MILWAUKEE, Wis. – In case you missed it, in an interview with insurrectionist supporter David A. Clarke Jr., Dan Kelly revealed his true colors and declared his commitment to advance an extreme, right-wing agenda if he’s elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
In the interview, Clarke asked Dan Kelly if would be a trustworthy judge for right-wing voters and rule in favor of their stances on workers’ rights, gerrymandering, and gun safety laws. Clarke even took it a step further by stating right wing supporters don’t want to “end up with another [Brian] Hagedorn.” Dan Kelly reassured him stating, “I don’t think you have to worry about that with me.”
Dan Kelly has made it clear he will be a rubber stamp for an extreme agenda on the court. When he previously sat on the court, he consistently ruled in favor of right-wing interests and even un-recused himself from a case after receiving campaign donations from a litigant. Dan Kelly is a right-wing extremist who is intent on upholding the 1849 criminal abortion ban, disenfranchising voters, and overturning the will of the people. He is a threat to democracy and the people of Wisconsin.
Read the coverage of Kelly’s comments below:
‘I Don’t Think You Have to Worry About That With Me’: Dan Kelly Signals He’ll Advance Right-Wing Interests, if Elected
[UpNorth News, 3/29/23]
In an interview on a right-wing radio show, Kelly reassured conservatives they wouldn’t have to worry about how he would vote on issues pertaining to labor unions, gun rights, school vouchers, and redistricting.
Dan Kelly not so subtly signaled this week that he would advance and protect right-wing priorities if elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Kelly, who previously served as a justice on the Court before losing his reelection race in 2020, appeared on the Mark Belling Show on Tuesday, where he was interviewed by guest host David Clarke.
. . .
An appointee of former Gov. Scott Walker, Kelly served on the court from 2016 to 2020. During his term on the court, he authored a ruling that the city of Madison could not prevent passengers from carrying guns on city buses.
Kelly also previously served as the president of the Milwaukee Lawyer’s Chapter of the Federalist Society, the ultra-conservative legal organization that helped engineer the right-wing takeover of the US Supreme Court and the reversal of Roe v. Wade.
He also defended Walker’s 2011 redistricting plan in court, even though it gerrymandered Wisconsin’s district maps in a way that was so obscene that it gave Republicans a near supermajority in the state legislature in a near-50/50 state.
Old blog posts further suggest how Kelly could vote on certain issues if elected to the Court.
In a 2012 post, Kelly described abortion as “a policy that has as its primary purpose harming children” and accused pro-choice advocacy groups and Democrats of “normalizing the practice of abortion, making it culturally acceptable” in order to “preserve sexual libertinism.” He’s also provided legal advice to Wisconsin Right to Life, one of three anti-abortion rights groups to endorse his campaign.
Kelly commits to conservative Supreme Court agenda if elected
[Wisconsin Law Journal, 3/29/23]
Wisconsin Supreme Court Candidate Dan Kelly told former Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. Tuesday that he would support conservative views when it comes to workers’ rights, gerrymandering, gun safety laws.
“I don’t think you have to worry about that with me,” when asked if conservative listeners could trust that he would rule in favor of their positions on issues including gun safety laws, workers’ rights, and gerrymandering. Kelly assured the audience that he would not be a swing vote on the court like Justice Brian Hagedorn.
Clarke said, “Here’s what’s important to conservatives … Act 10, gun rights, including carry conceal licenses and constitutional carry which we don’t have yet, educational freedom through school choice, voter ID, and redistricting.”
Clarke also has been clear with his views supporting the January 6 insurrection.
As previously reported by the Wisconsin Law Journal, last week Kelly posted a video on Twitter of himself standing side-by-side with conservative activist Scott Presler and thanking him for his work. Presler, a Virginia native, planned several “stop the steal” rallies in addition to being on the Capitol grounds the day of the insurrection. Presler also described the siege on the Capitol as “the largest civil rights protest in American history.”
