Corporate Special Interests Step Into Local Court Race

Wisconsin Club for Growth has dropped $167,000 to buy ad time for their candidate of choice, Rebecca Bradley. The ads call Bradley "thoughtful, compassionate, fair."

Janet Protasiewicz

It's not surprising that this group, funded by the Koch Brothers and the Bradley Foundation would back Bradley, since their definition of "thoughtful, compassionate, fair" matches hers, in that they both support voter suppression and anti-minority right stances.

Janet Proasiewicz' campaign has rightfully called foul on the corporate special interests trying to buy the election for Milwaukee Circuit Court Branch 45. From their press release:

Today, the right-wing extreme group Wisconsin Club for Growth entered the Milwaukee County Circuit Court race with a $167,000 television ad buy, attempting to buy the seat for the right-wing darling and hand-picked Governor Walker appointee Rebecca Bradley.

“Outside special interest groups have no place in our courtrooms or judicial campaigns,” said campaign manager Marshall Cohen. “The Wisconsin Club for Growth is a shady, right-wing group supported by secretive money that is trying to buy a judicial seat in Milwaukee County. It’s no wonder extreme political groups are supporting their political darling Rebecca Bradley after her track record working with organizations who make it harder to vote and giving large donations to help elect Scott Walker. The question is: what are these groups expecting in return? Instead of putting the campaign-funding special interests first, Janet Protasiewicz will always put the law first and protect Milwaukee families.”

Worth noting is Bradley's reaction to the support from the corporate special interests:

The group purchased radio spots supporting Bradley prior to the the primary election in Februay. At a candidates' forum earlier this month, Bradley said she had no knowledge of the ads or control or influence over how outside groups speak out about the election.

Her campaign did not immediately return email seeking comment on the latest ad or the Protasiewicz campaign's characterizations. The Wisconsin Club for Growth had no comment.

You know, if she was true to her campaign statements of leaving politics out of the courtroom and adhering to the law and not her own political viewpoints, she would have come out immediately denouncing this involvement by the special interests and asking them to stop.

The fact that she hasn't shows where her true intent is, which is not with the law or the people.

Besides the fact that Protasiewicz is simply the much more experienced and qualified candidate, this is just another reason that I will be voting for her on April 2 and I urge you to do the same.

Learn more about Protasiewicz and how to support her from her website and her Facebook page.

My Conversation With Janet Protasiewicz, Candidate For Branch 45

The other day, I wrote about Rebecca Bradley, the "incumbent" candidate for Milwaukee County Circuit Court Branch 45 and gave a plethora of reasons why the gentle voter should shun her.

Janet Protasiewicz

However, I did not want the gentle voter to vote for Janet Protasiewicz simply because she's not Bradley.  I wanted the gentle voter to want to vote for Janet because she is the better candidate.  But before I did that, I wanted the opportunity to interview her.  I had the chance on Wednesday evening.

Before I get into the interview, I would remind the gentle voter that I have had the privilege of working with Janet in the late 1990's when she was an ADA at Milwaukee County Children's Court and I was a foster care worker.  It was then that I was able to see first hand her professionalism, her attention to detail and how she was able to deal with the most difficult cases with firmness and compassion.

Now onto the interview.

The first question I asked her was why she chose to ran.

Janet said that she felt this was the natural outgrowth of her 25 years of working in the District Attorney's Office.

She explained that she had known as a young woman that she wanted to do public service.  She said that while growing up, one of the people in her neighborhood was U.S. Congressman Clement J. Zablocki.  One day while out with her brother, they saw Zablocki outside doing yard work.  Much to her brother's chagrin, she walked right up to Zablocki and asked him for a job.

She walked away with the job.  She said that Zablocki had told her that he often had parents ask him to help their child with their careers, but never had the child show the gumption to ask on their own behalf.

Within a few months, she was running his office and running it well.

She said that was when she knew she wanted to serve the public for the rest of her life.

We then discussed her experience while working in the DA's office.

As mentioned above, she did a number of years at Children's Court, working mostly with foster care cases.  She point out this is where she became very familiar with the rules of civil procedures.  She eventually became the supervisor for a team of CHIPS (CHildren In need of Protection and Services), while maintaining a full case load.

She also argued one of her cases before the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Besides working in Children's Court, Janet said that she had worked for a number of years in Child Support.  She also has had extensive history prosecuting criminal cases.

Besides practicing law, she also teaches it.  She is an Adjunct Professor at Marquette University and has taught on a national level through the United States Department of Justice's Nation Advocacy Center.

I asked Janet, half jokingly, what she did with her spare time.

She told me that she does not like to have idle time on her hands and is involved in a number of groups, including:

• Fairchild Inns of Court
• TEMPO
• Professional Dimensions
• Association of Women Lawyers
• Marquette University Law School Alumni Board
• St. Josaphat Basilica Foundation Board
• Rotary Club of Milwaukee
• Journey House Foundation Board

Janet shared with me that one of her favorite things to do is have the girls from the Journey House come to her home so she can show them cooking lessons.  Nothing extravagant, but just how to cook regular, nutritious meals.

