Five Debate Questions for Brad Schimel

MADISON, Wis. — Waukesha District Attorney Brad Schimel has staked out a series of controversial positions and priorities, as well as engaged in questionable conduct. In advance of this afternoon’s first Attorney General, One Wisconsin Now has proposed a series of questions Schimel should answer to the people of Wisconsin.

“There has not been someone in recent history seeking to be Wisconsin’s Attorney General with more questions about his conduct and priorities than Brad Schimel,” said Scot Ross, One Wisconsin Now Executive Director. “It’s time for Brad Schimel to answer these questions.”

Brad Schimel flip-flopped on whether he would defend the state’s domestic partner registry and the recently declared he would have defended a ban on interracial marriage if he had been Attorney General in the 1950s. Would Schimel have defended other now-anachronistic laws denying women and African Americans the right to vote, the state’s current criminal abortion statute, a law denying women property rights, and would he defend the state’s felony marriage evasion statute if the U.S. Supreme Court rules against same sex marriage?

Brad Schimel responded to a call he should investigate fellow Republican Rep. Joel Kleefisch by stating asking, “Why can’t a legislator press for legislation that benefits a person who has contributed to their campaign? Isn’t that the essence of representative government?” He has since said he wasn’t provided more information to investigate. Will citizens have to do your investigating for you, or is it just for your powerful Republican allies who get out of jail free card?

Susan Happ recently called for a crackdown on unscrupulous for-profit colleges, which prey on students and in particular veterans. Why have you failed to join her on this critical issue and are you unwilling to ensure Wisconsin students are safeguarded by the state’s consumer protection laws?

Brad Schimel’s allies have eviscerated the state’s equal pay laws. Do you support treating of women as second-class citizens in the workplace and if not, why have you failed to publicly oppose the attack on equal pay?

A complaint has been filed against Brad Schimel under WI Statute 11.25(2)(a) for improperly using his campaign account for non-political activity involving nearly 20 times in which he used campaign funds to pay for babysitters. Why did you think is it okay to use campaign funds to pay for expenses that parents in the state pay out of their pockets as part of their parental responsibilities.”

“These are troubling questions, but ones Brad Schimel needs to answer at long last,” Ross said. “The people of Wisconsin deserve some straight answers from Brad Schimel, once and for all.”