George Brett is being used by the group Justice, Not Politics! to “Vote No on Question 1″ on the Johnson County ballot initiative in Tuesday’s election. Brett can be heard in radio ads comparing judges in the court to umpires on the baseball field. Brett opposed the election of judges.
But how concerned is George Brett about government and political issues when he has only voted once in the last 7+ years? Voting history from the Kansas Secretary of State shows Brett has only voted in the presidential election in 2004 even though he’s been registered to vote since April 2001. Brett has never voted in a city election or an August primary election. Even Brett’s wife has a better voting history.
Will Brett actually show up to vote for any candidate or issue on Tuesday?
The “Vote Yes on Question 1″ group, Kansas Judicial Review of Johnson County, is airing ads by the parents of a Kelsey Smith, who was brutally murdered in 2007. The Smiths approached the “Vote Yes” group over concerns the judge in Johnson County was more interested in playing politics during the trial than in justice for their slain daughter.
If voters knew more about the political money flowing into Kansas elections, knew more about the secret court cases in Kansas, knew more about how decisions were made that affect their state and local government, voters would follow George Brett’s example from his famous pine tar incident from 1983:
For example, did the press tell the public anything about how grand jury members in JoCo might have been subject to law suits for their actions as jurors if a judge in Johnson County had his way?
Kansas attorneys have a dominant part in selecting Kansas judges, and most of these attorneys are quite politically active. Our courts and much of our government are broken due to political money and reform is needed.
If voters only knew how corrupt our government is, perhaps their reaction would be more like George Brett in the pine tar incident:
This re-enactment of Brett’s pine tar incident also drives home the point:
Related:
- Smiths Support Election of Judges in JoCo [Listen to Smiths' audio], Kansas Meadowlark, Oct 28, 2008.
- Crony appointment to judicial nominating committee better than trusting voters in JoCo?, Kansas Meadowlark, Oct 14, 2008.
- Political Profile of Tenth Judicial District Nominating Committee, Kansas Meadowlark, June 4, 2008.
- Selection to the Kansas Supreme Court, The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies, Stephen Ware, KU School of Law, Nov 26, 2007.
Tags: District Court Nominating Commission, Kansas District Courts, Question One
