I read former Gov. Tommy Thompson’s May 6 opinion piece regarding the vile ads that were run during the most recent race for Wisconsin Supreme Court justice.
I agree whole-heartedly that the ads were nasty and excessive, that the subject matter had little to nothing to do with their job as a justice on the Supreme Court, and that those millions of dollars would have been much better spent elsewhere. However, rather than blaming the campaigns of Susan Crawford and Brad Schimel, Thompson should set his sights on the United States Supreme Court.
It is because of their terrible Citizens United ruling and other decisions that have allowed nearly unlimited dark money to flow into any and all campaigns via PACs and other third parties. These parties generate and run these ridiculous negative ads ad nauseam, with or without the candidate’s approval.
The death of campaign finance reform has led directly to this. It is bad for elections, bad for the voters and bad for our democracy. We have the Roberts court to thank for this. It sits squarely on his shoulders.
Roberta Wallace, Wauwatosa
Opinion: Campaigns have always been rough. I’m sick of politics of personal destruction.
Letters: Former Gov. Tommy Thompson omits real reason for rough Supreme Court race
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: U.S. Supreme Court rulings to blame for Wisconsin’s rough political campaigns | Letters
Reporting by Letters to the Editor / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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