We Need Another SC Candidate

With yesterday’s announcement from liberal Democrat Chris Taylor, it looks like next April’s Wisconsin Supreme Court race is already set — 11 months in advance. Let’s see how it’s shaping up.

First off, and oh so mercifully, we won’t see nearly the same amount of advertising. That’s because there’s not much at stake. No matter what happens liberals will retain their majority. Also, by then all of the major issues will have been decided. Liberals will have assured abortion rights, redrawn Congressional maps to favor Democrats and overturned Act 10. So all of that national money, which set records for spending in the last two contests, will dry up. Unfortunately, that’s pretty much all the good news there is to report.

Taylor is somewhat different than the previous two liberal candidates. Susan Crawford and Janet Protasiewicz, though both highly partisan, had not been elected to partisan offices. Taylor represented Madison’s near east side in the Assembly for a decade. That is the most liberal district in the state and she had a record to match it.

That means two things. First, the camp of the conservative incumbent, Rebecca Bradley, will have a lot to work with. And second, it means that Taylor is precisely what this court does not need — another rabid partisan.

Every member of the current court is a Democratic or Republican partisan and only conservative Brian Hagedorn will occasionally allow actual considerations of legal arguments to interfere with his decisions. None of the justices are distinguished legal scholars. Frankly, it’s a court of hacks. Bradley is already there and Taylor would fit right in. While the two are ideologically miles apart, they fit the same mold.

Things have fallen into such a predictable pattern that I think I can predict what will happen not only next April but in the April election after that. Taylor will win in 2026. That’s because the script has been reversed. It used to be that it was Republicans who were the more reliable spring voters. Now it’s the Democrats. It’s a simple game of turnout. Democrats will show up for Taylor. Trumpy Republicans don’t show up for anybody but Trump

And in 2027 the liberal Democrat in the field will be Clark County Circuit Court Judge Lindsey Boon Brunette. Here’s the way it works. You announce you plan to run. Then the Democratic powers that be show up at your door to tell you that it’s someone else’s turn. If you promise to withdraw they promise to back you next time.

This is exactly what happened last year when Taylor talked about running. She was told it was Crawford’s turn and that if she waited a year she’d be the one. So, Boon Brunette raised her flag a few months ago and, sure enough, she took it back down earlier this month to clear the way for Taylor and, in making her announcement, pretty much claimed her spot in 2027.

So, I fully realize that this is probably a waste of time, but let me make the plea anyway. I hope that someone with a distinguished legal background and no obvious ideological or partisan leanings will step up to run. Without the backing of either major party or their affiliated interest groups, that candidate wouldn’t have a prayer. But I’d vote for that candidate with enthusiasm.

As it stands I can’t imagine voting for either Bradley or Taylor. Neither would be the kind of fair-minded justice this court needs so badly.