April 3, 2019

"For six weeks now Hagedorn has been mired in negative stories and controversy over his extreme views on a host of topics" — that was the story 2 weeks ago.

After Hagedorn's victory in yesterday's Wisconsin Supreme Court election, I'm reading "Vetting fail/Republicans skip background check before pushing Brian Hagedorn for Supreme Court" in the Madison newspaper Isthmus (from March 21st).
We’ve learned that back in 2006, as a married 27-year-old father of two and law student at Northwestern University, Hagedorn wrote a blog as “a fellow soldier in the culture wars,” where he condemned the 2003 U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Lawrence v. Texas, which struck down anti-sodomy laws prohibiting sex between unmarried consulting adults, be they heterosexual or homosexual. Hagedorn called the ruling a travesty that “should render laws prohibiting bestiality unconstitutional.”

He blasted Roe v. Wade as “the worst and most unjustifiable decision in history,” called Planned Parenthood a “wicked organization,” and the NAACP “a disgrace to America.”

And Hagedorn, now 40, clearly hasn’t changed his views. The press has since reported he “helped create and serves on the board of a private Christian elementary school,” whose code of conduct bars teachers, board members, students and even their parents from being in gay relationships. In fact, students can be expelled for the “immoral sexual activity” of their parents.

Hagedorn also received $1,000 per speech for three speeches in 2015, 2016 and 2017 to an organization the Southern Poverty Law Center calls a “hate group”....
Oh! The Southern Poverty Law Center. Ha ha ha. That Isthmus piece didn't age well. This low attack on Hagedorn had us thinking he was a loser. Isthmus was claiming victory early, and now we've got a 5-2 conservative majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. This was the first state-wide vote since we elected a Democratic governor last fall and ousted Scott Walker.
... Hagedorn’s views are not shared by the majority of voters, much less by younger millennials. And you can bet those views will be roasted repeatedly in attack ads by liberal third-party groups. Meanwhile Hagedorn is seeing more defectors: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce won’t be funneling money into Wisconsin to support the conservative candidate.... The most recent report by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign showed that 96 percent of all third-party spending in the race supported Hagedorn’s opponent, Lisa Neubauer....

This is 2019, and Hagedorn’s views and actions are clearly, if not aggressively, out of the mainstream. Which helps explain why Neubauer is getting more financial support and far more endorsements from the legal community than Hagedorn. Walker and the Republican establishment failed at Politics 101: check out the background of your favored candidate.
There's good schadenfreude this morning for conservatives.

And, yes, we're still in the denial phase. The news report at the Cap Times from 14 minutes ago is: "Conservative Brian Hagedorn declares victory with razor-thin margin in Wisconsin Supreme Court race." But:
Conservative Brian Hagedorn, who was Walker's chief legal counsel for five years, led liberal-backed Lisa Neubauer by 5,911 votes out of 1.2 million cast, based on unofficial results. That is a difference of about 0.49 percentage point, close enough for Neubauer to request a recount but she would have to pay for it.
I thought Neubauer was going to get a decisive win. That's how it looked in the press. I was totally surprised when Hagedorn took the lead.

111 comments:

Laslo Spatula said...

First, the press and the polls tell you what people are thinking.

Then, people vote and tell you what they are thinking.

Turns out, only one of those matter.

I am Laslo.

rehajm said...

Which helps explain why Neubauer is getting more financial support...

So wait- money doesn't buy elections?

tim in vermont said...

One side believed what they read in the press, and the other side never believes anything they read in the press. Just sayin'

Chanie said...

COLLUSION!

tim in vermont said...

“For six weeks now....” we have been in full attack mode to drag the Democrat across the line. At some point in the distant future, this is going to hurt our credibility. Naaah!

rehajm said...

It's so nice you folks in WI hold major elections every few days to help out the politically impoverished in the rest of the country.

Birches said...

Chamber of commerce is good for nothing, we've all known that for some time.

None of those views are out of the mainstream of regular people.

Just last night I told my 13 year old daughter that Georgia was banning abortion. She said good. I said, well a bunch of movie stars said they won't work here if we have the law. You won't care if they don't make another Marvel movie here? She said not really.

Ralph L said...

What was the turnout percentage in an off-off year election?

Ignorance is Bliss said...

I thought Neubauer was going to get a decisive win. That's how it looked in the press. I was totally surprised when Hagedorn took the lead.

