In Wisconsin's supreme court race, a super-rich beer family calls the shots

[milestogo]

When Wisconsinites vote on Tuesday in primary elections for a justice’s seat on the state’s supreme court, few will be aware that much of the big money pouring into this race hails from just one family whose fortunes flow from beer. Millions of dollars have been injected into the battle by members of the Uihlein family, a manufacturing dynasty with roots in Milwaukee. The huge sums could help determine the balance of power on the state’s top court and in turn influence critical areas of public life – from abortion to voting rights, and potentially even the 2024 presidential election.

The source of the Uihleins’ fabulous wealth traces back to 1875, when Joseph Schlitz, the owner of a brewing company, died in a shipwreck off the Isles of Scilly. Control of the firm passed to four Uihlein brothers who were next in the line of inheritance and who went on to build the brand into the largest beer producer in America. Schlitz became ubiquitous under the jingle: “The beer that made Milwaukee famous.” Though its star has fallen, Schlitz beer is still popular in the midwest, and the Uihleins have gone on to become even richer and more powerful. They have also diversified their wealth and in recent years have started to wield it as a political weapon.

Tuesday’s election for a Wisconsin supreme court position has been the target of huge amounts of Uihlein money – surprisingly, on both sides of the political divide. On one side stand the billionaire couple Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, owners of the Wisconsin-based shipping supplies company Uline, who are on track to pump millions of dollars into the race in support of a conservative judicial candidate, Dan Kelly.

On the other side, Richard’s cousin Lynde Bradley Uihlein, a prominent funder of progressive causes,How just one family rose to such pre-eminence in political spending, only to become split between opposing factions, is a very Wisconsin story. The state once prided itself on its campaign finance rules that put voters before donors, bore down on conflicts of interest and corruption, and required openness and transparency.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/21/wisconsin-supreme-court-primary-election-uihlein-family-campaign-finance

[mahina]

1. Take the Uline catalogues and call them, tell them to stop mailing their damn phone book sized waste

paper (politely because the person answering the phone isn't the boss) and to take you off their mailing list.

One by one.

Good luck today Wisconsinites.

[Aristus]

2. I never drink mass-market beer.

But if I did, I could now take Schlitz off the list.