We seem to have struck a raw nerve with a post asking Judge Pedro Colon to withdraw his endorsement of David Prosser.
That simple request, that Colon do the right thing and say he can no longer support Prosser, has not brought any response from Colon. But a small circle of his supporters have been rabid, on this blog and on Facebook, accusing me of all sorts of high crimes and misdemeanors.
This is a simple request: Colon, who is on Tuesday's ballot as a candidate for a full term in Milwaukee County circuit court, considers himself a progressive. Yet he has endorsed David Prosser, the justice who says he wants to complement Scott Walker's work. ( Prosser has also endorsed Colon, but that's really irrelevant.)
Progressives in Wisconsin have mobilized to try to replace Prosser with JoAnne Kloppenburg on Tuesday. And Colon, who endorsed Prosser long ago, is on the wrong side.
There is a great precedent for taking back his support. Pat Lucey, a former Wisconsin governor who was co-chair of Prosser's campaign, resigned last week. He said:
“As a former Governor who appointed to Wisconsin’s Supreme Court two quite different but equally principled Justices – Shirley Abrahamson and Roland Day – and who has over the years endorsed several more Justices, I have followed with increasing dismay and now alarm the campaign of Justice David Prosser, whom I endorsed at the outset of his campaign and in whose campaign I serve as the Honorary Co-Chairman.
“I can no longer in good conscience lend my name and support to Justice Prosser’s candidacy. Too much has come to light that Justice Prosser has lost that most crucial of characteristics for a Supreme Court Justice – as for any judge – even-handed impartiality. Along with that failing has come a disturbing distemper and lack of civility that does not bode well for the High Court in the face of demands that are sure to be placed on it in these times of great political and legal volatility.
“At the very same time that my confidence in Justice Prosser has waned, I admire and have continued to be impressed with Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg. She has adhered throughout the campaign to even-handedness and non-partisanship and has exhibited both promising judicial temperament and good grace even in the heat of a fierce campaign.
“For these reasons I have today resigned as Honorary Co-Chairman of Justice Prosser’s campaign, and I endorse Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg for the Wisconsin Supreme Court on April 5, 2011.”
There's one day left, and the clock is ticking.
Why not do the right thing? Even a last-minute conversion would help send one more message that Prosser is the wrong choice, and it would improve Colon's standing as someone who's willing to act on principle, not on political expediency or bull-headedness.
If there are Colon supporters reading this, why not call him instead of attacking me? We'll all be better off.