SUPREME COURT RACE

SUPREME COURT RACE, (Frazer Chronicles)

The afternoon of April 6th. 2011 might go down in Wisconsin history as only the 6th time a sitting Supreme Court justice has been unseated by a challenger. Since the court was created in 1852, a challenger has knocked out a sitting justice only in 1855, 1908, 1947, 1967 and 2008. The campaign race was marked by several issues, the hottest of which was Governor Scott Walker's plans to wipe away state workers right to collectively bargain for almost everything except wages.

In a surprise move, huge voter turnout has brought into question the ability of the court to judge in an unbiased manner and to make decisions based solely on the issues at hand. This voter turnout points to at least two issues that are troubling to me, (1)  party politics and (2) Republican policies.

Number (1), to my way of thinking, politics has little to do with the way a Justice votes on issues brought before the court. Now before you start laughing, hear me out. The courts and the meandering path that they take, are nothing more then rungs on a ladder. The higher a case goes, the more empowered their decision is, right up to the Supreme Court of the United States. The decisions handed down can at least be the statute of a state and at most can be the law of the land.

As citizens we invariably rely on the court system to render just verdicts, even if those verdicts do not always meet within the personal beliefs of a court member. Justices are suppose to view issues with a clear unbiased eye and sometimes vote with their mind and not their heart. It is critical that our courts do this service, to us, the people of the state.

Number (2), clearly this hotly contested race has brought into question some of the Republican policies that have been initiated over the past two months. The Democrats and Republicans remind me of two  kids fighting back in the 'hood. You know, "I want it this way, no, I want it my way," and they just keep on going, one side making an offer, the other side belittling the idea and offering their own.

Shut up and sit down at a table and talk the issue out,  don't you realize how silly you look to the public. To most of us you politicians look like a bunch of whores when you campaign, holding out for the highest bidder for your services.

Nobody likes change and that is what is being offered in a threatening way by the new Republican administration. We are not your children and are not in need of any sort of paternalism to care for us. The citizens of Wisconsin are your equals and don't need to be schooled about our financial deficit and the shortfall of funds. We understand.

Those folks that don't understand, (you know who you are) are, well....to damn dumb to catch the financial mess and won't get the gravity of the issue anyways. The shortfall of money didn't happen overnight, and wasn't caused by one party, it was a group effort that we now must deal with.

I am sick and tired about how my children, or my grand kids are brought into the conversation about "not having it as good as we did." I don't give a damn how my kids, or grandchildren make out, I'm worried about myself and how I'm going to make out.  If we collectively cared about our children and their future, we clearly wouldn't have kicked the can down the road, "another sickening phrase."

I have read Paul Ryan's "The Path to Prosperity, Restoring America's Promise," and quite frankly I don't get it. I have listened and read what I can about Governor Scott Walker's "Wisconsin Repair Budget," and that I also don't get. Both sound kinda like "rookie hot shoots." Both treat their constituents like buffoons, unable to grasp what is going on in the country and state. Let me assure both that the vast majority of Americans know what you are up to. Both covet higher office and for that, shame on both of you.

If Kloppenburg unseats Justice Prosser, what is "Sleepy" Walker going to do, remain on his mandate given him last November by Wisconsin voters. Well I guess so, you know, you can fool some of the, no wait, you already did that. As for Ryan, "the man who would be king" if  he and his party do slay Medicare, I will sit back in my easy chair and watch a bigger meltdown then any we have ever seen in our country's history.

The promise of Wisconsin and America are infinitely tied together, we work hard, play hard and are proud as Peacocks. We don't give a crap about our politicians goals and the rhetoric that is spurred by those goals. Quite simply we allow you your platform, we know what you do and know it is part of the price we pay for living the lives that we lead. Way down deep, where few people go, we know your game and want to remain disconnected to that knowledge, but don't piss us off or there will be hell to pay.