Retain Justices Lewis, Pariente and Quince!

It's bad enough Rick Scott and the Florida GOP ended voting on Sundays, thereby disenfranchising African-Americans who typically travel by bus after church to go vote (as Chris Matthews pointed out last week), but now they want to dump three sitting Florida Supreme Court Justices:

"The announcement that the Republican Party is engaged in this effort would shock those wonderful Republican statesmen who helped create the merit selection and merit retention processes," said Tallahassee attorney Talbot "Sandy" D'Alemberte, a former president of the American Bar Association. "Surely we do not want to go back to the broken past."

The GOP decision set the Twitter world abuzz on both sides, with people and organizations chiming in from across the United States. Rachel Sutz Pienta, a Virginia State University professor, wrote, "Boo, hiss!"

"It doesn't matter what party you belong to, politics has no place in the courts. This is a power grab that hurts everyone," tweeted plaintiffs attorney Mariano Garcia of Searcy, Denney, Scarola Barnhart & Shipley in West Palm Beach.

Dale Davis, a Melbourne conservative, tweeted, "Do not retain Justices Barbara Pariente, Peggy Quince and Fred Lewis per the RPOF!"

(Ok, enough with newspapers reporting what people tweet.  That's like listening to someone watch a movie.)

I understand some good folks are organizing a fundraiser downtown to support the embattled Justices on October 9th (more details to follow) or you can contribute online to their retention campaigns here, here, and here.

And if you are an attorney and belong to the Florida GOP please consider the leadership of Raoul Cantero on this issue and speak out against this truly unfortunate turn in Florida judicial politics.

Speaking of Florida judicial politics, did you know failed judicial candidate Enrique "Rick" Yabor hired this woman to run his campaign:

In January 2007, she was arrested in a dispute with her ex-husband, Moshe Cosicher, at his Tigertail Ave. home in Coconut Grove. They had been divorced for two years, but Alliegro wanted to get remarried, according to reports from Miami police and prosecutors.

“We are going to Vegas,” she told Cosicher, a report said. The report noted that when Cosicher refused, she grabbed a gun, which appeared to be a .45 that she kept at bed side.

She then sat naked at a desk with her leg up and compared the gun to a male sexual organ.

“If you think your [expletive] is powerful (showing the gun), this is mine,” Alliegro told Cosicher, who tried to ignore her by going to make coffee, a report said. Alliegro followed him and told him to sit on the couch.

She fired a round into the ceiling.

“You see. It’s loaded — this is business,” Alliegro allegedly said.

Am I the only one slightly turned on by this?

Oy veh, better get to Temple before the book closes -- have a easy fast!