When Senate Republicans teamed up with Brett Kavanaugh to turn a Supreme Court confirmation into a political battle, it set the tone for the rest of the party. The GOP’s lost any claim it might have had to abiding by legal ethics. The latest example: Republican Minnesota attorney general candidate Doug Wardlow, who’s making hyper-partisan campaign promises that we could categorize as troubling at best and authoritarian-adjacent at worst.
"It's really exciting now to be in a position for the first time in a half century to take this office back," Wardlow said. "We're going to fire 42 Democratic attorneys right off the bat and get Republican attorneys in there."
Rewinding, Wardlow’s the guy who’s been attacking Democratic candidate Keith Ellison for being too political. The outgoing attorney general, Lori Swanson, is a Democrat. She served three terms. As a Republican vying to flip the office, Wardlow’s been claiming to be non-partisan.
“I have consistently stated throughout this campaign, I will appoint assistants and deputies who believe in the rule of law and the Constitution. There will be no litmus test for party affiliation.”
Perhaps it’s just a matter of what’s said in private versus in public?
After all, Wardlow made this promise in the context of a private fundraiser for another Republican candidate. His remarks only came to light when a recording of the event was shared with the press. If this is what he’s willing to say to get elected, I don’t want to know what he’d do in office.