by mal contends

Public financing, education, and aggressive journalism point the way out of the unholy mess the election of Wisconsin Supreme Court justices has become.

So bad is Wisconsin that we are now a poster child for a nationwide problem with electing judges.

Another part of the solution proposed is more aggressive recusal rules, negating the rationale behind buying a Supreme Court seat.

From the Brennan Center for Justice's Justice Under Seige:

Newsweek, for some reason, has decided to pay attention to the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, doing fact checks on the proliferation of commercials being aired by candidates and interest groups.

Like most who have viewed the ads, it has been harsh on Micheal Gableman's campaign for its Willie Horton-style ad and misleading claims about Justice Louis Butler.

My personal favorite is what it had to say about the Greater Wisconsin Committee, an issue advocacy group for which I formerly worked as a consultant, and now serve as a board member.

It's become almost standard practice by so-called "good government" groups like the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, which pretty much hates all campaign spending that isn't paid by the taxpayers, to use the word "shadowy" when referring to GWC.

Conservatives who find themselves on the wrong side -- the receiving end -- of GWC issue campaigns have taken up the terminology, right-wing bloggers always use it, and even some of the news media have picked it up.

You'd almost think the group's name was the Shadowy Greater Wisconsin Committee.