In allegation of Supreme Court scuffle, Wisconsin politics hits new low

Examiner ^ | 06/26/11 | Byron York

[freespirited]

Over the weekend, a liberal journalism group reported that Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser "allegedly grabbed fellow Justice Ann Walsh Bradley around the neck in an argument in her chambers last week."

The report said details of the incident were "sketchy" and came from three sources who insisted on anonymity...

The report was done by the liberal Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, working with Wisconsin Public Radio. The Center recently unveiled a project, funded by the Open Society Institute, to "shine a light into the operations of Wisconsin's government." It hired Bill Lueders, a longtime news editor for Isthmus, an alternative newspaper, to run the project.

The report was posted on Saturday... immediately picked up by ThinkProgress, the activist arm of the liberal think tank Center for American Progress... "BREAKING: Wisconsin Justice Prosser 'grabbed fellow justice around the neck' prior to union bill decision," the group tweeted on Saturday afternoon. ThinkProgress sent out more details, and within an hour or two posted an article, "Four Ways Justice David Prosser Can Be Removed From Office..."

As the activist press was running with the story, new evidence emerged in a Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel report to suggest the matter was more complicated than originally reported. Whatever happened, happened during a meeting of six of the court's seven justices; in other words, there were several witnesses. One witness supported the original accusation. But another witness said that during a heated conversation, Bradley "charged [Prosser] with fists raised" and that Prosser had put out his own hands defensively. According to one of the paper's sources, Bradley then accused Prosser of choking her, to which another justice reportedly replied, "You were not choked."

[Norseman]

>>Still, if there was a physical encounter between the 2 Justices Gov Walker should ask for their resignations or have the WI Legislature impeach both. Time to put all this crap to a forceful end.<<

Oh, that’s rational. I suppose we ought to throw the girl who’s raped in jail along with the rapist too? /sarc

[ngat]

If Judge Prosser is ready to move on, and your 5-2 scenario works out, I’m fine with it, as long as the left scores no propoganda victory by credibly claiming that they successfully “Alinskied” Judge Prosser.

[MNlurker]

Norse,

Maybe I’m missing something in translation here? Sometimes its hard to tell what the /sarc is in relation to.

In an encounter that turned physical (and with new accounts coming in started by Bradley) that both Justices are culpable for why not throw both out for conduct unbecoming and call for 2 more respectable adults to sit on the bench?

Who is the rape victim in your analogy?

[HereInTheHeartland]

We are in a war for the soul of our nation and culture; it's that important.
The left has been incrementally dismantling our free market system, culture, and Constitution since the 20’s.

They do not take kindly when we try to push things the other way.

[Qbert]

“The report was posted on Saturday. It was immediately picked up by ThinkProgress, the activist arm of the liberal think tank Center for American Progress.  (ThinkProgress has some of the same funding sources as the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism.)..”

This is a strategy Soros and his funded groups have been using a lot lately- coming up with bogus allegations against judges. They (ThinkProgress) did the same thing last week with a phony “ethics” and “conflict if interest” charge against Justice Thomas- that the NYT then carried- claiming that he should be “impeached” over it.

[rawhide]

Why is this RAT Abrahamson still on the bench? Are the voters that stupid in Wisconsin?

[madinmadtown]

Millions of national dollars poured to fund her last campaign. She goes to parades and events and presents herself as this smiling grandmotherly type. She is a good campaigner...she is calculating....she can be charming, as many good calculating politicians are. It is the charm aspect that appeals to so many people. I can't tell you how many times I have heard someone say, “I voted for that person because they smiled at me or they said something nice to me or they took time to talk to me.” Ideology is trumped for so many people by the appearance of congeniality when they vote. The most ruthless and calculating politicians know this and use this to their advantage. They smile and wave and send a card on a birthday so that their public image is one of sweetness and kindness and it is all image hiding a very different persona.
People evaluate politicians much the same way they evaluate doctors. A good bedside manner is more important than competence. Shirley can be charming when she needs to be....behind closed doors and now more and more in public, her true shrewishness comes out.

[Norseman]

>>If Judge Prosser is ready to move on, and your 5-2 scenario works out, I’m fine with it...<<

No. Prosser should take the gloves off and take Bradley to court if his version is the truth. If his story is correct, he reacted appropriately and then tried to let the matter die, but Bradley and possibly Abrahamson sensed an opportunity.

If Bradley’s supporters are lying, let’s see if they want to jeopardize their careers by doing so under oath.

Any lawyer here have an idea of what course of action he could follow in court? Assault? Defamation?

And I would also ask: Is there any question that if Prosser had actually assaulted Bradley in the way she, and her anonymous witnesses, describes, that she would have already pressed charges against Prosser? Or course she would have. Why didn’t she? She doesn’t want her charges investigated, just widely disseminated. This is one of those fables that will circulate amongst the Left so widely and so long that it will eventually be considered historical fact.

[Norseman]

Prosser, obviously, if his story is true. If a rape victim resists by scratching the eyes out of her assailant, should she be treated like the rapist. Self defense is not a crime. And to actually believe that Prosser would try to strangle her is, frankly, nuts (though he might have figuratively considered the act many times.)

Just because two people tangle doesn’t mean they are both culpable.

[Publius6961]

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