Right Wing Wis Justice Has Meltdown Over Election Results
This post was originally published on this site
On Tuesday evening, less than an hour after the polls closed, Wisconsin witnessed something that hadn’t happened in years – a Republican losing with grace. In 2023, supreme court candidate Dan Kelly soiled himself as he spewed vitriol at the winner, Janet Protasiewicz. Last year, California banker and carpetbagger Eric Hovde refused to concede the race and spouted conspiracy theories related to The Big Lie.
In a refreshing contrast, Brad Schimel called and graciously conceded to race to Susan Crawford. When he addressed the crowd at his election watch party, he quickly squashed any nonsense from the crowd:
Minutes later Tuesday night, the conservative-backed Brad Schimel took the stage at his watch party to acknowledge the loss. Angry yells broke out. One woman began to chant about his opponent: “Cheater.”
Schimel didn’t hesitate. “No,” he responded. “You’ve got to accept the results.” Later, he returned to the stage with his classic rock cover band to jam on his bass.
Unfortunately, one attendee at Schimel’s party didn’t get the memo. Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley, who will never win Miss Congeniality in any contest, had a tantrum during an interview, flinging vitriol and insults during an interview she did with Vanessa Kjeldsen::
BRADLEY: I’m really personally and professionally disappointed that Judge Shimmel lost to Judge Crawford. I think it’s going to result in terrible consequences for the state of Wisconsin and for the state of the judiciary. My four colleagues have politicized our court in a terrible manner. They make political decisions all the time. They rule 100 percent for the Democratic Party. In every case that’s presented to them, we have an opportunity to return the court to what it should be, which is deciding cases under the law. And unfortunately, we’re simply going to see more politicization of the judiciary. I also think the way Judge Crawford ran her race was disgusting. She slandered a good man, Judge Shimmel. We saw this last time against Justice Kelly. It’s really sickening. And I hope next time the people will see through the lies that misportray good people in these ads. It’s a terrible thing to happen to the state.
KJELDSEN: Why do you think Shimmel lost at the end of the day?
BRADLEY: I think that we saw a ridiculous amount of money come in to this election. And I always defend the right of anybody to participate in speaking in elections. And of course, that takes money to do it. But when you see $100 million plus being spent on one state Supreme Court race, that is telling you that the Democratic Party is buying another justice, just like they did with Justice Protasiewicz. It needs to stop. Otherwise, there is no point in having a court. This is what the legislature is supposed to do, to make political decisions based on policy. That’s not what a court is supposed to do. And unfortunately, we’re going to see this happening for at least the next several years.
KJELDSEN: How are you feeling about working with Susan Crawford on the Wisconsin Supreme Court?
BRADLEY: I’m not looking forward to working with her because I think she’s, as they have accused us of, and it’s simply not true, she is bought and paid for by the Democratic Party. I challenge her to rule one time against the Democrats. I haven’t seen that yet from any of my liberal colleagues. But having said that, I will work with her like I’ve worked with all of my other colleagues and get the work done.
Bradley has always been an abrasive woman, but she had outdone herself with this tirade. I wouldn’t be surprised if alcohol loosened whatever sense of decorum she might have had. However, she might not be afraid to burn some bridges since she is said to be going after an open seat on the the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, which is being vacated by former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Diane Sykes.
And if she doesn’t get to leave on her own volition, she will be up for re-election in the next year or three, and I know of more than a million people that would love to help her vacate the bench.