Covid Chronicles. Chapter 25: The Virus Be Damned!

 

Read chapter 24 here

Thursday, April 16 

After last year’s Supreme Court election debacle, I figured the Daniel Kelly, the Scott Walker appointee running for his first full term, would easily defeat any liberal challenger. In the spring of 2019, the liberal Lisa Neubauer, a judge on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals (where she continues to serve) seemed to have the upper hand over Brian Hagedorn, an ultra-conservative (also a Wisconsin Court of Appeals judge) that former Governor Scott Walker publicly and ardently supported. Several newspaper articles exposed his anti-gay views, including the fact that he served as a board member of at the Augustine Academy, a parochial school, which prohibited gay teachers, students, and parents, as if waving a magic wand to make them go away. Many thought, myself included, this news would serve as the kiss of death for Hagedorn’s electability. Instead, he used the issue to paint himself as a victim of persecution for his religious beliefs, which, of course, served as a rallying cry to evangelicals. In the meantime, Neubauer ran a lackluster campaign, spending way too much time attacking her opponent at the expense of educating voters about her views and convincing them why she was the better choice for a seat on the court. As the election approached, both JoAnna and I experienced a sinking feeling about Neubauer’s chances. We had opportunities to talk with her at various Madison-area events, which in itself made us a little nervous. 

“Why is she spending so much time in Madison,” JoAnna complained. “She should be in the Fox Valley and Wausau and Eau Claire. She doesn’t have to worry about getting out the vote in Dane County.” 

 After sweeping all four statewide offices — Governor, Attorney General, Treasurer, and Secretary of State – five months earlier in the 2018 general election, Wisconsin Democrats felt an emotion bordering on betrayal when it was announced that Hagedorn won the election. As you can see, the vote was very close — the margin of victory just under 6,000 out of the more than 1,200,000 ballots cast. Hagedorn’s boyish appearance no doubt gave him an air of innocence to many of his supporters. 

The most shocking result of the election, though, was the realization of how many voters are just fine and dandy with Hagedorn’s homophobia. Sadly, most of them no doubt consider themselves devout and dutiful Christians. What they can’t see is that their practice is a perversion of everything Christ set forth in his teachings. 

This year, I managed to emerge from an election funk and experienced a growing sense of confidence as we approached 4:00 p.m. on Monday, April 13th, the time when Judge Conley determined that the April 7th election results could be posted by municipal and county clerks. I had a hunch that further Republican efforts at voter suppression – in cahoots with the State Supreme Court, no less -- had only served to infuriate people all over the state, making them more determined than ever to vote — if they hadn’t already. The virus be damned! That was certainly the sentiment I read in a number of articles about the election published online on April 7th. In addition, voter turnout in Dane and Milwaukee counties, both Democratic strongholds, was reported to be especially high for a spring election. 

And Jill Karofsky, this year’s liberal candidate , ran a hard-charging and feisty campaign. She wasn’t afraid to discredit Daniel Kelly, her opponent, but at the same time, she presented herself as a clear alternative and backed it up by emphasizing her background and qualifications. Plus Kelly has a mug that only a mother could love. 

The election also served as a referendum on Trump, especially his handling of the pandemic. Never shy to get involved in an election, Trump repeatedly promoted Kelly’s candidacy, usually via Twitter. 

His lack of clout became clear when the race was called for Karofsky before 7 p.m. on Monday. Most observers would have bet such an early announcement would have given the election to Kelly.

The most stunning aspect of this election was the fact that it wasn’t even close. Karofsky won by 10 percentage points – by more than 160,000 votes. She boosted Neubauer’s vote tally by 30%, whereas Kelly received 14% more votes than Hagedorn. The side-by-side maps on the following page provide a visual indication of just how much the political landscape has changed in Wisconsin since the 2016 presidential election. In the 2020 election map, Trump flipped all of the the green counties, outside of Eau Claire County, in the western part of the state. Demographically, their residents skew rural, older, and overwhelmingly white, making them fertile ground for Trump’s “Make America Great Again” message. And in 2016, voters in these counties helped to push Trump into the win column, the first time the Republicans took Wisconsin since 1984. Voters there are not likely to be so inclined this time around. Even more worrisome for the GOP is the results in the Fox Valley, the 3 counties in the Green Bay/Appleton area. Trump cannot win Wisconsin without a big outpouring of support here. 

I hold onto the hope that the majority of voters, enough for a Democrat to receive at least 270 Electoral College votes, are increasingly horrified at the prospect of a second term for Trump.