The state Supreme Court race between incumbent Justice Louis Butler and Barnett County Judge Michael Gableman has predictably veered away from issues, since in a so-called non-partisan race it's hard to focus on how a justice would vote on a particular legal issue. It's also a race where both sides are at ideologically polar opposites.

Recent salvos include special interest advertisements that were so graphic TV stations pulled them from the air. One attacked Butler, claiming he set a murderer free and featured a dead body in a reenactment as part of the graphics. Another missive from a liberal group questions how Gableman even received his seat on the bench, since the standard procedure wasn't followed and Gableman had held two fundraisers for then Gov. Scott McCallum, who appointed him.

And now the conservative Wisconsin Club for Growth is trying to raise questions regarding Butler's travel to Nevada, where he regularly teaches judges. The group contends that Butler is "triple-dipping" in making his teaching travels by not only not officially taking time off to go there, it also contends that Butler should take sick leave to go. By not taking sick leave, Butler receives additional health care coverage when he retires.

It's kind of a strange attack, since Butler receives a salary and should be able to do what he wants on his days off. Does that mean he should take sick leave when lounging around on weekends? He took a week to teach in Nevada and a day in Los Angeles to attend a moot court competition for the California Law School.

"Louis Butler should immediately refund the taxpayers for the time they paid him while he was doing work for out-of-state organizations, or deduct the time from his accrued leave so taxpayers don't pay for it again when he retires," it said.

Other groups spending partisan cash on the race include Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce and the Greater Wisconsin Committee.

Snuffing Out the Smoking Ban: Somebody has finally taken up the banner for Wisconsin smokers in an attempt to fight a statewide smoking ban.

Calling itself "Dan the Ban Wisconsin" a duo of conservative bloggers has to put together a Web site (banthebanwisconsin.com) pointing out the other side of the smoking debate.

Joey Monson, of pheistyblog.com, and Ryan Evans, of arclightzero.wordpress.com, are the coordinators. They say they have no connection to big tobacco and will try to be objective and fair and feature one smoker and one non-smoker.

"Our resources include documents from pulmonologists, economists, physicians, labor safety organizations, lawyers and law professors, environmental safety scientists and a variety of peer-reviewed publications such as the British Medical Journal," says a statement.

"There is a human face to this issue that isn't being adequately addressed here. We hope to change that. The rural and out state Wisconsin community is rich in culture and community, and our goal in the coming weeks will be to visit with some of these people and tell their stories and document their views on Madison's attempt to force a state-wide smoking ban upon them."

The group was a recent guest of the Tavern League.

"People must realize that behind these 'mom and pop' businesses are thousands of Wisconsinites' lives and legacies. It would be a shame to needlessly inflict harm on a single one of these people in the name of a skewed agenda," they said.

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Posted by roboneal on March 12, 2008 at 10:27 p.m. (report)

I'm confused by your article, in one paragraph you say that Butler does NOT take time off for his out of state "teaching" travels and in the next you say he takes a salary and should be able to do what he wants on his DAYS OFF. The criticism appears to be that he's performing these out of state teaching assignments while being paid by the State of Wisconsin and is not taking proper leave (sick or otherwise).