The Daily Telegram in Superior Gets It

As the newspaper endorsements for the Wisconsin Supreme Court race start  to roll in, it is interesting to see the reasons behind the selections.

The Daily Telegram in Superior announced Wednesday that Wisconsin should Return Butler to state’s high court:

State Supreme Court justices have broad duties, many of them grounded in civil matters. In criminal appeals, their concern is not in case details, but whether circuit court judges properly handled procedural matters

The fascinating thing about the endorsement is not that the newspaper supports Justice Louis Butler, but the analysis about the campaign and why we see the advertising attacking Butler for being soft on crime.

Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) the principal architect of the Butler-soft-on-criminals theme, has another agenda item. They call it "tort reform." The problem is it does not sell, not even with its own members.

As the Daily Telegram noted:

The primary complaints against Butler originate in the business community, where some people have concerns he leans toward favoring consumers, i.e., people who sue corporations. But it’s difficult to gain traction when attempting to sell that issue with a TV sound bite. Instead, Gableman supporters prey on voters’ fears by airing lies.

It a recent survey of WMC's own members asking: "What is the top business concern facing your company?" the very last answer was Lawsuit abuse. Whatever you want to call it, tort reform, product liability cases, lawsuit abuse, the answer received 1.23% from the respondents, who like most of us, placed health care costs at the top of the list.

WMC has an agenda. It is one they do not wish to care to share with the public. Just as they do not want us to know that the money paying for their television commercials is coming from out-of-state businesses.

WMC is a conduit. They are a tool to funnel and hide millions of dollars designed to deceive. The Superior Daily Telegram knows better. On Tuesday, we hope the same is true of Wisconsin voters.

Comments

[Jim Rosenberg]

You are so right. Let's hope that at least 51 percent of this state's voters have it figured out by Tuesday. This campaign has met and exceeded all of my worst expectations from the resurrection of Willy Horton on steriods to everything else:

http://tinyurl.com/3bkg9s

Gableman's campaign might make sense for a D.A. or circuit court judge, although it would still be short on ethics. It is totally irrelevant to being a Supreme Court justice and it has absolutely nothing to do with why the support structure for his candidacy wants him in. Pay attention, people. Fool me once...

[Anon]

Gableman has ran a fair and impartial court or you and your special interest would be all over him for that, which would be the right thing to do.

Loophole Louie skeltons are coming out and there has not been one thing that you or your special interest have claimed that Butler has done in his years on the high court that has made our courts fair and impartial. It looks to me that he hasn't and has no intention of holding subordinate judges responsible for not being fair and impartial.

Just for the fact that Gableman has been fair and impartial wins my vote. We need people like that on the high court.

[jon]

Anon must on the WMC...why would they fuel his campaign?

Favorable decision for the WMC while everyone else get screwed? I think so.

I won't stand for anyone trying to BLATENTLY buy there way in...

[jon]

And yes I'm well aware of special interests at the local and federal level

[anon]

jon -

do you rememeber last year Clifford had the guts to expose Zieglers rule breaking? I think she would have been a fair and impartial Justice that would have required the same in all the courts. If you know of anything that Butler has done that has made the Courts fair and impartial, please let us know. I don't and won't vote for him.

[nonheroicvet]

If you want to know why Gableman is so unpopular in Ashland County and possibly why he left in such a hurry, check out Daniel Bice's column in Sunday's Milwaukee J/S.

[mgm]

Butler has lost before. He might lose again if Gableman were from a vote-rich county like Waukesha or Brown, not from a small county in northwest Wisconsin. Both Butler and Gableman have agendas. And I am shocked, shocked that a paper in a county where Dems outnumber Repubs 4-1 endorses Butler.

I will vote for Gableman and ending the Frankinstein veto. I don't have a local race of import because I live in Brett Halsey's district. I might have a different view if I lived if my district involved Hampston, Glomp or Ferrell.

[libocrat]

I find this site hysterical. The left believes that government is the source of the tax money that liberals spend like drunken sailors and sailorettes. You pathetic freaks don't create a thing. You suck and suck and suck and suck, and when industry leaves. You suck from anything that is left to suck from. Butler is pathetic candidate, but he toes the liberal line on letting criminals loose and favors government over industry. I sincerely doubt the Paul Soglins 401k is funded by anything other than CAPITALISM. Soglin is a true believer. He is a Marxist.