They don’t get much bigger. On April 5 - this Tuesday - Wisconsinites will go to the polls to determine the balance of the State Supreme Court and, ultimately, the fate of the Wisconsin taxpayer. Currently, the court breaks 4-3, conservative/liberal, but with the election of Joanne Kloppenburg, the challenger to
incumbent Dave Prosser, this will change.
How? Well,
according to Kloppenburg, “The events of the last few weeks have put into sharp relief how important the Supreme Court is as a check on overreach in other branches of government.”
And unions are excited. In fact, a
letter sent out by the American Federation of Teachers states that: “a Kloppenburg victory will swing the balance to our side. A vote for Prosser is a vote for Walker. It’s time to ‘get even.’”
Indeed. Slandering Justice Prosser, running
misleading ads, and pushing a martial political vendetta, unions are turning a sleepy election into Custer’s Last Stand.
And it isn’t because they “care about children.” It’s because they hate “choice.” As the Wall Street Journal
observes:
In 2001, Utah made the collection of union payments to political funds optional, and nearly 95% of public school teachers opted not to pay. In 2005, Indiana GOP Governor Mitch Daniels limited collective-bargaining rights for public employees, and today only 5% of state employees pay union dues.
Ouch. When government workers begin to see fatter checks, it’s game over.
And so the question is, will Wisconsin be Kloppenburged? The typical turn-out in off-year elections is low. For the sake of Justice Prosser and the taxpayer of Wisconsin, let’s hope it’s not lower than the unions themselves.
