Jimmy Blacklock was appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott to fill the vacant Supreme Court seat of Don Willett who was appointed by President Trump to sit on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Blacklock's immediate prior job was as general counsel to Gov. Abbott.
Since Judge Willett's term expired in 2018, Judge Blacklock must stand as a candidate this November. His website is adorned with partisanship and highlights his stance as a wingnut. And now Gov. Abbott is going around telling folks that he knows how Judge Blacklock will rule on abortion-related issues because of his anti-abortion positions.
We like to pretend that our judges sit on the bench and make decisions based upon the law and the facts presented to them without regard for politics. That, of course, is a fiction (in large measure). Gov. Abbott's remarks cast aside that shroud of impartiality and case severe doubt on Judge Blacklock's ability to sit as an impartial arbiter.
You might expect the governor to know better than to tout his appointee's positions on issues that may come before the court given that Mr. Abbott once sat on the State Supreme Court. But, fear not, the governor has a long track record of being a hack who carries the water for insurance companies, the petrochemical industry and large corporations.
And, lest you forget, Gov. Abbott fought tooth and nail to defend the state's voter ID law which imposed some of the most stringent requirements for voting with the intent to restrict the ability of the poor, minorities and the elderly to vote.
I do not think that voter ID laws are used to prevent the poor, minorities, or the elderly from voting. Voter ID laws are in place to keep non citizens from voting, as I am sure you know that it happens. Being poor or a minority does not mean being incapable of following the rules. I am not sure who is defined as being elderly, but my mother is 86 years old and can get to the post office to get a voter registration card and get to the polls on her own.
ReplyDeleteVoter ID laws were passed by Republican legislatures in states in which demographic changes were eroding the GOP's electoral majority. If you really believe that these laws aren't designed to restrict the ability to vote, then perhaps you can explain to me why a concealed handgun permit is a permissible form of ID but a college ID isn't.
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