Late on Friday, Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz issued a ruling on the GQP's request to recuse herself from a couple of gerrymandering cases or else they were going to impeach her.
She very politely told the GQP mafia to take their request and insert it sideways into their collective rectum:
"Recusal decisions are controlled by the law. They are not a matter of personal preference. If precedent requires it, I must recuse. But if precedent does not warrant recusal, my oathbinds me to participate," Protasiewicz wrote in an order released Friday evening.
"Strict adherence to the law is especially important here. This recusal motion has been filed by a co-equal branch of government. I take its request seriously. I also appreciate that this motion has engendered strong feelings in some quarters among people of good faith."
Protasiewicz said she "searched the law books — and my conscience — to ensure a correct and impartial ruling." In her order, she cites conservative jurists including U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, state Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley and former justice David Prosser.
So, now, the ball is back in the GQP's court. Speaker Robin Vos has only stated that he needs to talk to their private attorney before making a decision. But the article did include this interesting tidbit:
At the same time, none of the 64 Republican members of the Assembly committed to voting "yes" to impeach Protasiewicz when surveyed by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last month. All 35 Democratic members have pledged to vote no, and one Republican — Rep. Scott Johnson of Jefferson — has joined in that decision.
In other words, if Vos is serious about his threat, it sounds like he'll have to first strong arm most of the members of his own caucus to go along with it.
Oh, and it should be noted that shortly after Protasiewicz issued her order denying the request to recuse, the four liberal justices voted to accept and hear at least one of the redistricting lawsuits.
The Republican heads exploding all over the state have been quite entertaining, to say the least.
