Zach Schultz for "Here& Now". >> It seemed like the whole
world was watching Wisconsin and its Supreme Court election this
past Tuesday. How does the victory for Liberal Judge Susan
Crawford inform the political direction more broadly going
forward? We check in with chair of the Democratic Party of
Wisconsin, Ben Wikler, and thanks very much for being here.
>> Thanks for having me, Fredricka.
>> So were you expecting a ten point lead for Susan Crawford?
>> I was not. You know, the Republicans, Elon Musk, the
whole kind of right wing machine poured more money into this race
than we've ever seen in any judicial election in American
history. And it seemed hard to believe they didn't have a
theory behind it. As it turned out, they did drive up their
turnout. They won enough votes to defeat Janet Protasiewicz in
2023. They hit their target. It's just that the number of
votes for Susan Crawford was so much more. This was a
combination of an amazing candidate with a superb campaign
and full support from the party and all the different allied
groups. Also, Elon Musk personally inserting himself in
a way that I think incited more people to vote against Brad
Schimel than for Brad Schimel. And then on top of all that,
there's a rage in the electorate right now about what's happening
to this country, the sense that our our Constitution is being
ripped to shreds, that Social Security is under attack, things
that should be politically off limits are being torn to pieces
by Elon Musk, Donald Trump and the Republicans. And I think
that expressed itself in a margin of victory that not only
says something about this race and people's preference for the
integrity of Susan Crawford over what they saw in Brad Schimel,
but also the direction of politics in this whole national
moment. Green Bay, up on stage with a
cheesehead. What was going through your head?
>> Well, first of all, I though, that's not your cheesehead
buddy. Secondly, it felt to me like, Wisconsin can't fall for
this. Surely it can't fall for this. This is the richest man in
the world who is pulling money out of the pockets of people all
over our state. They just fired everyone involved in the low
income home heating program. These are programs that help
people stay warm in the winter in Wisconsin, that they're
cuts for people like Elon Musk. So that's happening with one
hand. The other hand is holding $1 million novelty check. It was
such a transparent attempt to buy our election and our
democracy in order to enrich the already ultra wealthy at the
expense of working people, that it felt like I hoped, with all
my being, that it would backfire. As it turned out, it
backfired big time. >> How do Democrats intend to
trade on the Trump agenda going forward?
>> Well, unfortunately, there's a huge amount to run against,
and Democrats can simply say what we're for. We believe in a
country that works for working people, not just for the ultra
wealthy. We believe every person should have basic freedoms and
dignity and respect, and that creates a gigantic contrast with
an administration that seems intent on torpedoing the entire
economy. And then, you know, carving out chunks of special
favors for the wealthy friends of the president as though he's
a mob boss, dividing up the spoils. This is a totally
catastrophic administration that seems to be intent on steering
us into a recession. And all the Republicans in Congress and in
the Senate, they seem to chicken about mean tweets from Trump and
Elon Musk, or maybe primary challenges to do anything about
it. So there's going to be a wave. You can already feel it
building. You could see the first cresting of that wave in
Wisconsin on Tuesday. But I think it's going to sweep this
whole country for these next two years and probably the next four
years, because they're so, so bad at this right now. And
Democrats actually believe in in making government work for
people. >> What kind of advice do you
have for Democrats nationally to replicate what happened in
Wisconsin this week? >> Well, first, what Susan
Crawford did, I think is really a model. She was crystal clear
at every stop. She would say, I never dreamed, as a little girl
growing up in Chippewa Falls, that I'd be up against the
richest man in the world. She made the case about her
integrity by telling her life story about growing up with a
sibling with special needs, who she took care of. A protective
instinct. Her work as a prosecutor and then working in
state government, then in private practice. Defending
Planned Parenthood, which drew a contrast on abortion, which is
still a very powerful issue in our state. I think a lot of
states. And then as a judge, how she treated everyone equally,
who walked into her courtroom, and then the contrast was
corruption. So it wasn't just that Brad Schimel was very far
right wing and supported the abortion ban. It was also the
corruption of giving special favors to his campaign
contributors and Elon Musk and Trump are sort of guaranteeing
that every Republican in Washington gets caught in that
swirl of corruption right now. The message about who's serving
the ultra rich and who's serving regular folks. That ties into a
question of character. And I think for Democrats being clear
about their character, about their values, about who they're
going to work for and fight for, and then drawing a clear
contrast with the other side, not wavering or backing down or
cowering. That actually is a model I think will work well.
People want to see candidates who are ready to fight for
things that most Americans believe in. And I think that's
what Democrats can offer. >> What is your comment on being
a part of the most expensive court race in U.S. History?
>> My comment is it is long past time for campaign finance
reform. This is preposterous. And I say that, you know, the
Democrats have outraised Republicans in our state party
for most of the last bunch of years. And I was saying that
even then, it's part of our state party platform. Very
clearly, if Democrats regain control, let's clean up our
politics. And if Republicans would like to actually join
Democrats to do that, let's get started together. But this idea
that the richest people in the world should blunder in hand out
million dollar checks and try to buy our democracy. It's an
affront to the idea of a country where the people are supposed to
rule, not the power of wealth. And we have a lot of work to do