What would you say about an ideology that turns on the judicial branch of our government when it doesn't agree with a legal decision? When the outcome of a judges decision is predetermined by political force or majority? It would be a social cleansing of those who dissent from the acceptable point of view.
A system like that would discourage challengers to the status quo. That's what the conservative, tea party movement is all about. And it's happening in Madison against a local judge here. A conservative judge.
Republicans are quick to whine out loud about threats they receive from the public, but that's not true of most everyone else. A death threat plays into there doom and gloom paranoid world view and is a badge of honor. From Isthmus' Bill Lueders and WTDY's Sly in the Morning:
Conservatives from all over, taking their cue from the harsh rhetoric of Wisconsin legislative leaders like Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, have unleashed a torrent of abuse on Dane County Judge Maryann Sumi, who has confounded Gov. Scott Walker's anti-union agenda.
"You should be impeached," declares a letter addressed "Dear Comrade" from Richard McKee of Phoenix, Ariz. "Your alliance with large labor thugs and bullies is treasonous. Your salary should be confiscated, your pension cancelled, and you should be jailed as an enemy of democracy."
Judge Sumi, an Isthmus review found, has drawn more than 70 letters, postcards and emails since March 18. That's when she issued a restraining order against Walker's bill to gut public employee union rights, slash Medicaid payments and tighten his grip over state agencies, saying its passage likely violated the state's Open Meetings Law. She later extended her order indefinitely, until the named defendants show up in court.
"Why don't you do something about the people who willingly and maliciously did so much damage to your state capitol. They acted like a bunch of hippies at a rock concert. ... Many of us here in Arizona support Gov. Scott Walker and the people who passed this bill." Anonymous letter.
"You are a disgrace to the bench." Letter from Maria G., Hialeah, Fla.
"I would be interested in knowing how much money this judge was paid by union bosses. ... Was she bribed?. Email from Tim Malinas, address unknown.
"She should be disbarred. If you fail to do anything about it, you yourself are just as liable for disbarment and/or impeachment...." Email from Greg Crews to a Dane County deputy clerk he believed to be a judge.
"The law is the law. Uphold it don't remold it to fit socialism or big union bosses." Email from Frosty Woolridge, Detroit, Mich.
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