The Wisconsin "Institute" for Law and Liberty (WILL) brags they have an amazing winning track record of cases in Wisconsin's Supreme Court, only because it's one of the most activist conservative courts in the country. Take a look at our own Margery Taylor Greene of Justices, Rebecca Bradley, offering what no one would seriously called a "legal" opinion about COVID-19's statewide restrictions;
"(She) referred to the order as “tyranny” and later compared it to the internment of Japanese Americans in camps during World War II."
WILL can only win cases in a overtly biased court, spouting logic that echoes conservative conspiracy theories, resentment, and trash talk.
Democrats to End Gerrymandering : The "Institute" is well represented by word-salad lawyer Rick Esenberg, who in the video clip below, easily loses his argument against a Democratic legislator. It wasn't even close. Sen. Jeff Smith (D-Eau Claire), who co-authored the bill, effortlessly unraveled Esenberg's down-the-rabbit-hole meanderings. From WKOW's Capitol City Sunday:
Let's talk about two bloated egos; Rick Esenberg and Trump.
Simply put, Esenberg is a legal conservative elitist who's inflated image of himself is due mostly to his impressive record in profoundly conservative courts. Nice. He'll remind you that he is the founder and wizard behind the curtain of the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, a conservative-libertarian law firm that became a willing partner in the Trumpian cultist movement to take down traitorous liberals. Come on, Trump's no threat:
I had to laugh at Esenberg's comments in the recent Isthmus, where he unsuccessfully tried to cast a magically crafted spell in defense of Trump, saying he's "not a threat to the constitutional order". Seriously?
This suppose sharp legal mind imagines that we can somehow separate Trump's "stupid classless" and "vulgar" twitter lunacy from his similarly troubled thinking, overt racism, misogyny, and oppressive actions against humanity. Hey, he's just kidding:
1. “I don’t think Donald Trump is that serious about a lot of the things that he says ... And so, he tweets a lot of stupid classless and vulgar things, but it doesn’t really translate to any kind of action.”
Sure, nothing to worry about with thinking like this...
Or like the time today Trump told "Progressive Congresswomen" to go back to the countries they came from...yup he really said that:
For policy and political mastermind Rick Esenberg...
2. He dismisses graver existential assessments ... “I think there’s a lot of exaggeration that goes on. What Trump is and what he does — I don’t think that he is a threat to the constitutional order.”
Like the Trump's claim about dirty and diseased immigrants? No threat to anyone Rick?
None of this is a secret to anyone but Esenberg:
1. Sykes says “the nativism, the phobia, the attitude towards women, the character issues involving deception, his isolationism, his willingness to play the race card, his support for protectionism,” set him squarely against Trump from the start. Someday Trump will leave office. But this alternative reality universe and hyper tribalization of politics — that’s not going to disappear when he disappears from the stage. This is a period of real turmoil, and I worry about that.” 2. Ed Wall wrote a tell-all book critical of Walker and ... sees Walker’s leadership as a model for how Trump has governed. “It went from a representative government, where they had to talk and they had to negotiate things, to more of a dictatorship. That bothered me as a taxpayer and a voter,” says Wall, who characterized the prevailing sentiment as being, “We won and we’re going to shove everything down your throat.” 3. Under Trump, that impulse has grown, Wall says. “Look at Vos and Fitzgerald” — Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and state Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald. “They feel empowered by an electorate that sees something in Donald Trump.”Wall says: “This is essentially the Republican Party saying, ‘We don’t accept the last election.’ They are acting as if they’re governing now. They’re tightening control.”
The conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) is one shining example of the great Republican lie that the legislative branch, and not the judicial branch, should govern and pass laws reflecting the will of the people.
Republicans decided to push the constitutional envelope again, playing the odds that their power grab limiting the incoming Democratic governor's constitutional duties would be defended in the conservative State Supreme Court by...the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty. See a pattern?