Gell-Mann amnesia effect

rhhardin said...

The court is the wrong place to decide what should be up to voters. That's not a fringe view; it's just not in the social media echo chamber.

Birches said...

Charlie Sykes is trying to mask his disappointment on Twitter. Heh

tim in vermont said...

Ralph L said...
What was the turnout percentage in an off-off year election?


Low turnout elections often show where the energy is.

Seasoned Soul said...

It is near impossible to get a true reflection of the electorate. Just because it is written in the press does not make it true. Both sides repeat inane comments ad nauseum. Historical convention and societies built a great country not perfect but prosperous. MLKing was right in not viewing race but character as most important. Now the extremes are the the megaphone to the detriment of the majority of citizens ignoring the real problems that never get defined properly which is the only path to their solution.

Phil 314 said...

“Hagedorn’s views are not shared by the majority of voters”

Why print that when it will easily be shown to be true or false.

And if proven false, what will that say about your paper.

AllenS said...

I voted for Hagedorn yesterday. All votes count where I live.

Amadeus 48 said...

View from Dane County (79% for Neubauer): The natives are restless.

View in the rest of Wisconsin (55% for Hagedorn): We'll show those jerks in Madison who's boss.

Dane County: the NEW Cook County. Peace, order, and good government, right? It doesn't work down here, and it won't work up there.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Niebauer said she should not "be considered the Democrat candidate". But her husband was chairman of the state Dem party back on the 1990's and one of her kids is a tree hugging, wannabe divestor of fossil fuel, and Dem state assemplyman?

Dave Begley said...

In Nebraska, the governor appoints all judges. The Bar association vets them. After appointment, the judges have to stand for retention.

No campaigns. No campaign contributions.

Electing judges is a bad, bad idea.

AllenS said...

I got to the town hall to vote at about 9:30 am and was voter 121. This is a rural area.

Amadeus 48 said...

The Cap Times: everything we say about that primitive Hagedorn must be true, because if it isn't true, then what are we?

They never ask that question.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Wasn't Putin spotted up there lurking behind a voting machine?

traditionalguy said...

Perhaps the Mainstream of the culture wars never shifted. That was just a lie. But maybe the elites can use the Theresa may strategy and delay the winner's swearing in for 3 years of investigations and then demand another vote that uses ballot harvesting.

roesch/voltaire said...

I thought it would be close as the state is divided, but I didn’t think someone so low would win.

iowan2 said...

Dave Bagley, Same in Iowa. Seems like the best hybrid method. The governed get the ultimate veto power. The best feature is a non-spinnable record of the judges rulings.
Iowa tossed out some of the Supreme court judges, when the judges decided the People had no power to define marriage. So we know the system works.

gspencer said...

In addition to all those negatives about Hagedorn, rumor has it that on the rare occasion when he "helps out" with the household laundry, he mixes the solid colors in with the whites.

Hagedorn, bad for laundry, bad for Wisconsin.

Leland said...

I suspect she will still win after a count of all the votes found in the trunk of a car. Still, the media is obviously out of touch with voters if they predicted a blow out by Neubauer. Apparently, they are also out of touch with stories they wrote just weeks earlier.

gilbar said...

well, once they count the 20,000 absentee ballots filed this morning, dems will be able to breathe easy

I'm Full of Soup said...

In 2016, about 2 million votes were cast for presdient in WI. The news report indicates total votes for this judge job were 1.2 million.

Amadeus 48 said...

In Cook County, the Democratic Party vets all judges, collecting a $25,000 processing fee. Judges are elected once, and then stand for retention thereafter. In a quirk, a good friend of mine was slated by the party, and then was not elected. He was second on the ballot (a disadvantage when you are voting on 80 judges that you have never heard of, and the male winner had a gender-ambiguous given name --Lauren, I think-- (women have an advantage in judicial elections in Illinois right now on the dubious theory that they are less likely to be crooked) and positioned his marketing so that you couldn't tell if the candidate was the man or the woman in the obligatory family photos.

After you've been slated (and coughed up the $25,000), nothing bad happens to you. My friend was immediately appointed to a vacancy. That $25K is like an insurance policy, as a sleezy FBI operative once said.

Browndog said...

We all know how this is going to turn out. Just once, I'd like to see a republican hold onto their election night victory by a slim margin.

Amadeus 48 said...

