The Chris Moeller Archives

Iowa's judges up for bid

With Senator Charles Grassley and former Governor Terry Branstad, both Republicans, poised to claim blow-out midterm victories in November against the uninspired Democratic opponents in their statewide races, liberal voters in Iowa may find very little reason to go to the polls-- especially here in Des Moines and the state's 3rd Congressional district where a Republican, Brad Zaun, squares off against the incumbent Congressman, Diet Republican Leonard Boswell. But these liberals should pay heed to the fact that our ballots may be in the national spotlight for a different reason on election day.

Last week, former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor made national news during her visit to Iowa by criticizing, in a speech before the Iowa Bar Association, the special interest campaign dollars that have been flowing into the state's judicial retention races, dollars she says would allow judges to be bought out on various issues, or retaliated against at the polls. If the entire process becomes politicized, it may force Iowa judges to start committees and begin campaigning to retain their seats.

Bob Vander Plaats, a failed GOP gubernatorial candidate in Iowa and the Bull Connor of the gay civil rights movement in America, has been soliciting funds from bigoted special interest groups like the American Family Association and the National Organization for Marriage in an effort to unseat the three (of nine) Iowa Supreme Court Justices who are up for retention on the ballot this year. Justices David Baker, Michael Streit, and Chief Justice Marsha Ternus all voted in favor of lifting the ban on gay marriage in Iowa in the court's unanimous 2009 decision. Chief Justice Ternus, like O'Connor incidentally, was appointed to her highest judicial position by a Republican Chief Executive.

An organization called "Iowans for Fair and Impartial Courts" has been started in dedication to keeping campaign dollars out of judicial elections in our state. This is their website.

posted by CM @ 9:19 PM