At UW-Parkside rally, Bernie Sanders slams Elon Musk's spending on state Supreme Court race
KENOSHA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders packed the gym at UW-Parkside Friday night as the senator headlined a rally that largely targeted President Donald Trump and his billionaire special advisor, Elon Musk.
The millions of dollars Musk is pouring into the April 1 election that will determine control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court also came up during Sanders' approximately hour-long remarks.
The theme of Sanders' multi-state tour is "fight oligarchy," and the audience loudly cheered any time Sanders mentioned Republicans' plans to downsize government and approve sweeping tax cuts.
House Republicans narrowly passed a budget resolution last week that calls for more than $4 billion in tax cuts, which would largely be funded by spending cuts.
Sanders repeatedly took aim at Musk, who oversees the Department of Government Efficiency, which has already made deep cuts to numerous federal agencies.
Sanders accused Musk and other billionaires of calling for cuts strictly so they could benefit from subsequent tax cuts, comparing their motives to drug addiction.
"Think about a heroin addict, needs more and more and more. That's what their body is craving, and that is what these guys want," Sanders said. "They have billions, they want more billions, and they do not care about who they step on in order to become richer."
America's wealthiest people have their fingerprints all over the Wisconsin Supreme Court race between Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford and Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge, and former attorney general, Brad Schimel.
Liberals currently have a 4-3 majority on the state's high court.
Rich liberals, including George Soros, Reid Hoffman and JB Pritzker have combined to give Crawford millions of dollars.
Musk has spent millions on paid media and voter turnout efforts for Schimel.
"The situation is so absurd, and Musk is so arrogant," Sanders said. "That he is even intervening in a supreme court election right here in the state of Wisconsin."
The Republican Party of Wisconsin in a statement said Sanders' visit was an indication of Crawford championing liberal causes most voters oppose.
"As if Susan Crawford and the Democrats weren't already completely out of touch with Wisconsin voters, they're now desperately turning to the far-left extremist Bernie Sanders to try and revive their sinking campaign," the statement read.
The key issues in this contest are a case the court will almost certainly decide regarding the legality of an 1849 near-total abortion ban, the legality of key aspects of the 2011 Act 10 law the largely ended collective bargaining rights for public workers, and the future of the state's legislative and congressional voting maps.
While Sanders mainly talked about Musk, he also broadly described the influence of money in elections, repeating his longtime support for publicly financed campaigns.
"We are not a democracy when billionaires, like Musk and others, in both political parties, can buy elections," Sanders said.
According to the tracking group, Ad Impact, liberal groups have spent $22.8 million on ads backing Crawford that have run as well as future ad space reservations.
Conservative groups have spent $18.3 on past and future ads for Schimel, and with more than four weeks until the election, millions more will pour in for both candidates.
Sanders will make another stop in Wisconsin, rallying Saturday in Altoona before holding another event in suburban Detroit.