Oops--that should be the Isthmus, not the Cap Times at 7:26.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

The leftwing corruption organization called the SPLC - should be shut down and it's tax exempt status ripped. It's a political hit-job mob organization - with hidden bank accounts.

AllenS said...

I don't live in Star Prairie. That is my mailing address only. I'm on Polk County, Alden Township, Osceola school district, where they wanted a lot of money for the school, and a lot of us didn't want that to happen.

Browndog said...

I thought Neubauer was going to get a decisive win. That's how it looked in the press. I was totally surprised when Hagedorn took the lead.

Gell-Mann amnesia effect


Indeed.

hawkeyedjb said...

The result is well within the margin of fraud. Tomorrow, I predict, the result will be different.

The Vault Dweller said...

Breaking news from 2003, Law Student has opinion about current and past court decisions!!!

wildswan said...

Dane County v. Wisconsin. Now we wait to see if absentee ballots "found" in Dane County put Eric Holder's candidate in.

Certain Other Commenters
I cannot tell you how incredibly stupid you seem when you spend time attacking a blog host with juvenile ugliness instead of commenting on issues. Why do you do it? I think you are Dane County leftys caught up in some private Dane County battle but smearing the right in general by pretending to be from the right.

Curious George said...

"Madison’s views are not shared by the majority of voters....This is 2019, and Madison’s views and actions are clearly, if not aggressively, out of the mainstream."

Fixed it for ya Isthmus.

Rory said...

Yeah, what goes on in Wisconsin if 5,000 votes on election night is an insurmountable lead?

glenn said...

Dear Ann: Now you know something you didn’t know before.

Chuck said...

Wonderful, wonderful news.

From here in Michigan, might I advise that all future statewide elections in Wisconsin be held in odd-numbered years?

Walker first won the governorship in a midterm year. He beat a recall in a February vote. He won re-election in another midterm year. Only in the Trump Midterm "Blue Wave" in Wisconsin and Michigan was Walker defeated.

elkh1 said...

Don' worry, Dems will always find more votes in abandoned garages to overcome 5000 votes. Heck, they can find 50,000 if they need to. There are ways too many abandoned garages in Wisconsin.

lgv said...

There should be an article coming where no journalist at the Isthmus pesronally know anyone who voted for Hagedorn.

I'm also sure that the straw poll at the Isthmus had Neubauer with 98% of the vote, higher than the Sadam in his last election.

It's the mini-bubble effect.

AllenS said...

Polk County WI (where I live)

Hagedorn, Brian 5,036 59.14 %

Neubauer, Lisa 3,479 40.86 %

Curious George said...

I Was hopeful when I was 132 at 1 PM in Milwaukee and a friend was 654 in a Republican stronghold.

I find this kinda sad. "I thought Neubauer was going to get a decisive win. That's how it looked in the press."

AllenS said...

St Croix County WI (where Star Prairie is)

Hagedorn, Brian 7,329 55.25 %

Neubauer, Lisa 5,937 44.75 %

Chuck said...

By the way; Hagedorn's inclusion of the notion of bestiality as a subject of public moral disapprobation codified in law, as part of the discussion of Lawrence v Texas is something that was not too outrageous to be discussed by Justice Scalia, in a dissent published in the case as well as a speech at Princeton, as published in the ABA Journal:

http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/scalia_explains_why_he_compares_sodomy_bans_to_murder_laws/

Anonymous said...

It is a problem when disagreement with the law of the land set out in Lawrence v. Texas and acting in private on Christian beliefs about homosexuality and marriage constitute "extreme" views. The press wholly fail to recognize the extent of such disagreement and beliefs because among the press such disagreement and belief are considered to be bigotry. Only deplorables could believe such things. You will be made to care.

AllenS said...

Wisconsin has 72 counties and Neubauer won 21 of them.

AlbertAnonymous said...

“Vetting fail - Republicans skip background check before pushing Brian Hagedorn for Supreme Court.”

Doesn’t sound like a “fail” at all. Now if it had come out publicly late in the race and he lost... then it may have been a fail.

Wishful thinking by a liberal press maybe?

MadisonMan said...

I'm disappointed with the School Board results in Madison -- I think there is a real danger of GroupThink now.

We'll see how the new Mayor fares. I didn't vote for her, but my enthusiasm for Soglin was meager.

tim maguire said...

You mean the press in Wisconsin lets their biases color their reporting?!

