NEWS OFF THE CUFF
Restoring Democracy
IN WISCONSIN OFF THE CUFF WITH LAW FORWARD’S JEFF MANDELL BY LOUIS FORTIS
W
isconsin was the leading progressive state for a century until the 2010 election of Scott Walker, GOP majorities in both houses of the legislature and the most gerrymandered districts in the country. A three-judge federal panel, with two judges appointed by Republican presidents, ruled our legislative districts to be unconstitutional. Law Forward is a non-profit, non-partisan, impact litigation firm focused on advancing and protecting democracy in Wisconsin. Off the Cuff spoke with Law Forward’s founder Jeff Mandell. A graduate of the University of Chicago law school, Mandell moved to Madison with his wife in 2015 because it “was a place where we could raise our kids that reflected our values.” Tell me about your work. There is no analog to Law Forward anywhere else in the country right now. Wisconsin has been over the last 11 years the primary testing ground for the most reactionary and radical ideas on how to change governance and turn back the clock in this country. Just like conservatives and right-wingers used Kansas as their testing ground for extraordinary and extreme fiscal policy, they decided to use Wisconsin as the place where they try out all their nutty, revanchist theories on democracy. They’ve chosen Wisconsin because it was the beacon in this country—the model laboratory of democracy with open and transparent government that worked with people who had divergent opinions and looked for solutions to the problems that faced people in the state. There’s so much innovation that came out of Wisconsin from unemployment insurance, social security to vouchers and school choice, to using bipartisan nominating commissions to limit the amount of patronage in appointing federal judges and other federal positions that served in the state. Law Forward is stepping in to say that we’re going to fight back in an organized, coherent, strategic way. We are going to protect Wisconsin’s democracy and try to make sure the state continues to function for people. Who is the “they,” as you see it on the other side, that is crippling our democracy? It can be difficult to tell at some point but the primary vehicle for this has been the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL)—a conservative law firm, essentially a non-profit created in 2011, that for a decade has basically run amuck and unchecked in this state, doing the bidding of a right-wing donors. They work from a potentially blank check and unlimited funding from the Bradley Foundation and other highly conservative interests in Milwaukee. The Koch brothers have helped fund WILL. And that's what I mean about national interest stepping in and using Wisconsin as the example. The Bradley Foundation was the beginning of this, but they have recruited people from all over the country to bring the money here and use Wisconsin as their testing ground. Because if it works, if it could work in Wisconsin, they can show it can work anywhere.
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