A Quid Pro Quo For Demonizing The Wisconsin Business Community?
November 13, 2008
A special report by the Wisconsin Club for Growth has a couple fascinating items detailing some recent email exchanges between outgoing University of Wisconsin Chancellor John Wiley and defeated Supreme Court Justice Louis Butler.
Back in August, Chancellor Wiley authored a pernicious attack on the state’s business community, blaming Wisconsin employers for poisoning the political atmosphere in the state. Despite the embarrassing lack of any real facts or substantiating evidence, Mr. Wiley’s screed drew a hearty cheer from former Justice Butler, who praised him for “taking the time to speak out about the problems caused by the WMC [Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce], particularly as it concerned my Supreme Court race.”
Justice Butler, readers of American Courthouse will recall, was appointed to the high court in “open defiance” of the wishes of Wisconsin voters, who overwhelmingly rejected him by a 2:1 margin when he ran in 2000. After sidestepping voters and joining the bench, Justice Butler promptly shifted the court sharply to the left and began inventing wacky new theories that made Wisconsin businesses an easy target for predatory trial lawyers. Wisconsin voters dumped Justice Butler the minute they had the opportunity, ousting him in favor of the more moderate Michael Gableman.
But, the Wisconsin Club for Growth reports, the link between Chancellor Wiley and Justice Butler runs deeper than a mutual contempt for Wisconsin businesses and disdain for the wishes of Wisconsin voters. In an email, Mr. Wiley directs Kenneth Davis of the University of Wisconsin Law School to “reach out and try to work with him [Butler] to craft something mutually beneficial.” As the Wisconsin Club for Growth puts it:
… it’s no surprise that the UW would want a former Supreme Court justice on their staff – especially a liberal justice. But what you have here is two high-ranking officials essentially creating a position for Butler before any official duties exist. It’s a “let’s hire him, then figure out what he’s going to do” situation.
Incoming Chancellor Biddy Martin wisely warned Mr. Wiley that his article trashing Wisconsin businesses “would produce awkwardness for you, for me, and for the university …” – counsel he ignored. Perhaps Mr. Wiley might want to consider whether there are other factors contributing to the “toxic” political tone in Wisconsin – such as governors who appoint judges in open defiance of the people; Supreme Court justices who bring radical, personal agendas to the bench; and university chancellors who howl with rage against the taxpaying companies and voters who make his university possible in the first place.