Ruth Conniff, head editor of Wisconsin Examiner, was on with Chris Hayes to discuss how Wisconsin Republicans are threatening to impeach newly sworn in Justice Janet Protasiewicz even before she's heard her first case as a Supreme Court Justice.
In a nutshell, the official reason for the Republicans going to this extreme are their allegations that Protasiewicz has already prejudged cases that are pending before the Supreme Court regarding the gerrymandering done by the GOP in 2011 and again in 2021. They said of this, Protasiewicz must recuse herself or they will impeach her.
In reality, they are deathly terrified that Protasiewicz would rule against them and order fair districting maps be drawn. If this were to happen, Wisconsin would have much more fair elections where everyone gets to have a vote. And as we all know, when people are allowed to vote, Republicans lose. In order to prevent this from democracy being restored, the GOP is willing to go to any extreme to neutralize Protasiewicz.
When Robbin' Robin Vos, Speaker of the Assembly, made his statement, it sure sounded like he should have been wearing a pin-striped suit andd a fedora, saying, "Nice court youse got here. It would be a shame if something happened to it."
Speaker Robin Vos on GOP considering impeachment if Justice Janet Protasiewicz doesn't recuse herself from maps case: "To me that is a pretty clear violation of the way that all of America works as opposed to not pre-judging cases and would be one we would have to discuss..." pic.twitter.com/q7PlSDN0yd
— Matt Smith (@mattsmith_news) August 29, 2023
This probably won't come as a shock to the gentle reader, but the GOP is full of shit.
First, look at what Protasiewicz really said in her campaign:
In January, Protasiewicz called the state's legislative maps "rigged" in a public forum and in March, she told Capital Times reporters in a podcast interview she would "enjoy taking a fresh look at the gerrymandering question."
"They do not reflect people in this state. I don't think you could sell any reasonable person that the maps are fair," Protasiewicz, a former Milwaukee County judge, said in the January forum. "I can't tell you what I would do on a particular case, but I can tell you my values, and the maps are wrong."
Secondly, she said that before the election in April. The two lawsuits regarding the gerrymandering weren't even filed until August. Now, Protasiewicz might be good, but good enough to decide cases months before the petitions were even written, much less filed? No one is that good.
One thing that Hayes and Conniff didn't get to is that the attorneys in the two redistricting cases that were filed in August have already filed arguments against the GOP maneuver:
One motion objecting to Protasiewicz’s recusal argued that such a move would be unsupported by fact or law and “it would be contrary to her duties as a justice on the Supreme Court.”
“Unhappy with this electoral result, which they could not prevent through gerrymandering, (Republicans) now seek to nullify the results and pick their Justices,” said the filing from Law Forward, a Madison-based liberal law firm, the Stafford Rosenbaum law firm, Election Law Clinic at Harvard Law School, Campaign Legal Center, and the Arnold & Porter law firm.
To a rationale human being, it would seem that the GOP doesn't have a leg to stand on. But as we have seen all too often in Wisconsin, what the law actually says is irrelevant to the GOP.
Oh, and has a little extra outrage to this exercise in fascism, the GOP has already cut blank checks to the outside law firms representing them in the redistricting cases. Even before the first hearing, their flailings at keeping a chokehold on the state, taxpayers are on the hook for up to $2 million. Or should I say, the first $2 million. Because the GOP stole their seats fair and square and they aren't about to give them back to the people so easily.
