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One Wisconsin Now Action put out a press release today attacking conservative state Supreme Court candidate Annette Ziegler for being, well, a Republican. Silly, I know.

ATTACK 1:

Ziegler played up her membership in the Republican Party of Wisconsin and the fact that she had made contributions to ’several campaigns’ in her 1997 application to former Gov. Thompson for an appointment to the non-partisan judgeship she currently holds in Washington County.
“In her 1997 application Ziegler writes, ‘I am a member of the Republican Party of Wisconsin,’ and goes on to let the Governor know, ‘I have contributed monetarily to several campaigns.’ Ziegler does not give dates for her Republican Party membership or her campaign contributions as she was asked for in the judicial appointment questionnaire. She also does not say which political campaigns she contributed to.

I have never seen this Wisconsin judicial application form. However, if what campaigns she gave to was “asked for in the judicial appointment questionnaire,” then I think it is unfair on OWN’s part to criticize her for “playing up” those contributions. She was just filling out a questionnaire blanks. If anything, one could argue she “played down” her contributions by not specifying who she gave how much.

ATTACK 2:

As has been previously reported, Ziegler’s family contributed over $13,000 to former Republican Gov. Thompson before and after her 1997 appointment to a Washington County Circuit Court judicial vacancy by Thompson.

It is equal to point out that the liberal candidate for Supreme Court, Linda Clifford, along with her husband Keith, have given just shy of $23,000 to Jim Doyle’s campaigns for office since 1996. According to a Spivak and Bice article:

A lifelong Democrat, Clifford resigned from the party not long ago but concedes that she’s still a friend and strong supporter of Doyle. … Years ago, Doyle used to use Keith Clifford’s office to dial for campaign dollars so he wouldn’t be politicking on state property.

ATTACK 3:

According to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign contribution database, Ziegler’s family contributed $5,800 to Thompson before she received the judicial appointment, and $7,250 to Thompson after Ziegler’s appointment, including a $250 contribution from Ziegler’s husband, J.J. Ziegler just five days following the Republican Governor’s appointment. In addition, one week following Thompson’s attendance at Ziegler’s Washington County swearing-in ceremony, Ziegler’s father-in-law, Bernard Ziegler made a $500 contribution to Thompson.

CLIFFORD COUNTER:
Clifford has also been implied to be a player in the game when the Sykes seat on the Supreme Court was opening up in 2004: From Spivak and Bice:

It will be Doyle’s first Madison fund-raiser since taking office in January … Two of the sponsoring lawyers are Keith and Linda Clifford, old friends of Doyle’s. Linda also happens to be on the ever-growing list of folks trying to win Doyle’s appointment to the state Supreme Court.
…As for Clifford, she said she also has been a Doyle backer forever. …

In May of ‘04, Clifford was appointed by Gov. Doyle to the WI Historical Society board. She gave him a contribution two months earlier and another two months later. Can we say she bought the seat?

ATTACK 4

From September 1990 to June 2006, Annette Ziegler’s family has contributed $117,085 to Republican candidates for office, including $2,400 to convicted felon and former Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen.

Two can play at that game: Together, since 1990, Mrs. Clifford and her husband have have pumped more than $75,000 into liberal and Democratic candidates and committees on both the state and federal levels. This includes $2,935 to convicted felon and former Senate Majority Leader Chuck Chvala.

This whole exercise is really quite silly. If Folkbum is going to get on about Mark Graul playing ignorant, then I’m gonna get on about One Wisconsin playing ignorant of their own preferred candidate’s past partisanship.

Judge Ziegler filled out the application presented her. Her family are givers to Republican causes, and would whether or not she were under consideration for an appointment, just as Linda Clifford gave to Doyle whether or not she were under consideration for a Supreme Court slot or Historical Society board membership. And as we’ve pointed out during the whole Tom DeLay exercise, it is quite unfair to attack someone for giving to a candidate who has been criminally charged when the donation was made well before any hint of scandal came up.

One Wisconsin Now Action titled their press release “Ziegler: Political Appointee, Partisan Judge.” Yet the liberal candidate is no less political or partisan. It’s all quite silly - can’t we talk about qualifications and judicial temperment instead?

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