ICYMI: Brad Schimel Rolls Out Sexist Attacks, Petty Insults on the Campaign Trail

Not after Schimel has repeatedly attacked, both publicly and privately, the Supreme Court’s four-member liberal majority and raised harsh questions about one of its conservatives. Schimel is running against liberal Dane County Judge Susan Crawford on April 1 in a high-stakes contest for the ideological control of the court.

Most notably, at a Save America Rally in Hubertus last August, Schimel deemed the newest member of the court, Janet Protasiewicz, “the least sophisticated” justice and “dumb as a sack of hammers.” Perhaps this was an homage to Republican Kevin Nicholson’s claim four years ago that former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch is “dumb as a bag of hammers.”

On Facebook, Schimel has also suggested that Protasiewicz lies so often that if life were fair, her “pants would literally be on fire.”

He’s also described liberal Justice Jill Karofsky as “addled” and “crazy.” He said she is “angry about something” in an opinion she penned on a case about adoption and marriage.

Just over the weekend, Schimel told a group of supporters that the four female justices who make up the Supreme Court majority — Rebecca Dallet, Ann Walsh Bradley, Karofsky and Protasiewicz — are “partisan hacks.”

He previously called the judicial quartet “nuts” in a speech last July. A few months later, he accused several members of the majority faction, all women, of being “driven by their emotions” and “on the brink of losing it” during oral arguments on an 1849 abortion ban. Schimel later clarified that he was talking mainly about Karofsky.

But he doesn’t reserve all of his criticism just for the womenfolk.

He has called conservative Justice Brian Hagedorn “soft-headed” and claimed in a 2022 radio show that conservatives were concerned about “what if we get another Hagedorn and we get burned.”

The first-term jurist has drawn the ire of Republicans for siding with liberals on several major cases, including several involving President Donald Trump. Things got so bad, he even had to get extra police protection in late 2020.

“Back in the day, I supported Brian Hagedorn, too,” Schimel told conservative talk show host Dan O’Donnell on April 1, 2022. “But I don’t know what happened.”

That leaves only Justices Rebecca Bradley and Annette Ziegler out of Schimel’s line of fire.

Both are conservatives, just like Schimel.

On Tuesday, Schimel declined to answer questions from the Journal Sentinel after his Milwaukee Rotary appearance about his running commentary on his potential colleagues. He said he had probably talked to the newspaper more than any other outlet and had an interview scheduled with a WDJT-TV (Channel 58).

Schimel scurried away with his staff after completing the sit-down chat with reporter Emilee Fannon.

Several hours later, his campaign released a statement.

“Brad isn’t looking to win a popularity contest with the current majority,” said spokesman Jacob Fischer. “He is running to take back the court from those who view it as a political weapon to deliver favors to their donors, like congressional seats to out-of-state billionaires.”

That’s a reference to Crawford’s attendance in January with state Democratic Party Chairman Ben Wikler at a Zoom call organized by aides to billionaire Democratic donor Reid Hoffman, who has given more than $14.5 million to the state Democratic Party. The email invite to the meeting was headlined: “Chance to put two more House seats in play for 2026.”

Crawford has said she simply introduced herself and explained to the Democratic donors why she was running for the state Supreme Court. She said she did not discuss the issue of congressional redistricting.

A spokesman for the Crawford campaign said Schimel’s derogatory comments about the Supreme Court justices were both “inappropriate and disqualifying.”

“These insults are unprofessional to fellow members of the judicial community and the judicial code directs that judges should act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary,” said the spokesman, Derrick Honeyman.

Yeah, like that’s going to happen.

Schimel first went after Protasiewicz when she was running in a tough race against conservative candidate Dan Kelly, saying she was repeatedly lying about her opponent’s record. He said the former Milwaukee County judge “lacks the character necessary to be any kind of judge.”

But he went after her again in August after she had joined the high court.

“She was the least sophisticated of them,” Schimel said, referring the court majority, “and by least sophisticated I mean dumb as a sack of hammers.”

As for Karofsky, he ripped her concurring opinion in a case dealing with adoption and marriage. Her opinion, he said during an appearance on conservative talker Meg Ellefson’s radio show in May 2024, shows, “She’s angry about something, apparently. … This is the craziness we’re dealing with on this court right now. And the lack of humility or respect for anything but their own will.”

Just last month, Schimel repeated his claim that Karofsky “lost control of her emotions” during the oral arguments over the state’s 1849 abortion ban. At a Jefferson County meet and greet, he accused her of “yelling at the top of her lungs” at one of the attorneys in the case.

“It’s that she’s so addled that she couldn’t — not — she could not carry her demeanor like a justice is supposed to or a judge anywhere,” Schimel said. “This is the crazy we’re up against.”

A review of a Wisconsin Eye video of the court hearing shows Karofsky made several forceful arguments, especially when she said upholding the 1849 ban would mean “signing the death warrants” of women and children. But she didn’t appear to be yelling or screaming.

As for the four-member majority, he questioned the rationality of the group during a talk at a Calumet County meet and greet in July, saying people could carry on rational conversations with liberals in the past but not anymore. “Now they’re leftists — they’re nuts.”

On Hagedorn, Schimel recently had kind words for him on a February edition of the “Upfront” show on WISN-TV (Channel 12).

“He’s a good, decent man,” Schimel said. “He’s doing what he thinks is right. I don’t always agree with his decision, but he’s doing what he believes is the right thing to do. I respect that.”

But behind closed doors, Schimel has repeatedly suggested something went wrong with Hagedorn after he got elected in 2019 with Schimel’s backing. This is especially true, Schimel has said, in cases pertaining to the 2020 presidential election.

Summarizing several Supreme Court rulings that he said opened the door to potential fraud, Schimel told a gathering of the Jefferson County Republican Party’s “Pints and Politics” event in February, “So that happened with three liberals and one conservative who got soft-headed on these decisions.”

At another Republican event in Presque Isle in August, Schimel said Hagedorn’s votes led liberal interests to get into the Supreme Court contests.

“That’s why in ’23 they got invested in taking the Wisconsin Supreme Court,” Schimel said. “They didn’t want to rely on Justice Hagedorn voting the wrong way every time.”

Honeyman, the Crawford spokesman, called on Schimel to make amends with the five justices: “Schimel can’t hide or backpedal from these unethical comments and he should unequivocally apologize to Justice Walsh Bradley, Justice Dallet, Justice Karofsky, Justice Protasiewicz and Justice Hagedorn for his misconduct.”