Rush Limbaugh's Morning Update: No Tears!

Rarely do state judicial elections generate national publicity, but that's what happened in Wisconsin -- where a little-known county judge beat an incumbent State Supreme Court justice. The county judge, Michael Gableman, garnered 51 percent of the vote to defeat Justice Louis Butler. First time an incumbent was tossed off the court in 41 years, folks!

A New York University lawyer, James Sample, calls the race one of the "true low points" in judicial elections. Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle says it's "a tragedy" that Butler, "a fine judge and good human being, was trashed during the campaign."

Why are these guys so upset? Well, it's easy to understand once you get the lay of the land up there. The defeated judge was the deciding vote that tipped the balance of the court to liberals. He had massive liberal support, including the state's largest teacher's unions. Justice Butler's camp is furious that Gableman's supporters painted Butler as a judicial activist (in other words, "told the truth about him") and ran ads using the nickname Butler earned as a public defender: "Loophole Louie." Michael Gableman, the winner, ran on a platform of judicial conservatism, and he won -- it's that simple.

Now, for decades, liberals have trashed "good human beings and fine judges" like Justices Thomas and Alito, and outstanding nominees such as Judges Bork and Estrada. So let's forgo the national pity party, shall we, and crying in the soup when a liberal judge loses an election. It's not a national tragedy. And besides -- there are no tears in politics when liberals lose. (I'm fresh out, anyway.)

Read the Background Material on the Morning Update...
• AP: Wisconsin Justice Ousted in Nasty Race