The Tennessee Supreme Court has become an electoral battleground for Republican state Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey and a group of fellow conservatives, including state house Majority Leader Gerald McCormick, R-Chattanooga, and Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville.
The Republicans have been trying to rally Aug. 7 voters to say no to retaining three Tennessee Supreme Court justices who were appointed by former Gov. Phil Bredesen, a Democrat. The justices are Gary Wade, Connie Clark and Sharon Lee.
It’s actually an old trick. Conservative politicians launch campaigns intended to ensure the election of judges whose decisions will reflect the “correct” ideology. A North Carolina Supreme Court justice survived a primary earlier this summer when the GOP spent more than $1 million, much of it from out of state, to campaign against her. Now Tennessee is the scene of another conservative onslaught.
This Thursday, Tennesseans will be asked to vote “yes” or “no” on whether to retain the three justices, all Democrats and therefore the target of Ramsey and his ilk.
Your vote should be to “retain” these judges who have, in conservative-backed television ads, been unjustly accused of being soft on crime, advancing Obamacare and furthering pro-abortion efforts.