Say it ain't so, Joe!

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“We’ve learned that back in 2006, as a married 27-year-old father of two and law student at Northwestern University, Hagedorn wrote a blog as “a fellow soldier in the culture wars,” where he condemned the 2003 U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Lawrence v. Texas, which struck down anti-sodomy laws prohibiting sex between unmarried consulting adults, be they heterosexual or homosexual. Hagedorn called the ruling a travesty that “should render laws prohibiting bestiality unconstitutional.”

He blasted Roe v. Wade as “the worst and most unjustifiable decision in history,” called Planned Parenthood a “wicked organization,” and the NAACP “a disgrace to America.”

And Hagedorn, now 40, clearly hasn’t changed his views. The press has since reported he “helped create and serves on the board of a private Christian elementary school,” whose code of conduct bars teachers, board members, students and even their parents from being in gay relationships. In fact, students can be expelled for the “immoral sexual activity” of their parents.”-Isthmus
————————-
None of those views are out of the mainstream of regular people.-birches
——————————
Meanwhile in Brunei...where “regular” people rule...

“Brunei is enacting strict new Islamic laws that make gay sex and adultery punishable by stoning to death, despite fierce global condemnation.

The tiny, Muslim-majority kingdom in 2014 became the first East Asian country to adopt Sharia law at a national level and it introduced the legislation and associated penalties in stages, with the new measures set to begin Wednesday, April 3.

Under stages two and three of the penal code, sex between two men and adultery both carry a punishment of stoning to death, while sex between two women is punishable with 100 lashes.

The law also introduces harsh penalties such as amputation of limbs for stealing, and imprisonment for dressing as someone of a different gender.”

Professional lady said...

We were in Wisconsin when the whole Walker recall thing was going on. We went to Madison to go to the Veteran's Museum. All the signs supported Walker's removal. We drove south to north through the entire state and came home to Michigan through the UP (upper peninsula for all you non Michiganders). Save Madison and Milwaukee, every single sign we saw was in support of Walker. Madison is a little island to itself. It's pretty and pleasant enough, but from what I've read about the taxes and schools (mostly on this blog), I wouldn't want to live there.

Roger Sweeny said...

I thought Neubauer was going to get a decisive win. That's how it looked in the press. I was totally surprised when Hagedorn took the lead.

If you had relied on Instapundit for your coverage of the 2012 campaign, you would have thought Romney would win fairly easily. I suspect the Wisconsin media is as reliably "left" as Instapundit is reliably "right". Which seems to mean that their coverage will be skewed and unreliable.

Jessica said...

I have a friend who knows Hagedorn personally. Says he is a great guy. Smart, kind, funny, generous. Good for him.

Vet66 said...

With all the beauty in your putative state, Springtime looming, can't you find some beauty in your state that transcends transitory politics? How about singing a few verses of "Farmer In the Dell" or something to do with Cheese....

mtrobertslaw said...

I watched the debate between Hagedorn and Neubauer. Neubauer would have been a brilliant justice. Every time she was asked what her judicial philosophy is she replied: "315 Circuit Court judges have endorsed me." Very few appellate judges have an understanding of the law that is that profound.

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

I'll bet Governor Cadavers is rolling over in his grave this morning.

Great win for Wisconsin!

MadisonMan said...

With all the beauty in your putative state

What's putative about it?

We do need some more flower emergence before the ugly grunge of late winter has been left behind.

HoodlumDoodlum said...

I thought about a related issue this morning: the way the Media talks about "money in politics" depends entirely upon the party, and they're not even trying to hide it.

Hillary's campaign outspent Trump's by more than 2-1. Her campaign spent around 3 times as much on ads as his did. The super PAC spending advantage was around 3 to 1 as well (somewhere around $140M to $40M). She beat him in almost every category of "big donor" I can find...and yet I do not remember a single news story about how all that money was distorting the race or unfairly tilting the field! Does anyone doubt that would have been a main story line had Trump been the one with the money advantage??

Seeing Red said...

Feingold covered this. It’s not over until the demon rats say it is.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

roll out the D's never lose a recount cheat machine. Count until you win.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

I live in Ozaukee County now and saw Hagedorn signs everywhere. There were long lines at the polls when I voted yesterday morning.

I also spotted some Neubauer signs in Port Washington. I note that liberals there feel free to put up signs for Dems without fear that those signs will be ripped up or their cars will be keyed.

