In the hours leading up to Thursday morning’s vote on whether to change how Kansas Supreme Court Justices are nominated, Rep. Kent Thompson received three phone calls: One from Americans for Prosperity; a second from Kansans for Life; and a third from the Kansas Chamber of Commerce.
All three urged Thompson to vote for the measure that would give Gov. Sam Brownback sole authority to select nominees for the high court, subject to Senate approval.
Thompson said he did not take kindly to their not-so-veiled threats as to what a “no” vote would mean as to his chances of being re-elected nor their implications that such a vote signaled he was going soft on their pet causes.
Good for Thompson.
HOUSE Republicans were evenly divided on the issue. To pass, the measure required a two-thirds majority that would then send it for Senate confirmation. Had it made it that far, it easily would have garnered the necessary votes to put the constitutional amendment on the November ballot. Ever since Brownback worked to defeat moderate Republicans in the 2012 elections, the Senate has been in lockstep with the governor.
The defeat is a resounding victory for those who want to keep merit — and not politics — as a basis for qualifications to the court.
Recent rulings by the Kansas Supreme Court have upset special interest groups such as the Koch brothers’ AFP, the Kansas Chamber and abortion opponents.
The case before the court regarding school finance, for example, has Americans for Prosperity and the Kansas Chamber up in arms because they fear the justices will rule the state is not putting enough toward providing an equitable education for Kansas children. The idea of spending state resources on public education runs counter to their preferred model of privatization.
As for abortion opponents, they are unhappy with a recent ruling by the state’s Court of Appeals that blocked a state law passed in 2015 that prohibits a common procedure in second-trimester abortions. The case will now go before the Supreme Court.
If Brownback had sole authority to pick Supreme Court justices, abortion opponents would have to find a new cause célèbre.
Of course, the issue is far from over. With two more years as governor, we can be assured Brownback will try again to undermine the justice system.
With our trust in government so low, everyday Kansans are forced to be vigilantes.
— Susan Lynn
