Palin Pick to Be Alaska's 2nd Female on High Court

[NewC]

hahaha, another person who does one little thing and you all go up in arms

[Right Wing]

Actually, that's not the case. It is worthy of discussion. Did she appoint a judge and contradict her beliefs or did she have much of a choice?

[tperkins2009]

It doesn't sound like she had to much of a choice. There was probably one thing in either file that stood out and said "pick me" or "no way in h377. I doubt we ever find out.

[Right Wing]

Actually, the requirement of a judicial appointee is to be able to strictly interpret the constitution. On one hand, it is the duty of the executive branch to appoint someone who will do this and it is the basis on appointing them no matter the personal beliefs of the judge. On the other hand to the victors of an election go the spoils. It seems the Republicans have been good at satisfying the constitutional requirements, while Democrats seek personal interests with their appointments. Take note as pointed out in an above post, Ronald Reagan appointed Sandra Day O'Connor. As liberals satisfy their own interests though, it would be nice if conservatives would appoint judges who were constitutionally qualified, but conservative as well.

It seems in Palin's case, she didn't have that luxury. Alaska has a version of the Missouri Plan and thus, Palin was presented two liberals to choose from. Some conservative groups say along the lines of the lessor of two evils Smith would have been better, others say Christen would have been better. But, they are both liberals and Palin didn't have a choice.

As was noted in a law.com article from last September:

Judicial nominations in Alaska follow the Missouri Plan, a hybrid of elections and appointments. A group of three lawyers, three nonlawyers and the chief justice of the state Supreme Court vets, interviews and votes on candidates for judgeships. For each vacancy, the group -- called the Alaska Judicial Council -- submits at least two nominees to the governor, who makes the final decision on whom to appoint.

There can be no doubt that Gov. Palin would not have chosen Christen if she were given the freedom to choose an appointee in the same manner that the POTUS does.

Law.com: Biden, Palin May Loom Large in Judge Picks

Conservatives4Palin.com: UPDATED: Governor Palin Fills Supreme Court Vacancy

[Psyclist]

Sarah Palin:
31% increase in state spending
Tax increases on the oil industry
Support for unions
pro-choice judges

You didn't answer these questions before. Maybe you missed them. But, I'll ask again:

Does the increase in state spending include the payments made to residents?

Do you think the state should charge a severance tax for oil extraction like every other jurisdiction in the known world?

Do you realize that nearly the entire state budget is funded by oil companies that want to do business in the state of Alaska?

Do you realize the reformed oil severance tax structure was supported by the oil industry?

In terms of the judge choice - I assume you're referring to Chasten recently - is that correct? Did you not read all the posts on this thread? There is no information at all to indicate she is pro-choice. Do you have information contrary to that?

What do you have against Palin?

[Right Wing]

State law gives Palin no choice but pro-choice

AMANDA CARPENTER — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin had to make a tough choice in filling a vacant slot on her state's Supreme Court: Appoint a woman who once served on the board of Planned Parenthood, or risk giving an environmentalist lawyer, also pro-choice on abortion, the chance to become an activist judge... (more)