When I lived in Shorewood and put up a sign for Walker during the recall, someone threw a rock at my living room window.

It's almost like conservatives are more tolerant and civilized than leftist barbarians.

And I agree with those who said it's not over until it's over. We all know how talented Democrats are when it comes to "finding" extra votes in Milwaukee.

Swede said...

I'm beginning to think the press isn't very good at elections.

Covering them, predicting them, being honest about them...

bagoh20 said...

I disagree with some of his views, but I like it when the candidate showered with money loses. You out there, Hillary?

Rocketeer said...

I thought it would be close as the state is divided, but I didn’t think someone so low would win.

I beseech you, in the bowls of Christ, think it possible you may be the low one.

Birches said...

FYI, Althouse and Meade, my comment that was removed was not directed at the person I know not to engage with, it was directed at the person who implied I longed for Sharia law in a long comment that still stands and quotes my first comment.

Rick said...

What do you think? Two recounts before the Dem wins? Or three?

Rick said...

Meanwhile in Brunei...where “regular” people rule...

Ah, the court fool pretends a hereditary monarch from another country is "regular people".

Protip: if your political attack requires this to be true it's an admission your political attack is nonsense.

Greg Q said...

"There's good schadenfreude this morning for conservatives."

He's replacing Shirley Abrahamson. There's GREAT schadenfreude this morning for conservatives.

"Hagedorn was also paid $3,000 to give speeches at meetings of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a group that supported criminalizing sodomy and sterilizing transgender people."

I call bullshit.


Compare and contrast:
When bragging how their side will win:
The most recent report by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign showed that 96 percent of all third-party spending in the race supported Hagedorn’s opponent, Lisa Neubauer.


When looking at their side losing:
Former Democratic U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's group committed to spending $350,000 to help Neubauer win. A host of conservative groups, including Americans for Prosperity that is part of the Koch network, matched Democratic outside spending to help Hagedorn.

Hmm, so in "Madison math" 4% "matches" 96%?


"This is 2019, and Hagedorn’s views and actions are clearly, if not aggressively, out of the mainstream. Which helps explain why Neubauer is getting more financial support and far more endorsements from the legal community than Hagedorn."

It appears that it is the "legal community" whose "views and actions are clearly, if not aggressively, out of the mainstream." No?


"What was the turnout?"
Turnout was strong at nearly 27%, beating the 2018 Supreme Court turnout of 22%.


Blogger rhhardin said...
The court is the wrong place to decide what should be up to voters. That's not a fringe view; it's just not in the social media echo chamber.

And having a conservative majority on the Court means that legal actions by elected officials will continue to get put into effect.

Which is opposite what would happen if the lefties won.

So we can all celebrate

Greg Q said...

Blogger Rick said...
What do you think? Two recounts before the Dem wins? Or three?

That is a difference of about 0.49 percentage point, close enough for Neubauer to request a recount but she would have to pay for it.

The last statewide election [recount] was for the presidential race in 2016. That cost local election clerks $2 million, which is more than the $1.7 million Neubauer raised during the entire Supreme Court campaign. However, those costs included overtime for clerks who had to count nearly 2.9 million votes, more than double the 1.2 million cast in this year's Supreme Court race.


IOW, stop being Gloomy Gus'es.

Original Mike said...

We're not in the recount window yet. We're still in the "found ballots" window.

buwaya said...

Its interesting, but probably to be expected, that the old left and cultural avant garde have been reluctant to grasp, or more often admit, that they are part of the economically dominant "establishment".

It is all about posing as the advocates for some segment of the oppressed, while possessing all the socio-cultural-economic commanding heights, which in their model is the very establishment that is doing the oppressing. It is of course logically disjointed.

Hence complaints about the nature of some small Christian school, supported by a local and distant segment of the relatively powerless middle class. This is apparently of great importance, while the behavior of massive public educational systems and of the great mass of both public and private universities are not.

On an individual level one can of course blame the individual for lack of perspective, and indeed a blindness to what he himself is writing. Much of this is due to being in a cultural bubble where they are unused to argument, so are unaccustomed to even questioning themselves.

On a larger scale, perspective, reason and logic are not relevant, as such writings are merely political messages intended to serve a purpose. There is no need to entertain questions or be prepared to conduct an apologia.

buwaya said...

