The Title is Still “Justice” Protasiewicz

It’s time for Wisconsin’s radical GOP to take another loss. 

After months of GOP legislators trying to impeach Justice Janet Protasiewicz and overturn the will of Wisconsinites, we can all breathe a sigh of relief. Justice Janet is still on the bench and—for now—we’ve foiled yet another extremist Republican scheme.

More than one million Wisconsin voters selected Judge Janet to sit on the state Supreme Court—switching the court from conservative to progressive. Then the state’s Republican party decided to forget the will of the people and fair elections. Janet Protasiewicz was a threat to their power, and they would do anything to stop her from getting in their way.

Wisconsin’s GOP hatched a plan to steal the court and throw out a democratically-elected justice before the court ruled on their gerrymandered maps or Wisconsin’s extreme abortion ban. They had until the beginning of this month to impeach Justice Janet in time to get a special election on the same day as the GOP presidential primary—the perfect time to get a radical, conservative rubber stamp elected to the bench. 

But they underestimated us. 

They thought we weren’t watching. But we recognized the game they were playing, and thanks to you and countless other advocates, we called them on their extremism and attempts to toss out a legitimate election just because they didn’t like the results. 

In the end, we collectively ran out the clock and made sure Justice Janet stayed where she belonged—on the bench of Wisconsin’s Supreme Court.

This victory matters for everyone. If Wisconsin’s GOP succeeded in their attempts to undermine our democracy, it would have provided a blueprint for other Republican-controlled state legislatures across the country to overturn the will of the voters when they don’t agree with the positions or potential decisions of the individuals those voters have elected. It also will allow the Wisconsin State Supreme Court to undo one of the nation’s worst and most undemocratic gerrymanders.

Remember, when we can shut extremism down in one state, we’re protecting democracy in every state. That’s always a victory worth celebrating.