableman had not applied for the Burnett County judgeship by the deadline established by the Governor’s Notice of Judicial Vacancy.
• Gableman was not one of two finalists selected by the Governor’s Advisory Council on Judicial Selection.
• Gableman served as a Republican fundraiser for Governor McCallum in the midst of the selection process to fill the vacancy that was later awarded to Gableman.
• Gableman donated $2,500 to Governor McCallum’s re-election campaign.
• No records of Gableman being interviewed for the Burnett County Circuit Court seat by Governor McCallum could be found, despite open records requests.
• No records of Gableman’s application for the vacancy could be found. OWN did find a copy of a resume Gableman faxed to the Governor’s office, but no copy of a formal application was found, despite applications being found for all the other candidates.
• Gableman arranged and attended a private breakfast with Governor McCallum at the Executive Residence in March 2002, shortly before he was appointed to fill the Burnett County Circuit Court vacancy.

Now sure, I suppose all these points could just be a happy coincidence, but as when I put all those points together, I can’t help but think Michael Gableman’s seat on the Burnett County Circuit Court was bought and paid for, and all it seemed to cost was $2,500.

I’ve read that Michael Gableman has said his interest in the Wisconsin State Supreme Court seat currently held by Louis Butler has nothing to do with partisan politics, saying:

“I am not running to become a lawmaker,” Gableman said in a Capitol press conference. “Lawmaking should be left to the legislative and executive branches. I believe that justice comes from administering the law with an understanding that its source is the consent of the governed, not one’s own personal ideology.”

It’s curious then, given Gableman’s insistence he’s not a partisan, that he’d spend so much time quoting from former Wisconsin State Supreme Court justice (and far-right conservative) Diane Sykes during his announcement of his candidacy for the State Supreme Court seat currently held by Louis Butler. The reality here is Gableman knows 2008 promises to be a bad year for Republican candidates all across Wisconsin, so instead of just owning up to the fact that he’s a conservative through and through, he’s decided to take a different approach in saying he’d be “nonpartisan.” Given how strongly his candidacy has been embraced by those on the right, it’s plainly obvious Michael Gableman is the candidate of conservatives in Wisconsin, and ultimately his status as the candidate of the right will relegate him to the loser’s column in the 2008 elections.

Earlier today, the Milwaukee Police Association endorsed Louis Butler in his re-election bid for the Wisconsin State Supreme Court. Here’s a little blurb from the MPA’s official press release:

Justice Louis Butler is the right choice for Wisconsin. He has been a strong leader and he understands the needs of our community, its citizens and law enforcement.

Justice Butler has had a distinguished career in public service, including a long tenure overseeing cases in the Milwaukee Municipal Court, where MPA members often appeared before him. In addition to serving on the local court, Justice Butler was a Milwaukee County Circuit Judge before being appointed to the high court by Governor Doyle in 2004. He is the Court’s first African-American justice and the only member with roots in the Milwaukee criminal justice system.

This experience has given him great insight into the challenges that face the citizens and law enforcement in the City of Milwaukee. He understands the affect that crime has upon our society and the need to combat it while safeguarding the rights of our citizens and law enforcement officers.

We believe that Justice Butler’s lifetime of accomplishment and his work behind the gavel makes him the right choice for Milwaukee and Wisconsin.

Predictably, folks on the right have already begun gnashing their teeth about the endorsement, with former Milwaukee Police Captain Glenn Frankovis saying, “Such an endorsement can’t even be defended! I listened to this guy speak to the Governor’s Commission investigating racial disparities in the criminal justice system and what I heard was anything but a call for law and order. This endorsement can’t even be called “politically savvy”.”

Now I don’t proclaim to be an expert on state politics, but it can’t be a good sign for Paul “Law and Order” Bucher’s burgeoning campaign against Butler if the state’s largest police union has already gone on record endorsing Butler. I’m inclined to believe they know the State Supreme Court isn’t the place for on the job training, which is what Paul Bucher - who hasn’t served one day as a judge - would need.