Brunei is an interesting place. My sister has been there twice at least. It is of course an absolute monarchy, but one where the monarchs and the administrative structures of the crown traditionally have been benevolent, that is, responsive to the popular will.

In this case re sharia the powers that be have accommodated the tide of Islamic reform sweeping the world. The same tide that has passed through all of Southeast Asia over the last 40 years is having a belated impact on Brunei. Why the Bruneian measures have raised such a fuss while other impacts on much larger minorities in Malaysia and Indonesia against all non-Muslims, mainly Chinese, in these enormously larger nations, pass amost without notice ...

Sebastian said...

"I thought Neubauer was going to get a decisive win. That's how it looked in the press. I was totally surprised when Hagedorn took the lead."

I won't celebrate until he gets sworn in, but: Althouse's comment illustrates the extent of liberal hegemony. This is not at all meant as a criticism of her, but it is striking that someone who keeps up, who reads a variety of media, and who is skeptical about favored narratives is so surprised. Prog propaganda is powerful and pervasive. It surrounds us. Fortunately, the public is not entirely bamboozled just yet.

buwaya said...

There is no end to the absurd situations brought up in these pieces, seen with perspective. The SPLC, with assets of a half-billion or more, probably, plus the alliances and goodwill of every powerful American institution, justifies its existence by persecuting groups of powerless people that can raise, between them all, a couple of million at best. Its the mighty sledgehammer against a few flies.

Mark said...

No surprise about Hagedorn. That 7 figure ad buy in the last week got the 5,000 votes he needed.

Neubauer spent a lot ahead of time, Hagedorn got a lot of late funding.

hombre said...

God is alive and well and may even return to Wisconsin if a majority of its citizens recognize that despite media spin the intent of the left is to kill babies, confiscate guns, ground airplanes, neuter Israel, turn female sports, locker rooms and restrooms over to males, end coal and oil production, plug cow’s rectums, etc., and that lefty judges will make it possible.

gerry said...

Inga at 8:33:
Meanwhile in Brunei...where “regular” people rule...

“Brunei is enacting strict new Islamic laws that make gay sex and adultery punishable by stoning to death, despite fierce global condemnation.

The tiny, Muslim-majority kingdom in 2014 became the first East Asian country to adopt Sharia law at a national level and it introduced the legislation and associated penalties in stages, with the new measures set to begin Wednesday, April 3.

Under stages two and three of the penal code, sex between two men and adultery both carry a punishment of stoning to death, while sex between two women is punishable with 100 lashes.

The law also introduces harsh penalties such as amputation of limbs for stealing, and imprisonment for dressing as someone of a different gender.”


I am guessing (it's hard to tell with constantly shifting relative truthers) that Inga means to contrast Bircher's remark None of those views are out of the mainstream of regular people with developments in Brunei.

Inga, you must know that "In October 2013, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah announced his intention to impose Penal Code from the Sharia law on the country's Muslims, which make up roughly two thirds of the country's population.[73] This would be implemented in three phases, culminating in 2016, and making Brunei the first and only country in East Asia to introduce Sharia law into its penal code."

The sultan is not "regular" people. He is a member of the elite in Brunei. The elite...you know, people like the elite in the Democrat Socialist party and the Progressives of the Democrat Party who want to impose their ideas upon everyone who they regard as "deplorables". The elite you support, right, Inga?

tommyesq said...

I will take up Birches' defense to she-who-shall-not-be-named's comments re Brunei - there is a world of difference between desiring to have morality-based laws and desiring that one found guilty of violating such laws be stoned to death. Also, there is a world of difference between noting the slippery-slope potential of certain court decisions and wanting to dismember those who would have violated such laws. In other words, your argument is a fallacious.

According to Wikipedia, "A fallacious argument may be deceptive by appearing to be better than it really is. Some fallacies are committed intentionally to manipulate or persuade by deception, while others are committed unintentionally due to carelessness or ignorance." I leave it to the commentariate to decide which applies here.

tommyesq said...

I am surprised that no one has commented on Hagedorn's lack of experience - he was a law student in 2006, and just 13 years later is a member of the state's highest court?

roesch/voltaire said...

Interesting that 98% of the judges endorsed Neubauer, but Hagedorn did get a lot of money from the Koch network and endorsement from the NRA--his victory does not bode well for Wisconsin middle class in my opinion.

DarkHelmet said...

Lawrence and Roe were social legislation masquerading as legal decisions.

