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CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – It’s a double standard of all double standards in Wisconsin’s State Supreme Court race.
The conservative candidate Brad Schimmel, is backed by Elon Musk’s political action group, America PAC, is buying TV and radio commercials supporting Schimmel’s candidacy. And democrats are horrified. But they have nothing to say when George Sorros-backed groups buy ads for liberal candidate Susan Crawford.
Big money from conservatives is baaaadddd. Big money from liberals is goooodddd.
One of the strangest things about this race is that almost all of the attack ads focus on the sentences given to reprobate defendants. Judge Crawford gave a light sentence to a child rapist. District Attorney Schimmel reached a plea deal with a child pornographer. None of these ads point out that sentencing hearings are not conducted in front of the state supreme court.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel did a sentencing analysis of the two candidates. I was surprised the story was even published when the investigation showed that Judge Crawford is, indeed, more lenient when sentencing hardened criminals. But the article explains that away by saying that she sits in liberal Dane County, where prosecutors are more likely to recommend lighter sentences than in more-conservative Waukesha County.
I would steer you towards who is right on the issues that are likely to come before the court. Brad Shimmel says that Wisconsin’s 1849 abortion law is valid. The oldness of a law doesn’t strike it from the books. Only the legislature can do that. A fair question is, when Jim Doyle was governor and democrats controlled the legislature, why didn’t they do that? Perhaps they wanted an issue for future supreme court elections than they wanted a result. Democrats have also been fundraising on the issue of redistricting the state’s congressional districts – making them less friendly for Republicans Derrick Van Orden and Bryan Stiel. There’s a problem with that. Wisconsin’s current congressional maps were already challenged – and upheld – in federal court. So, is the law a moving target where you keep litigating until you get the result you’d like?
That’s what liberals are reduced to. Allow abortions at all cost, and flip the balance of power in Congress by any means necessary. That’s not the proper role of the state Supreme Court; it’s supposed to apply the law as written. Choose carefully.
Chris Conley
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