(The Guardian) Elon Musk is offering voters money again – this time in Wisconsin, via an online “Petition in Opposition to Activist Judges”, concerning an election for the state supreme court.
“Judges should interpret laws as written, not rewrite them to fit their personal or political agendas,” reads the petition, launched by Musk’s America Pac, alluding to the Trump administration’s string of court reverses and resulting virulent attack on the independence of the federal courts.
Those who sign the petition are told they will be “rejecting the actions of activist judges who impose their own views and demanding a judiciary that respects its role –interpreting, not legislating”.
Underneath that text, a “special offer for Wisconsin registered voters” says signees get $100. So does anyone who refers someone else who signs.
Musk is not technically buying votes: the petition does not make any demand of who signees should vote for in the supreme court race or any other contest. Nor could it control any ballot cast in the privacy of the voting booth. But Musk does have form in offering voters money, a controversial thing to do at any time. Last October, as the presidential election neared its end, America Pac offered $1m a day to lucky petition signers, in what the Guardian said appeared to be “a way to incentivize Republicans in battleground states to register to vote”. Musk was sued over the scheme.
The Wisconsin supreme court race is an interesting one, of course. As Politico put it this morning: In the final 10 days of the high-profile campaign, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin is blanketing the TV airwaves with two new ads that put Musk front-and-center. The ads … part of a seven-figure investment in Musk-related ads and events, link the billionaire and his Department of Government Efficiency to Brad Schmiel, the state’s former GOP attorney general who’s now running for the seat.”
Looking ahead, Politico adds: “It’s the first big test of an emerging attack line for Democrats in a swing state, and it’s playing out in the most expensive state Supreme Court race in US history, with the potential to swing the liberal-leaning court back to conservative. -- ‘Elon Musk is out of control, and now the power-hungry billionaire is unloading millions to buy the Wisconsin supreme court,’ the ad’s narrator says, citing the more than $7m a Musk-backed super pac has dropped on the race. ‘He knows corrupt politician Brad Schmiel is for sale and will abolish the checks and balances that protect us.’”
www.theguardian.com
“Judges should interpret laws as written, not rewrite them to fit their personal or political agendas,” reads the petition, launched by Musk’s America Pac, alluding to the Trump administration’s string of court reverses and resulting virulent attack on the independence of the federal courts.
Those who sign the petition are told they will be “rejecting the actions of activist judges who impose their own views and demanding a judiciary that respects its role –interpreting, not legislating”.
Underneath that text, a “special offer for Wisconsin registered voters” says signees get $100. So does anyone who refers someone else who signs.
Musk is not technically buying votes: the petition does not make any demand of who signees should vote for in the supreme court race or any other contest. Nor could it control any ballot cast in the privacy of the voting booth. But Musk does have form in offering voters money, a controversial thing to do at any time. Last October, as the presidential election neared its end, America Pac offered $1m a day to lucky petition signers, in what the Guardian said appeared to be “a way to incentivize Republicans in battleground states to register to vote”. Musk was sued over the scheme.
The Wisconsin supreme court race is an interesting one, of course. As Politico put it this morning: In the final 10 days of the high-profile campaign, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin is blanketing the TV airwaves with two new ads that put Musk front-and-center. The ads … part of a seven-figure investment in Musk-related ads and events, link the billionaire and his Department of Government Efficiency to Brad Schmiel, the state’s former GOP attorney general who’s now running for the seat.”
Looking ahead, Politico adds: “It’s the first big test of an emerging attack line for Democrats in a swing state, and it’s playing out in the most expensive state Supreme Court race in US history, with the potential to swing the liberal-leaning court back to conservative. -- ‘Elon Musk is out of control, and now the power-hungry billionaire is unloading millions to buy the Wisconsin supreme court,’ the ad’s narrator says, citing the more than $7m a Musk-backed super pac has dropped on the race. ‘He knows corrupt politician Brad Schmiel is for sale and will abolish the checks and balances that protect us.’”
Elon Musk’s quest for power has a new target: Wisconsin’s supreme court
The Trump ally is spending millions to back a Republican candidate in the state, where he has business interests
www.theguardian.com
