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Dear John, Wisconsin voters go to the polls today to elect a new justice to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in what has turned out to be the highest-spending contest in the state's history, with Elon Musk stumping for former Attorney General Brad Schimel and handing out $1 million prizes to people who have signed his PAC’s petition. In case you missed it: CMD recently joined a dozen other organizations dedicated to government transparency and accountability to request that the Open Government Partnership, of which the United States is a founding member, immediately place the federal government under review for actions contrary to the principles and policies of the partnership. Be sure, too, to check out the recording of “America’s Hidden Constitutional Dilemma,” a panel discussion which featured a host of distinguished speakers, including former Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold of the American Constitution Society. You can watch the recording on YouTube. On to this week’s news! | |
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Here’s the Latest From CMD | |
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Liberal Groups Spend Millions to Back Crawford in Record-Setting Wisconsin Supreme Court Race Spending on the Wisconsin Supreme Court race has reached unprecedented heights as independent groups have injected millions of dollars in the final days leading up to the April 1st election. The election will determine ideological control of Wisconsin’s highest court just two years after Justice Janet Protasiewicz won her seat and flipped the court to a liberal majority in 2023. That last race in Wisconsin marked the highest amount ever spent on a state judicial contest: $50 million in total. Read the full story here. | |
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Wisconsin’s Environmental Future Is at Stake in State Supreme Court Race In more Wisconsin Supreme Court news: Since 2018, community leaders, environmental advocates, and tribal nations have opposed plans to build a $1-billion gas-fired power plant in Superior that would emit an estimated 3 million tons of greenhouse gases annually. Last December, Clean Wisconsin and the Sierra Club petitioned the Wisconsin Supreme Court to hear their case arguing that state regulators failed to properly assess the climate and environmental impacts of the project. Read the full story here. | |
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Right-Wing Student Group Targets Wisconsin Supreme Court Race Turning Point Action, which campaigned for Donald Trump in Wisconsin in 2024, is deploying its get-out-the-vote machinery to back Brad Schimel in today’s Wisconsin Supreme Court election. Here’s what you should know about Turning Point. | |
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The Republican State Leadership Committee’s “Judicial Fairness Initiative” Is Spending Millions to Influence Who Sits on the Wisconsin Supreme Court An arm of the Republican State Leadership Committee, dubbed the “Judicial Fairness Initiative” (RSLC-JFI), has spent at least $2 million dollars to aid the election ambitions of Brad Schimel for the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Mailers sent to Wisconsinites from the group implore voters to “[d]eliver President Trump a mandate by electing Brad Schimel for Supreme Court.” Read the full story here. | |
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The Right’s Vision of a Constitutional Convention Would Sideline Voters and Spark a Constitutional Crisis The Center for Media and Democracy has released a revised and updated edition of its report documenting how a constitutional convention would give hand-picked GOP delegates supermajority control over any proposed amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Read the press release here. | |
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ALEC Legislators Dominate Leadership Positions in Republican States For more than 50 years, ALEC has moved a right-wing and pro-corporate Republican agenda of legislation in states across the country — all while posing as a nonpartisan, tax-exempt charity. One key to ALEC’s far-reaching influence: More than 70 legislators affiliated with the group now hold leadership positions in 35 states. Read the full story here. | |
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Freedom Foundation Launches Anti-Union Network for Teachers The Freedom Foundation, a notorious anti-union advocacy group, has launched a new organization, the Teacher Freedom Alliance, which the foundation’s CEO describes as “an alternative for pro-America educators who seek to restore traditional values in the classroom and provide students with the high-quality education they deserve — free from political influence and union control.” Read the full story here. | |
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Wisconsin’s Right-Wing Infrastructure Works in Lockstep to Elect Schimel to State Supreme Court Plenty of media attention has focused on the millions of dollars Elon Musk has poured into Wisconsin to elect state attorney general Brad Schimel to the state Supreme Court. But an in-state network of right-wing political donors, groups, and operatives has teamed up to spend even more for Schimel than Musk has. Read the full story here. | |
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Our research has recently been cited by or featured in the following publications: - ProPublica: “How a Push to Amend the Constitution Could Help Trump Expand Presidential Power”
- Orlando Weekly: “Florida Republicans Pursue Anti-Union Wishlist of Billionaire-Funded Think Tank”
- Orlando Weekly: “Florida Republicans File Bills To Make It Harder For Government Workers To Form and Keep Unions”
- Reporting Right: “Your State: An ALEC Lab”
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Thank you for following our investigations and for your continued support! Team CMD | |
