"TOUGH ON CRIME" -- UNLESS YOU'RE A RAPIST
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Published: March 25, 2025
Author: Daniel Conderman
Context: Recovered Conderman.Group opinion piece on Wisconsin's 2025
         Supreme Court election
Original URL: https://conderman.group/2025/03/%f0%9f%9f%a5-tough-on-crime-unless-youre-a-rapist-the-shameful-record-of-brad-schimel/


Let's cut through the noise.

Wisconsin voters aren't being asked to choose between a liberal and a
conservative this spring. They're being asked if they want to elect a
political puppet in a robe -- a man who talks tough on crime but looked the
other way while thousands of rape kits gathered dust in evidence rooms.

That's Brad Schimel in a nutshell.

He wants you to believe he's a "law-and-order" guy. But the facts say
otherwise.


THOUSANDS OF SURVIVORS IGNORED
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When Schimel was Wisconsin's Attorney General from 2015 to 2019, more than
6,800 rape kits -- each representing a survivor, a life, a trauma -- sat
untested. Some for decades.

Let that sink in. Thousands of women reported their rapes. They went through
the grueling process of submitting evidence. And then... nothing. The kits
were shelved. Forgotten.

That backlog didn't shrink under Schimel. It grew.


THE MONEY WAS THERE. HE JUST DIDN'T CARE.
-----------------------------------------

Federal funding was available to help clear the backlog. Other states were
jumping on it. Not Schimel.

He dragged his feet, delayed applications, and downplayed the importance of
testing -- claiming it wouldn't necessarily lead to more prosecutions.
Imagine telling survivors their trauma "might not be worth the trouble."


"TOUGH ON CRIME"? ONLY WHEN IT'S CONVENIENT
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Where was all that "tough on crime" energy we hear so much about from
Republicans? Where was the urgency? The accountability?

The truth is, Brad Schimel's inaction protected rapists, not victims.

And now, with the help of billionaires like Elon Musk and political deals
brokered behind the scenes, he wants to buy his way onto the Wisconsin
Supreme Court.


MEANWHILE, JOSH KAUL DID THE JOB SCHIMEL WOULDN'T
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When Josh Kaul took over in 2019, he got to work:

  * Cleared the backlog.
  * Tested thousands of kits.
  * Found DNA matches.
  * Reopened cases.
  * Set up a rape-kit tracking system so survivors wouldn't be left in the
    dark again.

It wasn't just cleanup -- it was leadership.


DON'T LET THIS SNAKE WEAR A ROBE
--------------------------------

Brad Schimel is not a principled conservative. He is not a protector of
victims. He is not the kind of judge Wisconsin deserves.

He is:

  * A man who failed survivors when they needed justice.
  * A man who sold his campaign to billionaires.
  * A man who would uphold a 174-year-old abortion ban written before women
    could vote.

This election isn't about partisanship. It's about character.

And Brad Schimel? He's already shown us who he is.