Musk, billionaires took over Wisconsin Supreme Court race. The joke is on us.

Yahoo

01-04-2025

Imagine for a second that Wisconsin's supposedly "nonpartisan" Supreme Court race — which is likely to surpass $100 million and has been transformed into a sensational proxy war waged by national political players — is actually an elaborate ruse.
Picture waking up after today's election to discover that Wisconsinites tolerated months of crass attack ads, political mudslinging and endless fundraising emails, not because we enjoy partisan theatrics, but because we had a secret plan all along.
What if all that cash pouring into our state wasn't just evaporating into the deep pockets of media conglomerates, dark money groups and consultants with questionable fashion choices?
Instead, imagine that Wisconsin had willingly volunteered as the nation's off-cycle battleground, slyly goading billionaires into spending absurd amounts of money on this spectacle, only to divert those millions toward something meaningful — like funding a comprehensive cleanup of toxic PFAs and providing drinking water filtration systems for our most affected communities?
Now that would be an April Fools Day prank.
But that's not what's happening.
Instead, that is actually the (slightly edited) plot of Jon Stewart's mediocre 2020 political comedy, 'Irresistible.' If you subjected yourself to the terrible pronunciation of 'Wisconsin' and watched that movie, you might remember that the joke was that partisan political operatives descended on a small Wisconsin town, only to see their money wasted because — surprise, surprise! — the residents of 'Deerlaken' had actually used the consultants and their money to save their town.
At the time when I watched it, I remember being really bothered that they chose a mayoral race because in Wisconsin, our mayoral races are nonpartisan.
But that was before our record breaking nonpartisan Supreme Court race in 2023. And obviously also before our current nonpartisan Supreme Court race that is expected to double what was spent two years ago.
So the joke isn't on the out-of-state consultants or the billionaires.
It's on us.
Because all that money is being spent on us. Not for us.
Come tomorrow, that money might as well have evaporated into thin air, leaving behind a trail of division, frustrations and, frankly, nausea from having to explain to our kid, who is just trying to watch a March Madness game, what a 'rape kit' is.
Think about what real problems that much money could solve across our state. Mental health services in schools. Affordable housing initiatives. Child care support. Job training programs.
Imagine potholes getting fixed, roads and bridges improved and public transportation made more accessible and efficient.
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Imagine if it could help increase Medicaid reimbursements rates or find solutions to Wisconsin's water-quality crisis.
Instead, that much money is used to pit neighbors against neighbors and floods our screens with relentless attack ads until we are numb to them.
This election showcased the worst of politics: a nonstop circus of negativity complete with dark money groups secretly pulling strings and presidential endorsements inflaming tensions. These battles seem designed to alienate us further from our neighbors, making cooperation nearly impossible.
But brace yourselves, because we don't even get the luxury of taking a breather after this.
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We're going to have to do it all over again in 2026. And again in 2027. And 2028. And 2029.
Six consecutive years of Wisconsin Supreme Court races, and that's not even counting the regular chaos of everyday politics and the 2026 midterms or the 2028 presidential election.
We've become the perpetual battleground where sanity goes to die.
But it doesn't have to be this way. Every system in place has been imagined into being by human beings. We can imagine something new. It starts with us demanding meaningful reforms around campaign finance from our state legislators.
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Wisconsinites deserve a system where judicial candidates don't owe their seats to wealthy donors or special interest groups, but instead represent the broad electorate as intended. Research consistently shows that judicial elections influence how judges preside over cases and the decisions they ultimately make, fundamentally undermining the principle of judicial impartiality itself.
Wisconsinites deserve transparency and accountability in how these races are funded. The current model of endless financial warfare benefits few and exhausts many. It's time to put people over profits and community over conflict. I can confidently say, Wisconsinites across the political spectrum are weary and have an appetite for change.
Can we dare to imagine a world where April 2 marks the start of something better — or will it simply be another frustrating day in an endless loop of costly political games?
The joke's on us, Wisconsin — but it doesn't have to stay this way.
Kristin Brey is the "My Take" columnist for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: WI Supreme Court election has become billionaire playground | Opinion