Assuming the count can withstand the usual Democrat shenanigans this is a great, great day for Wisconsin.

MadisonMan said...

Hagedorn did get a lot of money from the Koch network and endorsement from the NRA--his victory does not bode well for Wisconsin middle class in my opinion.

Is there evidence that those bogeymen Koch and the NRA have less interest in the middle class of Wisconsin than the out-of-staters who threw money in the other direction? Because I haven't seen it.

I'm happy when anyone from out of state throws money into Wisconsin, FWIW. This means that WI is not laboring under the horrible yoke of single-party rule, like some nearby states are.

buwaya said...

Perspective, Roesch.

What mighty non-grassroots sources did the Democrat get money from?
Why are the Koch’s so unique? Class analysis is class analysis no?

As for the NRA, going by class analysis, as they are nearly entirely funded by small individual donations and moreover that they support what amounts to a series of cottage industries ( the firearms industry is exactly that, in perspective), makes them the most grass-roots, genuinely representative of what remains of US “mediating institutions”. Their critics are in comparison partisans of the mass of anti-populist hegemons. Opposition to the NRA is more about class-warfare than anything else. The hegemony wants submission.

mikee said...

You must remember, Althouse, that any razor thin Republican victory can best be described as "above the margin of Democratic vote fraud" rather than anything resembling voter preferences.

Original Mike said...

Blogger MadisonMan said..."I'm happy when anyone from out of state throws money into Wisconsin, FWIW. This means that WI is not laboring under the horrible yoke of single-party rule, like some nearby states are."

Illinois is so screwed. I don't know what, exactly, happens when their debt situation comes home to roost, but I can't imagine it's going to be good.

We're going to need a wall...

Yancey Ward said...

Ms. Althouse, what if the election had been two weeks ago? What big event nationally happened in the intervening two weeks?

Yancey Ward said...

A 6000 vote lead probably won't survive a recount if only Milwaukee is recounted. This is prime time for Democratic strongholds.

Rick said...

Hagedorn did get a lot of money from the Koch network and endorsement from the NRA

A Left winger admits money isn't corrupting, that's just sophistry for the rubes. It's the source of money that matters: anything not left wing or supporting freedom is a problem.

Yancey Ward said...

Like others above- I rate the chances of Hageborn actually winning a recount at less than 5%. Democrats in Florida were well on their way to overcoming 100,000 vote margins in post election count counts this past Fall. Fraudulent recounts are getting easier to operate.

Also, there will be plenty of money posted for a recount.

tim in vermont said...

Students of advanced philosophy like Roesch know that the best way to analyze any situation is to locate the boogey man, wherever the boogey man is, you know that side is evil.

As Aristotle himself noted, the best way to identify the true boogey man is the cut yourself off from half the information, that way, you are not confronted with the task of sorting through what is true and what is false, you just believe everything people tell you, it will add up in a simple and direct way to the Truth with a capital ’T.’ Plus you will always know who the boogey man is because they will tell you, and you never need question their motives.

Roesch leaned this at his book club of super geniuses.

Greg Q said...

Yancey:

It's much easier to goose your totals with votes found in the trunk of a car, than with recounts.

The WI 2016 recount didn't significantly change the results, and now that Hageborn has won, those on the Right who weren't willing to support him during the race are going to be eager to prove their value, to their supporters, by stepping up during the recount and backing Hageborn.

Hageborn will be replacing Shirley Abrahamson. Celebrate!

Yancey Ward said...

Greg Q,

I hope you are correct, but I don't expect the lead to hold. Democrats play to win these things. 10 years ago, this lead would have been safe- fraud on that level was unacceptable even to Democrats. That commonality is gone.

Greg Q said...

Last Judicial recount:

Following the correction, Prosser gained a lead over Kloppenburg. On April 15, 2011, the Government Accountability Board certified Prosser as the winner of the election with a vote margin of 7,136 votes.

On April 20, Kloppenburg filed a request for a recount because Prosser’s 0.488% margin of victory was below the 0.5% threshold required for recounts at the time. On May 23, the Government Accountability Board completed the recount and certified Prosser as the winner.

