State Supreme Court
- Mike Gableman and Louis Butler. As part of its successful effort to make the ideological make-up of the state Supreme Court into a majority of justices who support a conservative, anti-corporate accountability agenda, WMC ran over $2 million in advertisements to ensure the election of Gableman. These both inflated the credentials of then-Burnett County District Attorney and Supreme Court candidate Mike Gableman, as well as offered misleading information about then-Justice Louis Butler.
- Supporting Gableman. WMC ran pro-Gableman radio, television ads and sent mailers which touted Gableman’s experience as District Attorney and cited the number of sheriffs and district attorneys endorsing Gableman.
WATCH: WMC's ad "Gableman: Tough Judge"
Click for the WMC Watch Fact Check about WMC's 'Tough Judge' ad -
Opposing Butler. The negative ads attacking the record and credentials of Louis Butler were among the most notorious ever done by WMC. Twisting a number of cases in which Butler was involved, the ads were blasted by non-partisan watchdogs and media from across the state and even made national news.
The ads were described as “false” and “misleading” and even a “deceptive attack upon Wisconsin’s tradition of fair and impartial courts.” One watchdog suggested WMC’s lawyers may have violated the Wisconsin Rules of Professional Conduct and the Attorney’s Oath for “epithets” directed at Butler.
WATCH: WMC's ad "Loophole Louie" - Comparing Gableman and Butler. Printed materials presented both candidates experience, using categories like “Prosecutorial,” in which WMC said Butler had none and Gableman had much, and “Criminal defense” where Butler had much and Gableman none. The piece also characterized Butler’s judicial philosophy as “activist” – a buzzword used by conservatives to attack non-conservative judges.
- Deploying 'Impartial Experts.' WMC produced and distributed a six-minute video featuring commentary by conservative blogger and Marquette law professor Rick Esenberg. The video articulated WMC’s narrow corporate complaints about votes on the Supreme Court taken by then-Justice Butler using Esenberg’s professorial veneer as faux objective third-party analysis. Topics in the video include “What does this mean for business?” and “What does this mean for criminal law?” and cases featured in the video anchored WMC media and print smear campaign against Butler.
WATCH: WMC's "A Court Unbound"
“Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce continued its expensive and misleading issue ad campaign with the release this week of a television ad entitled ‘Loophole Louie,’ which makes several false claims that have already been thoroughly examined by the media and found to be seriously flawed.” – Wisconsin Judicial Campaign Integrity Committee, 3/26/08
State Government
- Education, Neighborhoods, Jobs and Health Care. In the weeks prior to the November 2008 elections, WMC ran supportive radio and television ads for five Republican Assembly Candidates in high-profile campaigns. Only one, Keith Ripp of Lodi, won. WMC’s prior legislative campaigns have sought to reduce education funding, slash local government services, lower worker wages and rights and oppose access to affordable health care for all. These ads called for a “great education for our children,” “a safe and comfortable home for our families,” “good paying jobs for all of us” and “curbing health care costs.” The ads cited no proof that any of the five candidates supported any of these provisions.
- Business Taxes. Four state Senators, Republicans Dan Kapanke and Alberta Darling and two Democrats, Dave Hansen and Bob Wirch also received a supportive print communication highlighting support for removal of a particular business tax.
WMC Watch Fact Check: State Supreme Court
WMC Inflates Gableman’s Suspect Experience on Arson, Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence and White Collar Crime
Background: In print, radio and television advertisements, WMC (and other groups) claimed Mike Gableman had gone “toe to toe” with criminals and prosecuted “crimes like arson, sexual assault, domestic violence and white collar crimes.”
Prosecuting Criminals. As the Ashland County District Attorney, Gableman was the lead prosecutor on just six cases and four of them he lost. Gableman only prosecuted one arson case in his entire career and the result was an Order of Acquittal. According to WISC-TV, only one of the 19 felony child abuse cases he had was actually sentenced to prison time.
Analysis: WMC intentionally inflated Gableman’s record in order to create a contrast with Butler’s former work as a defense attorney and inflame the notion Gableman was sufficiently “anti-criminal.”
