'via Blog this'
We know that the Kochs are trying to buy the presidential election, but did you know they are also trying to buy the Florida Supreme Court and pack it with Rick Scott appointees? Cheers to Carl Hiassen of the Miami Herald for calling them out:
The new stealth campaign against three Florida Supreme Court justices is being backed by those meddling right-wing billionaires from Wichita, Charles and David Koch. They couldn’t care less about Florida, but they love to throw their money around. Last week they uncorked the first of a series of commercials from their political action committee, Americans for Prosperity. The targets are Justices R. Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince....The mission of the Kochs, hiding as always behind their super PAC, is to get the three justices dumped at the polls so that Gov. Rick Scott can appoint replacements.This is worth repeating: If the Kochs have their way, Rick Scott — yes, that Rick Scott — gets to pack the Supreme Court with his own hand-picked crew.Yikes is right.
More below.
The 3 justices are up in November for a yes or no merit retention vote. The Republican Party of Florida has joined in the effort to oust these justices:
The three of them are sitting on a combined political war chest of over a million dollars, given to them by special interest groups, trial lawyers and political activists. And they are red-faced with anger that voters get to decide their fate at the ballot box.
The Palm Beach Post also has an editorial decrying the GOP tactic:
The Republican Party of Florida ... wants justices Lewis, Pariente and Quince off the court because they have ruled, correctly, against GOP-written constitutional amendments and against interests that support the party. If the justices don’t get 50 percent of the vote, Gov. Scott gets to appoint their replacements.The main theme of the GOP is that the 3 voted in favor of Al Gore in the 2000 recount case and voted to reverse the conviction of a murderer who "silently acquiesced" in his lawyer's decision to admit guilt, even though both of these decisions were before the last retention election for these justices. They are also attacking the Court's 5-2 decision rejecting GOP legislative action to derail the Affordable Care Act.
"This year appears to be the first time justices have certified opposition in their quest for merit retention since the system was created in the 1970s, elections experts said."
If you would like to contribute to the PACs who are fighting this attack on the justices, seeDefend Justice from Politics or Democracy at Stake.
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