Janet also said that while she is excited by the reception she gets everywhere she goes, she is also very humbled by some of the people who have endorsed her candidacy.  Some of the notables who have endorse Janet so far - besides yours truly - would include Mayor Tom Barrett, District Attorney John Chisholm and U.S. Congresswoman Gwen Moore.  She was also proud to announce that she has also been endorsed by the Public Defender's Association.

Her most current list of endorsements (it keeps growing almost daily) can be found here.  The gentle reader will find the list to be rather lengthy, and more importantly, the people endorsing her come from both sides of the political spectrum, demonstrating her nonpartisan approach to the law.

Finally, I brought up her opponent's relative inexperience compared to her lengthy career.  I pointed out that the decisions a judge hands down, even in "routine cases," can have life-altering meanings for the people involved.

Janet agreed and what she said to me next sums up the race very well.

"The decisions made from the bench should not be on the job training."

To learn more about Janet Protasiewicz and how to help support her, please go to her web page and to her Facebook page.

Protasiewicz' First Ad

I know that Rebecca Bradley has been all over the airwaves with her ads for weeks, but she also has all that Bradley Foundation money to pay for that.

So it's really nice to see Janet Protasiewicz get her voice out there with this direct, plain-spoken ad:



That ad has so much packed into it without becoming overbearing it would be hard to find an ad more effective.

Vote for Janet Protasiewicz for Milwaukee County Circuit Court Branch 45.

Rebecca Bradley: With Extreme Prejudice

With the news full of things like Scott Walker campaigning for president, the jobless mining bill and other acts of malfeasance by the Republicans and the race for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, it's easy to forget about the local races this spring.

Janet Protasiewicz

One such race that hasn't gotten much attention from the corporate media is the race for Milwaukee County Circuit Court Branch 45.  The race is between the "incumbent" judge, Rebecca Bradley and Janet Protasiewicz.

For the record, I endorsed Protasiewicz for the primary and I am proud to endorse her for the general election on April 2.  I endorsed her because I know first hand of her strong work ethic, her balanced view and her dedication to the law.

At that time, I also pointed out that Protasiewicz' opponent was not being honest with the voters:

I need to point out that the "incumbent," Rebecca Bradley was appointed to her seat by Scott Walker four months ago, for no other purpose than to give the incumbent boost at the polls.

I know many people that have appeared before her. Let me just say they were not very impressed. She took an exceptionally long time to learn her job and still has a hard time trying to do it.

Furthermore, she is less than honest with the voters. Almost nowhere in her literature (which she sends two of each one to my home), her webpage or ads does she mention that she used to lead the Milwaukee Branch of the Federalist Society.

For the unfamiliar, the Federalist Society is to law what Media Trackers is to journalism. Their mission is to find legal ways to advance their uber-conservative agenda.

It turns out I was not completely accurate with that assessment. As it turns out, Bradley is a lot more partisan and a lot more dishonest than I had previously thought.

As noted above, she was appointed by Scott Walker just five months ago.  The first red flag came in his announcement of her appointment to the bench (emphasis mine):

“Appointing Ms. Bradley ensures the residents of Milwaukee County receive timely and fair service from the court system,” said Governor Walker. “Ms. Bradley is a great lawyer, a person of integrity, and she understands the proper role of a judge. She will be a great addition to the Milwaukee County bench.”

Given his relationship to certain members of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, like David "Rubber Stamp" Prosser, we know what this means.

My suspicions grew in the time leading up to the primary and we received numerous flyers from her campaign.  That was a lot of money for a county race primary and for someone who just started her campaign just three months before.

What I also found interesting was some of the language on her mailers:

Click on image to embiggen

Pay note to the first highlighted line: "...applying the law impartially, free of any political agenda."  One would think that when someone says something like this, they would mean there would no political agenda, but the facts show that Bradley's whole campaign is about furthering the extreme right wing agenda.

First off, a quick look at the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign's database shows that not only has Bradley made political donations, but all $1,350 of it went to Scott Walker, with the most recent being just months before he appointed her to the bench:

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Another red flag should be when Bradley announced her campaign and named Michael Grebe as one of her campaign co-chairs.  Grebe is, as the gentle reader already knows, the head of the corrupt, racist Bradley Foundation and was Scott Walker's  campaign chairman for both of his last two campaigns.

Well, at least now we can surmise how she afforded all those mailings.

