There may not be any primary contests today in the presidential race, but there is a key vote happening today in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin elects its state Supreme Court judges, and today the balance of power on the court is up for grabs. If you live in Wisconsin, you must head out to vote today, and you must vote to retain Justice Louis Butler over his scamp of a challenger, Michael Gableman.
Find your polling place and a sample ballot here--more below.
The institutional right wing of Wisconsin has been after Butler for the better part of a year because he is a thoughtful, independent voice. Right wing outfits like Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce would much rather have a pliable tool on the bench, someone who can mindlessly support the business interests in the state over the people of the state.
WMC, along with another group, the big-business funded Coalition for America's Families, have funded some of the most despicable and misleading ads ever run in a campaign--they were so bad this state race attracted the attention of the national Newsweek; TV stations across the state refused to play some of them, they were so awful.
Of course, those third-party ads are nothing compared to an ad that Butler's opponent himself released--one I wrote about here. It was bordeline racist (Butler is the state's first African-American Supreme Court Justice) and outright false--conservatives around the state have said that ad cost Gableman their vote, and one Republican DA publicly withdrew his support to instead endorse Butler.
As I said, the balance of power on the court depends on this election. Gableman would join a stiff conservative wing of the court that has little regard for the rights of the accused or the right of the people to seek redress when harmed. Butler is the swing vote, usually siding with the court's more liberal wing.
Wisconsin Justices serve ten-year terms. It is imperative that we retain Justice Butler. So get out there and vote!
(Milwaukee County residents should also be voting to send Scott Walker packing--vote Lena Taylor for County Executive! I offered a longer series of recommendations here.)