OPINION:
While the bogus indictment of former President Donald Trump dominated the headlines last week, conservatives suffered a stinging defeat in the all-important battleground state of Wisconsin. Liberal Judge Janet Protasiewicz handily defeated former Justice Daniel Kelly in the race for an open seat on the state Supreme Court.
Out-of-state donors like George Soros spent heavily and early in the race. By the time many conservatives woke up to the situation, the left had already cemented their message with the electorate.
Historically, judicial races in Wisconsin were about legal experience and credibility. Justice-elect Protasiewicz instead ran her efforts like a congressional campaign. Spring elections are typically about turning out the base of voters. She appealed to them by talking about her views on our state’s Act 10 reforms, redistricting, school choice, abortion, and many other issues.
Twelve years’ worth of pent-up frustration on the left was unleashed in this one election. Turnout surged in places like Madison, Milwaukee, and on college campuses across Wisconsin. Her message was simple: If you don’t like these common-sense conservative reforms, vote for me and I’ll tip the balance of the high court against them. That message also appealed to a significant number of out-of-state donors who fueled her fundraising advantage over the judicial conservative Justice Kelly.
Many national groups on the right were caught snoozing until near the end. At that point, it was almost impossible to counter the months of attack ads. In addition, Justice Kelly was insistent on running a traditional campaign on his merits as a jurist. Noble, but hardly a match for the turnout message of her campaign.
Judge Protasiewicz’s elevation to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in August will do more than put all our positive reforms at risk in the state. During the campaign, she made it clear she opposes the maps drawn for legislative and congressional boundaries. Adopting a radically partisan map could put anywhere from one to three House seats in play. If 2024 is a tight election cycle, that could directly impact who serves as the Speaker of the House in the next session. In addition, decisions by the Supreme Court that wipe out the legal requirement to show a photo ID to vote and that mandate drop boxes for ballots could all impact who is elected President in the key State of Wisconsin in 2024.
One of the big issues in the election was abortion. Judge Protasiewicz’s ads made it clear she believes in abortion on demand. She implied that her election might return the state to the former Roe v. Wade status.
Unless Justice-elect Protasiewicz can convince three of her future colleagues to join her in making an entirely new legal standard, the real question between the Wisconsin Supreme Court will likely be whether the total ban from 1849 is the law or the 20-week prohibition I signed as Governor is the law. Ironically, a decision by the high court to uphold the protection of life after 20-weeks law might actually move the issue off of the center stage in future elections as the measure has much broader support across the electorate.
If the court goes further on this issue and several others, it creates a real problem, as future elections will be viewed as an affirmation or rejection of specific policies instead of who is most capable of upholding the Constitution. A move to reject the reforms in Act 10–that took power from the union bosses and restored it to the hard-working taxpayers—could open the door to future justices acting to reject policies passed by Democrat lawmakers and signed by a Democrat Governor. The courts are no place for politics.
In addition, a move to restore collective bargaining under the guise of a Constitutional right (it is not a right, but an expensive entitlement) would take money from the classroom and hurt students. This would finally reveal the fight against our reforms was really about power and not about children.
The election in Wisconsin this week is a vivid reminder that what happens at the local and state level is often more important than what takes place at the federal level. Put another way, what happens in your house is often more important than what happens in the White House. Liberals figured that out decades ago, and it is about time conservatives did the same.
One more important lesson. Younger voters are moving to the left.
The issue is more complicated than one issue, and it will certainly not be addressed with more clever digital ads. The problem is years of liberal indoctrination.
Schools, colleges, and social media are drowning out any of the logical arguments made by conservatives. Once burned in, they are very difficult to change. To save the republic, we must find ways to reach more students at younger ages and with an even better message than ever before for us to win. We must persist for freedom.
• Scott Walker is president of Young America’s Foundation and served as the 45th governor of Wisconsin from 2011 to 2019.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.