I HATE TO HARSH YOUR MELLOW, BUT...

I hate being the one to rain on the victory parade, but all the celebrations by Democrats regarding the victory last night of Judge Janet Protasiewicz in the election to decide the majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which was rightly called “the most important election on the ballot in 2023.”

However, celebrating now is like a football team celebrating a touchdown that puts them six points ahead with five minutes left in the game. As everyone who has ever watched a football game knows, a lot can happen in those five minutes of playing time.

While everyone was watching Judge Protasiewicz win by an impressive 11 points - with Wisonsin elections in the past decade generally being decided by one percent or less of the total vote, a special election for State Sen. District 8, which covers portions of Waukesha, Washington, Ozaukee and Milwaukee counties was also held to select a replacement for the incumbent who had retired last fall. The race has been watched because of its implications for the balance of power in Madison. If the Republican candidate won that would means Republicans would hold 22 of the 33 seats in the state Senate, giving them a two-thirds supermajority and the power to override a veto by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.

It also gives them the necessary supermajority in the State Senate to convict a government official who has been impeached by the State Assembly and remove the individual from office.

Here are the relevant rules for impeachment in Wisconsin:

IMPEACHMENT

Removal of: Civil Officers of the State (“civil officers” is not defined)

Initiated by: The Legislature

Impeachment is a procedure that allows the Legislature to remove any civil officer of the state for specific reasons. Removing an official through impeachment is a two-step process: (1) the State Assembly votes to impeach; and (2) the State Senate tries the impeachment.

The Assembly may impeach an elected official by a majority vote based on specific reasons: corrupt conduct in office or for the commission of a crime or misdemeanor. [Wis. Const. art. VII, s. 1, and s. 17.06 (1), Stats.] If a majority of the Assembly votes to impeach, the impeachment moves to the Senate.

The Senate may then conduct a trial of the impeachment. The Senators act as a court and try the elected official according to the evidence. If 2/3rds of the Senators present vote to convict the elected official, the official is convicted (which is typically referred to as “being impeached”).

Impeachment removes an elected official from office. It does not impose a criminal sentence or other criminal penalty. This is because impeachment is strictly a legislative proceeding and not a criminal proceeding.

Why is this impotant?

It’s important because In the closing days of his campaign, Republican Assemblyman Dan Knodl, who won that State Senate district last night, said that he would consider impeaching Protasiewicz from her current position as a judge on the Milwaukee County Circuit Court.

What would happen is the Republican majority in the State Assembly would impeach Judge Protasiewicz for any number of the charges made against her by her opponent in the election. The Republican supermajority in the State Senate would then “act as a court and try the elected official according to the evidence.” And “if 2/3 of the Senators present vote to convict the elected official, the official is convicted, i.e., “impeached.” And removed from office and will be unable to run for any other office.

In other words, she would not sit on the Supreme Court. She would vote to overturn the State’s abortion ban.

Perhaps more importantly - at least to the Republican legislative majorities who have dominated Wisconsin as a result of the 2010 and 2020 reapportionments that resulted in the most gerrymandered election maps in the United States - she would not be there to vote against the 2020 election map and thereby force them to run in 2024 in “fairly apportioned” Assembly and Senate districts.

Judge Janet Protasiewicz is an existential threat to a political party that has, since 2010, demonstrated that it will not let any limitations - legal, political or moral - stand in the way of the Wisconsin GOP wielding power in the state.

Wisconsin GOP leaders openly boasted last fall about suppressing 32,000 votes in African-American majority districts in Milwaukee in the 2022 Senate election, that saw Democratic candidate Mandela Barnes lose to incumbent GOP loony Ron Johnson by 20,000 votes.

They didn’t stay quiet and not say anything. They were happy to claim responsibility for screwing with an election that kept their guy in office.

The Wisconsin GOP has been happily poking its fingers in the eyes of Democrats since the election of Scott Walker as governor in 2010.

So why does anyone think there is any reason that they would not vote to impeach Judge Janet Protasiewicz on the first day they are back in session? Because that was a special election, Dan Knodl will take office immediately - he’s the State Senator for that district right now, as soon as the election was called in his favor.

During the campaign, Knodl was quoted in an interview saying that a Republican supermajority would give the party “more authority in the areas of oversight and accountability of elected officials and appointed officials.” He went on to say that “Judge Protasiewicz is a Circuit Court judge here in Milwaukee and she has failed.”

Knodl wasn’t the only Republican to bring up the idea of impeaching Protasiewicz if she won. The threats to impeach state officials - including Governor Tony Evers - was made by Republicans back in November when the seat came open by retirement, who stated if they won and had a supermajority, they would use it.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has previously ruled that “civil officers” include the governor, lieutenant governor and judges in all courts.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Devin LaMahieu was asked during the campaign if the Senate would consider impeaching Judge Protasiewicz. He said “No.” However, that was a point in the campaign where both sides were working hard not to say or do anything that would bring out voters from the opposition in increased numbers. Now he has his two-thirds supermajority. Do you think the man who led the Senate in every antidemocratic action they have taken in the past 13 years is not going to use the power?

Protasiewicz is an “existential threat” to the Wisconsin Republican Party, the only state party that in 2020 came close to declaring that Trump won the election despite the electoral result that Biden won.

When the enemy tells you want they’re going to do, and they have a history of doing outrageous acts, believe them when they say they will commit an outrageous act.

And just because Judge Protasiewicz might take office is no sign that this particular war would be over. The threat of impeachment and conviction remains so long as there is a Republican majority in the Assembly and a supermajority in the Senate.

Don’t spike the ball and celebrate a victory wit five minutes of game time left on the board. Not with the Wisconsin GOP as the opponent. Democrats who are doing this - and there are any number of “Progressive Heroes” out there spiking the ball right now - have lost track of the game if they think they have won.

It’s not over till it’s over, as Tommy Lasorda used to say.

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