Photo credit: Kaul For Attorney General
Josh Kaul
In former federal prosecutor Josh Kaul, our state has the incredible opportunity to hire an attorney general so qualified, talented and experienced that, even with bigger races at the top of the statewide ballot, Kaul should have your full consideration. After which, he is bound to earn your enthusiastic vote, no matter what your political party.
The differences between the approach favored by Kaul and his partisan opponent, Brad Schimel, could not be more striking. Kaul would be the people’s attorney general. He wants the very best for his fellow Wisconsinites. At the same time, his history as a federal prosecutor has shown that he will hold people accountable for their actions no matter who they are or how much money they have.
In contrast, Schimel jets around the country, rubbing elbows at fancy Mar-A-Lago with Donald Trump bedfellows, National Rifle Association (NRA) executives and Big Pharma lobbyists. Schimel even spoke at a conference held by the homophobic Alliance Defending Freedom, which is classified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group. He tried to hide his participation, but after his attendance was uncovered, he claimed it was a personal trip. However, at the conference he spoke in his capacity as Wisconsin’s attorney general and used taxpayer money to bring one of his top attorneys with him to the gathering of anti-LGBTQ, rightwing extremists. With actions like that, how can he claim to be fair and objective? That alone is enough to disqualify him from our state’s top-cop job.
Schimel’s first term included spearheading a lawsuit to kill the Affordable Care Act (ACA)—even though it protects the health of Wisconsinites, especially the estimated 2.4 million of us with pre-existing conditions. He wants to arm teachers, putting guns in classrooms because he is beholden to his big donor, the NRA. And, in pursuit of this rightwing, out-of-touch agenda, he has ignored the basics of his job: testing rape kits, DNA and other vital evidence needed to keep Wisconsin residents safe and criminals off our streets. Furthermore, Schimel botched the Lincoln Hills juvenile corrections probe, lets polluters off the hook and, believe it or not, spent $83,000 of taxpayer dollars on self-promoting swag including golden coins and custom fortune cookies. These are certainly all good reasons to vote against the biased, extremist and partisan Schimel.
|
|
On the positive side, there are even more reasons that Kaul would make a stellar top cop for our state. Kaul is thoughtful, dedicated to his work, incredibly intelligent and has a reputation as a tough and fair prosecutor. He emphasizes the need to get justice for survivors of sexual assault and other crimes. And, unlike the incumbent, he believes in enforcing the laws that protect us against consumer fraud and laws that defend Wisconsin’s natural resources.
After working closely with law enforcement to clean up the streets in Baltimore, one of the country’s roughest cities, he returned to his home state of Wisconsin to defend the cornerstone of democracy that has been under assault in Wisconsin and across the country: our right to vote. He’s also the son of the late former Wisconsin Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager, so he’s been cultivating his legal acumen and his love of our state all his life. A vote for Kaul is a vote for principle, talent and an attorney focused on defending the law and the people of Wisconsin.
Read the rest of our endorsements for the 2018 midterm election here.
