The Chris Moeller Archives

Justices booted

There is no shortage of topics this week, what with election day yesterday, a World Series championship for the San Francisco Giants on Monday, and also the return of the McRib.
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The judicial retention voting results in Iowa are nauseating, and the ousting of three of the authors of a landmark state ruling on the federal right of equal protection is getting a lot of national attention today. Yet I was actually pleasantly surprised at how close the voting was. In each of the three tallies, the percentage breakdown was approximately 48 to 52% for retention, and this is incredible to me when you consider that only one side was "campaigning."

An actual garbage-court ruling-- the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United a year ago-- opened up this vote and any others to literally-limitless outside money, and nearly all of it was spent here in opposition to the three justices. Only one side placed the hundreds of television and radio ads. Indeed, only one side acknowledged that this should even be a "political race," as it never has been before and as the Iowa Constitution dictates that it shouldn't be. In a separate measure appearing on ballots statewide, Iowans did, by a 2-1 margin, oppose opening up the state constitution (and by extension, this court ruling) to rewriting by a state convention. That's a big positive.

We're told that a healthy majority of Iowans oppose gay marriage, and yet nearly half of voters-- during a Republican-landslide election year, no less-- supported these justices for retention. Imagine what the retention results would have been if the Democratic party, with its dismal slate of candidates, had actually inspired any progressives to the polls this year.

As for the bigots, and Bob Vander Plaats and his religionist group are surely that-- good old-fashioned, fire hose-to-the-mouth bigots, we won't have to worry about them much longer. Since their principal argument on the matter is that the Constitutionally-given authority of judicial review is actually "legislating" when a result conflicts with an opinion of the majority, they'll have to quickly concede just as soon as that rapidly-approaching day arrives in which national opinion on gay rights sprints past them in the opposite direction. Then they'll be forced to make a choice similar to that of two of their predecessors-- between that of the George Wallace-like, late-in-life renunciation of past convictions and a Bull Connor-like stick-to-it-edness to infinity that will cause their human successors to look upon them as monsters. But congratulations on your victory last night, Bob & company.

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You're still not talking slow enough for them to understand: From the White House's official media release following the election yesterday, "This wasn’t a vote for more partisanship, for more ideology. … This wasn’t a vote to refight the old battles, or re-empower the special interests. This was a vote for cooperation and pragmatism."

See? Obama now recognizes the error of his ways. He was being too partisan before. He just needs to reach out to the well-meaning Republicans a little bit more; be more Republican, if you will.

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News services are reporting that beloved former Reds and Tigers manager Sparky Anderson is now under hospice care in California. Cincinnati sportswriter John Fay remembers today that Sparky once guested as himself on an episode of "WKRP in Cincinnati," and he even provides a link to the episode online! I know it was a gift and all, but I think it would be a nice gesture at this point if Les Nessman offered Sparky's World Championship ring back to the manager and his family. Like Herb, I was surprised when Sparky gave it to him.

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Just an observation: Isn't it remarkable that Tom and Dick Smothers last name is really Smothers, which rhymes with 'brothers'? You would really think they made it up, but there would seem to be mountains of evidence that they didn't.

posted by CM @ 2:15 PM