He’s just following the lead of Kav. Surely a SCOTUS justice is a good role model, right?
8 Likes
“I mean, the voters chose someone despicable who is lower than a cockroach, but I totally respect that choice.”
5 Likes
A fine display of Kelly’s judicial temperament.
And the WI Republican legislature should consider the consequences if they try any supermajority shenanigans - but they probably won’t stop to think…only reflexively react.
6 Likes
A little more perspective. Breathe…
10 Likes
I know, right? Obviously, a judge is supposed to rule based on law and not personal feelings about any given law, but I’m not sure how it became forbidden for a candidate or nominee to say “This is what I believe the law says, and that’s how I would rule on it.”
13 Likes
“to preserve sexual libertinism.”
In Wisconsin?
That was a reason why that scene at the end of “Love Actually” where Colin goes to Milwaukee is funny, which is that Wisconsin doesn’t have very much sexual libertinism to preserve, especially without beer goggles.
8 Likes
Sure, I guess State Assembly could…but…I’d imagine Hell Fire would rain down upon them with such fury if they did. They might even realize that maybe they just put their own seats in jeopardy.
15 Likes
I do not believe Republicans have a super majority in both the WI senate and house so removal is unlikely.
That said, a bigger fear is Democrats on the Wisconsin Supreme Court will be wimps and not use their power to immediately, before the 2024 elections, redistrict fairly what is currently the most gerrymandered state in America.
That is there is no doubt that if Republicans in the Wisconsin legislature, who are only in the state legislature because of how they have abused their power to subvert democracy, had the power to impeach Supreme Court justices they do not like they would do it in a New York minute. There is doubt that Democrats on the Supreme Court that now do have the power to order fair legislative representation for the people in the state of Wisconsin will not do it.
Or to put another way, in spite of all Republican whining and chest beating, last night’s election results changed the power structure IF Democrats are willing to use that power and do so with urgency.
13 Likes
I’m inclined to agree, but these people can be as extreme as any suicide bomber when it comes to consequences. The rubicon receded into the distance for many of them a long time ago.
11 Likes
Because if certain US supreme court nominees had said what they believed during their confirmation hearings, it would have increased the political price for confirming them.
19 Likes
They do filthy things with cheese when the moon is full. don’t ask.
12 Likes
With this result, it seems pretty clear that the trench lines have stabilized in Ds favor and will remain that way – as all trench warfare does – unless something dramatic changes the landscape. Ds have solidified their gains in suburban areas and motivated their urban bases, while Rs have captured their rural (less reliable) and older (more reliable) voters. Rs will also use any means at their disposal to get their way, whether it hurts them with the general public or not.
Dan Kelly is no idiot. He represents everything Rs stand for now in that he rejects any evidence that they are actually wrong or unpopular. This stance requires them to reject constitutional democracy because election results are evidence they refuse to accept … unless they win.
No wonder they are all committed fully to Trump. Nobody embodies the R party ideology better than Trump. Willful ignorance that he’s a loser (and always has been) which requires ever more elaborate fictions to sustain their psyches when they aren’t popular and their policy prescriptions are always proved wrongheaded. Current core Trump/R position: juries and voters are corrupt and stupid.
9 Likes
Another GOP Hollow Man.
The lot of them are such churlish nobodies without a dollop of grace.
10 Likes
Just wondering, how many reactionary judicial candidates hold their passions for a broad reading of the Second Amendment close to the vest?
5 Likes
Well, about 1/3rd of the WI GOP lege owe their seats to the gerrymander, so they’re kind of in “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” territory. But a unanimous WI GOP senate vote on what would be a very public very dirty play, would be a heavy lift.
18 Likes
OK, yes, that makes sense for nominations, but not so much for directly elected judges.
3 Likes
Stop right there. They do have the supermajority in the senate. And impeachment requires only a majority in the house.
5 Likes
Their seats are already in danger. The new court majority, starting in August, may eventually rule that the extreme gerrymandering that results in Wisconsin’s lopsided representation is illegal.
7 Likes
Sorry, I don’t mean to be obtuse, but I’m not sure what you’re getting at. If it’s basically what @occamscoin pointed out about nominees, I get that.
1 Like
FFS, have you noticed none of the discussion of using the new supreme court majority to undo the WI district gerrymanders? That’s a pretty fucking drastic change to the landscape, and is an existential threat to the WI GOP majorities.
7 Likes