It's funny how "'advancing limited government" removes the public's ownership of their own government, and plops it right into the hands of...surprise, the wealthy and big business. "Limited government" is using eminent domain to turn public to private; roads, parks, air, minerals, energy, and civil rights, so they can extract greater profits and gain more power.
WILL's Conservative Lobbyists-the Final Corruption of our Legal System: Adding to the public's dislike and skepticism of the their own government, WILL is providing that final nail in the coffin of this great experiment:
Cap Times: For the first time in WILL’s existence, four of its employees registered earlier this year with the state’s ethics commission to lobby in the state Capitol.
Just a Game: Love the "high-caliber attorneys" playing to win:
“What we’re trying to do is have WILL be the leader in the conservative movement,” said WILL executive vice president CJ Szafir. “What we’re trying to do is put together a team, maybe like the Golden State Warriors of the conservative movement, which is filled with high-caliber attorneys, communicators and policy analysts that are going to fight for (our) principles.”
The Wealthy Own US: Can it get any more obvious?
Why is this man teaching yet?
Conservative lawyer Rick Esenberg ... saw a need for an organized legal effort to defend conservative and libertarian causes. With the help of a $500,000 grant from the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, WILL launched as a law firm with a staff of three. In its first year, its budget was about $275,000 ... The organization now includes research and advocacy arms and employs 18 attorneys, researchers, writers and other staff, plus two contracted advisers. Its revenues peaked in 2015, at $3 million, after receiving a $1 million grant from the Bradley Foundation to launch its Center for Competitive Federalism.
WILL admits, Wealthy Donors in Complete Control of Government by well paid Republicans. And yes, thanks to Trump's wealth tax cut, they own us nationally too. The following is very unsettling, which is why I posted this. This isn't a question anymore...
WILL ... plans to double size of the organization in the next five years. “In order to do that, we need to reach out to high-wealth individuals, business executives and ideologically motivated people who share our beliefs and values, to talk about the program and what we’re trying to do,” said Jim Pugh, who joined WILL as vice president of development in January after more than two decades with the state’s largest business lobby, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce. “You need to be strong by making sure that you’re well-funded, clearly understood, you clearly articulate your message and have strong leadership at the top. It’s about the people, the vision and the values.”
Saving the best for last...CEO tours? Really?
WILL continues to benefit from the Bradley Foundation, the Walton Foundation and the Kern Family Foundation. WILL has started a “CEO Tour” of Wisconsin, and last week, the organization partnered with DonorsTrust to host a fundraiser in Naples, Florida.
Sweet irony: The conservative lawsuit mill Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty might put a stop to taxpayer handouts to Foxconn and other corporate crybabies begging for money.
And don't expect the partisan and incompetent DOJ to make a coherent legal argument either to stop this train wreck from happening. This is what happens when Republican ideology collides with contradictory and convenient...Republican ideology. Excuse my gloating.
Esenberg
The $10 billion Foxconn factory in Racine County could be “imperiled” by a lawsuit challenging an economic development project in Eau Claire, according to the state Department of Justice. At issue is whether local economic incentives can result in cash payments to a private developer or company — which in the Eau Claire case include $1.5 million, but in the Foxconn case total $100 million. The state wants in to intervene in the lawsuit, Voters with Facts v. City of Eau Claire, filed on behalf of some Eau Claire taxpayers who say the city abused Wisconsin's tax incremental financing law that includes cash payments to a private developer or company. The lawsuit brought by the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty on behalf of the taxpayers is currently before the state Supreme Court. Solicitor General Misha Tseytlin says that if the court were to side with the plaintiffs, it "would imperil numerous projects critical to Wisconsin's economic growth, including the Village of Mount Pleasant's recent agreement with Foxconn Technology Group." That project includes $100 million in cash incentives. The case is now before the state Supreme Court after both the district court and an appellate court ruled in favor of the city.