The final count found Prosser leading Kloppenburg by 7,004 votes, a 0.46% margin of victory


2016 WI Presidential recount:
Wisconsin's recount was completed and its results certified early on December 12, well before the state-imposed 8:00pm deadline that same day. Clinton increased her vote total in the state by 713 votes, while Trump increased his by 844, widening his lead by 131 votes over the original November 8 count and reaffirming his victory there. Wisconsin Elections Commission Chairman Mark Thomsen stated that the recount had uncovered no evidence that any of the state's voting machines had been hacked or otherwise tampered with.[10][16]


Should we hold their feet to the fire? yes.

But no, they're not going to be able to steal this one. +6k votes is outside the margin of recount fraud, at least in WI.

Jim at said...

This was the first state-wide vote since we elected a Democratic governor last fall and ousted Scott Walker.

But, but I was told - right here in these comments - that Walker's loss was a sure sign that Trump was done. And we were idiots to ignore the obvious.

What happened?

Jim at said...

Conservative wins a Supreme Court seat in Wisconsin. Political genius immediately compares him to the Sultan of Brunei.

'Regular' people point and laugh.

Anthony said...

Well, a recount would assure her victory so I would expect her to do it.

All those "missing" ballots are just waiting to be "found" donchaknow.

Martin said...

"I thought Neubauer was going to get a decisive win. That's how it looked in the press. I was totally surprised when Hagedorn took the lead."

Of course you were, and if you were inclined to support Hagedorn it was all supposed to make you feel hopeless and discourage you from voting.

I disagree with him about Roe v. Wade. Roe was a terrible decision as a matter of legal practice, even Ruth Bader Ginsburg has said as much (while being pleased with the outcome), but for judicial malpractice it is behind Dredd Scott v. Sandford.

Steven said...

It's a sad day when blatant Islamophobia is being spread by moral and intellectual giants.

Rabel said...

"I thought Neubauer was going to get a decisive win. That's how it looked in the press."

A lot of liberal Wisconsinites bought that narrative and stayed home. The best laid plans...

Michael The Magnificent said...

Mechanic: Somebody set up us the bomb.
Operator: Main screen turn on.
CATS: All your Supreme Court seats are belong to us.
CATS: You have no chance to survive make your time.
Captain: Move 'ZIG'.
Captain: For great justice.

RK said...

The Media never stops thinking it can choose our politicians and judges for us.

Dad29 said...

I don't know what, exactly, happens when their debt situation comes home to roost, but I can't imagine it's going to be good.

Sometime between now and cataclysm (for both IL. and CA.) there will be a Democrat House, Senate, and President. At that time, the US will assume the liabilities of those states. Yup, YOU will pay their debts.

As to the topic: where I vote in SE Wisconsin, I noticed that voter volume was up quite a bit from the Dallett election. That led me to believe that Hagedorn could pull it off.

As to the Isthmus/MadisonRag problem: yes, it's the 79% (D) voter base out there. They are literally sinking in the quicksand of Leftism. Dane, MKE, and the Mississippi River counties are the only consistently-Democrat vote nests in the State.

Dad29 said...

Well, OK, then: Milwaukee, too. But note well: Milwaukee County supplied the largest number of Hagedorn votes of ANY County in Wisconsin.

Oh, yes, the Res county and the Lake Superior counties.

Titus said...

He sounds awful and has hideous hair, natch.

Blue@9 said...

I thought Neubauer was going to get a decisive win. That's how it looked in the press. I was totally surprised when Hagedorn took the lead.

This shit keeps happening to the Left. Are they ever going to realize that they're eating up propaganda?

"I was 100% sure Hillary would win in a landslide. Everyone said Trump couldn't win!"

"I was so shocked when Mueller found no collusion. I was certain Trump was guilty, everyone said so on the news."

This shit is tragicomic by now

Original Mike said...

Blogger Dad29 said...Sometime between now and cataclysm (for both IL. and CA.) there will be a Democrat House, Senate, and President. At that time, the US will assume the liabilities of those states. Yup, YOU will pay their debts."

Yeah, I know. Outrageous, but wholly predictable.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“Conservative wins a Supreme Court seat in Wisconsin. Political genius immediately compares him to the Sultan of Brunei.”

Wrong again, you retarded gnat. I compared nice normal “birches” with the nice normal people in Brunei.

Phil 314 said...

"Interesting that 98% of the judges endorsed Neubauer, but Hagedorn did get a lot of money from the Koch network and endorsement from the NRA--his victory does not bode well for Wisconsin middle class in my opinion."

David Koch is pro-choice, supports gay rights; just not Democrats

I'm confused.