Sources are reporting that right-wing Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman will not seek a second term in the April, 2018 election.
You could say that the hard-right turn in Wisconsin politics subsidized by big business and right-wing advocacy organizations that has deeply embedded Republicans' control of all three branches of government began when Gableman, then an obscure rural Burnett County District Court Judge, narrowly defeated the liberal Milwaukee incumbent Justice Louis Butler.
I remember being confident that Butler would defeat a newcomer, but savvier political expert hand warned me that "a couple of million dollars could fix anyone's lack of name recognition."
Gableman rode a wave of campaign assistance from the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, and the like, disgustingly negative ads against Butler and personal attacks by right-wing talk show hosts to a 51%-49% win that turned the Court into an all-white, right-wing GOP obeisant tool.
The WMC got the deeply-conservative majority it wanted and now enjoys more than ever, and by writing the opinion affirming Walker's union-busting Act 10 helped elevate Walker and his hard-edged agenda nationally.
So Gableman's work is done.
And there's another fresh opportunity for Democrats and progressives to assert themselves.
As with the need for a candidate to take on Walker also in 2018, it is unclear if the opportunities can be grabbed.
I'd been hearing that rumor for weeks; interesting that the rumor mill is often so accurate.
You could say that the hard-right turn in Wisconsin politics subsidized by big business and right-wing advocacy organizations that has deeply embedded Republicans' control of all three branches of government began when Gableman, then an obscure rural Burnett County District Court Judge, narrowly defeated the liberal Milwaukee incumbent Justice Louis Butler.
I remember being confident that Butler would defeat a newcomer, but savvier political expert hand warned me that "a couple of million dollars could fix anyone's lack of name recognition."
Gableman rode a wave of campaign assistance from the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, and the like, disgustingly negative ads against Butler and personal attacks by right-wing talk show hosts to a 51%-49% win that turned the Court into an all-white, right-wing GOP obeisant tool.
The WMC got the deeply-conservative majority it wanted and now enjoys more than ever, and by writing the opinion affirming Walker's union-busting Act 10 helped elevate Walker and his hard-edged agenda nationally.
So Gableman's work is done.
And there's another fresh opportunity for Democrats and progressives to assert themselves.
As with the need for a candidate to take on Walker also in 2018, it is unclear if the opportunities can be grabbed.