Schimel caught bragging that he needs to “invest in knee pads, crawl around begging people” for campaign cash

MADISON, WI - Reporting by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel this morning uncovered Shady Brad Schimel desperately begging for donations from extreme far-right groups and donors. Brad Schimel’s begging demonstrates his extreme priorities and commitment to implementing a far-right agenda that will strip away the rights of Wisconsinites.

To save Shady Schimel a trip to Menards, we dropped off a few pairs of knee pads at the Republican Party of Wisconsin office this morning. 

Enjoy, Brad!

It comes as no surprise that Shady Schimel is wearing out his knee pads, he has spent his entire political career doing the bidding for right-wing special interest groups and their extreme agenda. This isn’t the first time Shady Schimel has blurred ethical campaign lines — he was already exposed for agreeing to a sweet plea deal with a predator caught with thousands of files of child pornography, after accepting more than $5,000 from the predator’s lawyer. If that’s what Schimel will do for $5,000 in campaign donations, what’s he promising while on bended-knee in front of billionaires and right-wing special interests?

Brad Schimel has no interest in standing up for Wisconsinites and protecting their rights; he is too extreme and shady for the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Read more about Shady Brad Schimel:

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bice: Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel jokes he’s wearing out knee pads campaigning
By Dan Bice

• Now it’s coming to light that the former Republican attorney general likes to joke that he regularly visits the hardware store for knee pads for when he hits up supporters.
   
• “I have to invest in knee pads,” Schimel told members of the 2nd Congressional District Republican Party on June 3. “You know, I’ve got to go to Menards, invest in knee pads, to crawl around begging people, ‘Please, please, please, consider getting involved and consider supporting my race.'”
   
• “I’m doing it … by calling and begging people, cajoling, by stopping at Menards for a new set of knee pads every couple days,” he said. “That’s how I have to raise the money.”
   
• One thing, though: Schimel is not supposed to be hitting up donors for cash, with or without knee pads. The state’s Judicial Conduct Code is very clear: “A judge, candidate for judicial office, or judge-elect shall not personally solicit or accept campaign contributions.” That’s the job of the candidate’s campaign committee.
   
• Nick Ramos, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, said judges aren’t allowed to raise money directly because it would make them look like they are not independent and impartial.
   
• “It blurs the lines and it makes it so that, well, can you just buy a judge to rule a case your way?” Ramos said, describing why judicial candidates shouldn’t solicit donations personally.
   
• Schimel does like to talk money on the campaign trail.
   
• He told a conservative radio host on WISN-AM (1130) in April that he knew personally that a lot of outside groups are committed to making sure conservatives get control of the Supreme Court. Elsewhere, he estimated these groups will spend $10 million to $15 million on the race.
   
• “I do have national relationships with donors, well beyond Wisconsin,” he said. “I’ve met with many of them already, and I’m confident that we’re going to, we’re going to see them come in the race.” 
   
• He quickly added that he can’t ask these groups directly for money but he said he tells them the significance of the contest and why he’s running. “We’re going to nationalize this,” he said.
   
• At a Calumet County Republican Party event in July, Schimel advised the group that individuals can give up to $20,000 directly to his campaign, telling them that a staffer named Jeff would accept any such checks. He had a different message for bigger donors.
   
• “Then, if you want to give a lot more, you can give that to either of the state parties, and they can transfer it,” he said. “They can transfer that to candidates. You can’t earmark it and say, ‘I’m giving you this money but you have to give it.’ But they’re going to those donors who are going to wait till after November 5 (2024) to make sure that I’m the last thing that they give the money to. But that money is going to come.”
   
• “We’ll play this smarter than the race was last April; there were big mistakes made,” Schimel said. He then noted that the major Wisconsin donors would be writing “the giant checks that can transfer” to his campaign.
   
• Derrick Honeyman, a spokesman for Crawford’s campaign, said Schimel has spent his political career “begging for favors from the far right.”
   
• “Voters can hear it directly from him,” Honeyman said. “He’s groveling in front of billionaires and right-wing groups and begging them to save his campaign as they’re pouring in millions because they know he’ll push an extreme agenda.”