Rick Esenberg, the lawyer for the plaintiffs in the Eau Claire lawsuit, is arguing that the $1.5 million direct payment plus half of the redevelopment payment are an illegal property tax rebate for the property owner, which would violate the state Constitution’s requirement that property taxes be assessed in a uniform manner, known as the uniformity clause. Esenberg said it’s possible the argument could also apply to Foxconn.
Republicans hate America!!! You know the routine: Blah, blah, blah, nothing is working, and everything is getting worse. Yet they always get away with ripping the nation a new one. Remember this phony Republican moment of outrage:
But Trump:
Because America isn't great, right? With something so intentional, and a campaign slogan too boot, you'd think he would be roundly criticized...but that's the magic of Trump.
Next Step - Statist "Center for Competitive Federalism:" Secession is out, so what comes close? Something called "Competitive Federalism," another whiny tantrum from arrogant and entitled freeloading conservatives too cheap to pay forward, like previous generations did building roads, schools and infrastructure.
As "small government" regulations pile up from overzealous Republican legislators hoping to legally block Wisconsinites from getting in the way of business, supply side blunders are pushing more people into many of our social safety nets, the same programs targeted for elimination. Scott Walker calls it a "hand up" and not a hand out.
With nasally arrogance, founder of CCF Rick Esenberg serves up word salad nonanswers he thinks people will never understand or care to dissect. Wrong. On WPR's Central Time, Esenberg's ego spilled out for everyone to hear, suggesting life long Wisconsinites should just "vote with their feet" and leave the dairy state if we didn't like the policies. Seriously?
Esenberg: "There would be certain things the states could not do. But, in that the states themselves would be disciplined not only by their own Constitutions, but bythe ability of the persons who live within them, to vote with their feet, and go someplace else if they didn't like the policies their particular state was adopting."
Esenberg is another "why can't Wisconsin be like Texas" Republicans. Since I grew up in the state, I never felt it needed saving or a face lift. Not Esenberg:
Wisconsin should look to Texas … However, as a purple state, Wisconsin's path towards a more independent and
robust statehood might require different strategies … like creating a
commission on competitiveness to identify regulatory reform, reviewing all
federal funding requests and prohibiting state regulatory agencies from working
with federal regulators if certain programs are deemed coercive. Additionally, expanding Walker’s Blueprint for Prosperity
initiative, eliminating the "over-criminalization of commercial activity."
Esenberg piles on the bullshit saying even Democrats will jump on board:
The report concluded that the Midwest is becoming the
birthplace of a new conservatism that can appeal to people of all political
persuasions, including Democrats, by eliminating the one-size-fits-all
solutions imposed by the federal government. "(A system) in which
the states would function as laboratories of democracy, which they would be
able to engage in trial and error with respect to policy."
Funny thing, even when Republicans are caught and found guilty of breaking the law, conservative politicians, right wing think tanks and hapless in-the-tank voters will still deny laws were ever broken. This perceived infallibility is a bit on the frightening side.
On WPR's Joy Cardin Show, Rick Esenberg, president the right wing lawsuit mill The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, nonchalantly broke the news that convicted Scott Walker aide Kelly Rindfleisch was innocent, and that she committed no crime. Yes, even after the State Supreme Court turned down her appeal. It was a confident declaration that conservative voters need to believe, and hearing it on the radio helped support their delusions (audio):
Esenberg: "It amazes me that people in Wisconsin on the left, were apoplectic because a handful of staffers in Scott Walker's administration had a private email system to conduct not government business, but political business which they were perfectly free to do..."
In this conversation about Walker's hypocritical comments about Hillary Clinton's emails, the reality based world saw things quite differently. jsonline:
Rindfleisch pleaded guilty in 2012 to doing campaign work at
her Milwaukee County government job. Walker's campaign and government
teams used a secret email system or private email accounts to deal with the
bread-and-butter issues of county government: personnel, budgets and buildings. A trove of previously
sealed documents released last month provides a rearview mirror look
into Walker's world and the push to take county government off the official
grid. Using private emails for official business can make it harder for the
public to find out what its government is doing. Emails from private accounts
show the Walker campaign and county government teams discussed such varying
issues as problems at the Mental Health Complex, the death of a teen at the
O'Donnell Park parking structure, reaction to moves made by county supervisors,
the attempt to ease out the head of the medical examiner's office, the handling
of public records requests, repair estimates for buildings, capital projects,
and updates on storm damage and the federal response.
