MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A vocal liberal critic of the Wisconsin Supreme Court says the departure of Justice Michael Gableman "will leave an ample white sheet to fill."
One Wisconsin Now director Scot Ross commented via Twitter on Gableman's decision not to seek a second term. Ross says he's not suggesting Gableman is in the Ku Klux Klan, but in a follow-up statement he says Gableman ran "the most racist ad in the history of Wisconsin politics" during his 2008 campaign.
Gableman defeated Justice Louis Butler, who is black, that year. The ad Ross cites showed a picture of Butler next to the face of a black rapist Butler had represented years earlier.
Republican state Rep. Adam Jarchow responded on Twitter, calling Ross's insinuation "beyond disgusting."