By Javier Manjarres
The grassroots organization Americans for Prosperity (AFP) has launched an effective attack ad targeting the Florida Supreme Court that is designed to inform Floridians about the merit retention process that would give voters the opportunity to have their say on whether to retain these judges once every six years.
Three left-leaning Florida’s Supreme Court Judges currently sitting on the bench- Justices Lewis, Quince and Pariente are being accused of judicial activism in the 2010 rejection of a constitutional amendment that was intended to halt President Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act bill.
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Here is the Miami Herald’s commentary on the matter- remember, the statement that “the one Republicans dubbed Obamacare,” also included Democrats like Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who also used and embraced the ‘derogatory’ term for the Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act, but only after she demonized Republicans for using the term. (Video)
The first ad will focus on the court’s 5-2 decsion in 2010, rejecting the proposed constitutional amendment intended by the Legislature to counter President Barack Obama’s Affordable Health Care Act — the one Republicans dubbed ObamaCare.
“We’re not advocating for the election or defeat of any of the justices what we’re attempting to do is call more attention to them advocating from the bench,’’ O’Brien said.
The 30-second ad accuses the court of rejecting a constitutional amendment written by the Legislature that would serve as a referendum on the Affordable Care Act on the November ballot. The justices ruled that the non-binding amendment included a misleading summary because it made numerous promises such as ensuring “access to health care services without waiting lists.”
When the state acknowledged the summary was misleading, it asked the court to replace the text of the amendment in the summary. The majority ruled it did not have the authority to do to substitute language the legislature intended to appear on the ballot and noted that the court has “previously asked the Legislature to establish a procedure that would avoid this problem…The Legislature has yet to establish such a process.”
Justice Charles Canady wrote in his dissent that the court had done exactly that in a previous case in 2004.The Herald also cites former Republican state Senator Alex Villalobos of being opposed to the ad. This is the same Villalobos who endorsed Charlie Crist over Rubio and Liberal Democrat Alex Sink over Governor Rick Scott in 2010.
Alex Villalobos, the former Republican state senator from Miami and president of Democracy at Stake, a non-profit advocacy group working to support the justices, called the ad misleading. (Miami Herald)
Maybe Villalobos should worry more about the political game of ‘twister’ he once played in his office with a former state senator?
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