The Progressive's Ruth Conniff responded to Esenberg, calling into question his and congresses credibility on the subject.
If the next governor raises the minimum wage, they’re gonna get sued.
Anti-government conservatives have found a way to gum up government by suing government for everything they don’t like. And by using our now conservative activist courts to their advantage, they can get almost anything stopped dead in its tracks.
Lawsuit mill Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty is cranking out lawsuits and threats almost every day, winning some of them through court order or by intimidation.
Hand it to Rick Esenberg for successfully using of one branch to take down the other.
First, were Governor Walker or any other governor to use sec. 104.02 to unilaterally raise the minimum wage, there would be one serious lawsuit … sec. 104.02 doesn't say that the requisite wage should be enough to support a family.
Esenberg than forgot all that legal stuff to spout hard right wing justifications to keep poverty right where it is. You know, suggesting the poor are doing better than most, because of their microwave ovens, cell phones and “flat” screen TV’s. Slow recovery? I wonder why?
Here’s hoping conservative ideologues like Esenberg continue to proudly spout their Dickensian drivel and make every frivolous lawsuit a media event. People will start feeling a little uncomfortable:
"We are right to note that a minimum wage increase might well hurt more people than it helps. We are right to say that distorting labor markets is not way to help poor people. But we ought to acknowledge that, once we recognize that the marginal value to an employer of certain workers will not exceed a relatively low level…"
The guy who heads up a conservative lawsuit mill should leave the dumb right wing punditry up to the "professionals."
Rick Esenberg, President and General Counsel of the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (more below) and an adjunct professor of law at Marquette University Law School (a frightening thought), agreed with more recent lunacy written by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist Christian Schneider:
One of the oddest arguments made about school choice is, as argued here, that it is a "subsidy for the wealthy ..." and somehow enriches ... Christian Schneider pointed out money sent to educate choice students in private schools do not necessarily "cost" the public schools anything. This is because, if the choice program were eliminated, not only tax dollars would return to the public schools. So would the students. Depending on what it would cost the public schools to educate these students, the end of choice would not benefit public schools at all."
Yea, he's a law professor, not an accountant, but still. Perhaps Esenberg and Schneider think school buildings, energy costs, maintenance, taxes etc. aren't included in those student subsidies, the ones stripped away by vouchers?
LaCrosseTribune: Rural districts with wide geographical boundaries shoulder heavier busing costs. Growing districts take on more debt to add classrooms and build new schools.
None of this ever occurred to them, even though they're part of the mythical geniuses known as "fiscal conservatives." Esenberg even went further down-the-rabbit-hole with this gem:
Asking schools to educate kids for amounts well below the average spent in public schools is not a recipe for building wealth. (To be sure, one may be able to find examples of school operators misusing funds but public funds get misused as well. Sadly, such is human nature.) One might make the argument that taxpayers have been "enriched" because children in choice schools receive an education for less than they do in public schools.
Wonderful. After all the whining about misused public school funding, Esenberg is okay with starting a new private school system with the same misused funds? Brilliant.
Perhaps Esenberg and Schneider were unaware of it, or are trying to hide the fact, that voucher advocates are trying to get the same student subsidy as the public schools. Let me see...(click, click, click...) that works out to no taxpayer savings in the "enriched" voucher school systems.
After reading this, I'm sure you've figured out that Esenberg is a highly partisan political opportunist. He's president of the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, a lawsuit mill exploiting our sharply conservative activist courts to shape our laws and constitution into jumbled word salad of ever changing Humpty Dumptyisms. And he's teaching our kids. Right wingers would call that "indoctrination."