Her "nonpartisanship" is also demonstrated by the fact that she is a member of the Republican National Lawyers Association (RNLA).  One of the main issues for the RNLA is voter suppression, which has been shown to be targeting young minorities the most.  As written by the Republicans, the voter suppression laws would be the most restrictive in the nation.  Bradley's RNLA responded with inflammatory, irresponsible and baseless rhetoric, saying opposition to the voter suppression law came from "the far left, anti-democracy and divisive campaign funded by George Soros."

Well, that certainly makes it clearer on why Grebe is involved with the campaign.

As I had mentioned before, Bradley also did a stint as President of the Milwaukee Federalist Society - a fact that she is trying to scrub from her profiles.  The Federalist Society is funded in part by the Bradley Foundation (cue Grebe again) and the issue this presents is best described by Tom Foley, aka Illusory Tenant:

The incumbent, Republican Scott Walker appointee Rebecca Bradley, describes herself as a "nonideological" member of the Federalist Society, which is an organization of malcontents and paranoid hysterics with law degrees that was founded on political ideology. 

Kinda like being a Milwaukee Admiral but you don't play hockey.

As further proof of her "freedom of any political agenda, it should be noted that she has a rather peculiar habit of attending Republican fundraisers and other events such as the Milwaukee County Reagan Day Dinner and the Milwaukee County Lincoln Day Dinner:



Needless to say, a preponderance of the evidence shows beyond a reasonable doubt that Rebecca Bradley is an extremist and as partisan as they come.

So when it comes to April 2nd and the election on who will sit in Milwaukee County Circuit Court Branch 45, the choice is really, really clear.

You can vote for Protasiewicz and get justice or you can vote for Bradley and get more of Scott Walker's right wing extremist agenda that will do nothing to protect you or your rights.

Please support and vote for Janet Protasiewicz for Milwaukee County Branch 45.

Primary Day Already?!

As the gentle reader should be aware, Tuesday is the spring primary day.

Sadly, I have not had the chance to examine all the races as I would like to. Thus, I will only make three recommendations for Tuesday.

Supreme Court

Last December, I came out and through my endorsement behind Edward Fallone.

Everything I said then not only still holds true, but has been reinforced several times over.

It was revealed that not only was Patience Roggensack receiving tons of campaign donations from out of state special interest groups, she tried to cover up the fact by playing fast and loose with campaign finance laws.

On top of that, she is also complicit to David Prosser's attack on fellow Justice Ann Walsh Bradley when she turned a blind eye to the crime and recused herself before there was even a case before her.

With Ed Fallone on the Supreme Court, we might not win every case that we wish, but that's OK, because at least we'd know we were given a fair shake.  With Roggensack, we know that there would be no chance at justice, since her decisions have already been bought and paid for.

You can learn more about Ed Fallone at his website and his Facebook page.

Milwaukee County Circuit Court - Branch 45

For those that weren't aware, I used to work in the Milwaukee County Child Welfare system from 1995-2001.  During that time, I spent a lot of time at Children's Court for various hearings regarding my clients.  These hearings could be from the routine to termination of parental rights.

And in the course of all of these hearings, I got to work with a lot of  Assistant District Attorneys, Public Defenders and private attorneys.  One of the ADA's I had the pleasure of working with was Janet Protasiewicz.

Protasiewicz was a hard and demanding attorney, making sure we had all our i's dotted and t's crossed before taking a case to court.  But because of her demanding expectations, she rarely lost a case.

She was always fair with the parents and children, and compassionate to their feelings, no matter what the situation was.  But she did not let that stop her from doing what needed to be done.

It is her professionalism, her attention to detail and her compassion that makes me comfortable endorsing her for Milwaukee County Circuit Court Branch 45.

I need to point out that the "incumbent," Rebecca Bradley was appointed to her seat by Scott Walker four months ago, for no other purpose than to give the incumbent boost at the polls.

I know many people that have appeared before her.  Let me just say they were not very impressed.  She took an exceptionally long time to learn her job and still has a hard time trying to do it.

Furthermore, she is less than honest with the voters.  Almost nowhere in her literature (which she sends two of each one to my home), her webpage or ads does she mention that she used to lead the Milwaukee Branch of the Federalist Society.

For the unfamiliar, the Federalist Society is to law what Media Trackers is to journalism.  Their mission is to find legal ways to advance their uber-conservative agenda.

With Protaciewisz, you won't have to wonder if she is ruling by what the law says or what her agenda is.  You can find out more about Janet at her website and Facebook page.

Milwaukee County Board - District 17

For this race, I am supporting Tony Staskunas.

I'll be honest with you.  Staskunas is a little too moderate for my taste and I am disappointed that he didn't bother even setting up a Facebook page, much less a website.

But those are trivial things, especially when one takes into consideration that both of his opponents are running on the platform that they want to take away their constitutional and civil rights.

We need all boots on the ground as we fight to preserve what we can of Milwaukee County and its assets against Chris Abele's tyranny and pillaging.  The last thing we can afford is to put collaborators in place that will be more than willing to hand it over to him.