Tag: Jane Markey

Governor Rick Snyder will have a few good folks to choose from on January 21st.

And with the retirement of Justice Diane Hathaway, many might think the obvious choice would be to go with the selection Republicans made in 2012 during their state convention to run for the office.  However, it should be noted that Colleen Obrien Couldn't even beat a candidate with NO TRIAL experience.  A good suggestion with regard to that? Forget it.

We can do better.

There is one more chance to do the right thing for Michigan, with both experience and a sense of following the rules:

"Our Judges Must Faithfully Apply Our Constitution And Plain Language Of Our Statutes. It Is Our Only Hope Of Defending Freedom And Ordered Liberty." - Judge Jane Markey"

This is indeed a great opportunity, and as I am sure the political machinery is in full operation, the choice should be very clear and without argument.  For the proper role of the court to be protected and advanced, there is only one choice that would provide a quality justice for Michigan, and also give the rule of law bench a better chance in the following election cycle.  And one candidate fits the profile needed to restore integrity to the office.

The result of Saturday's Michigan Republican convention was very conservative, and very consistent with tea party and traditional values that have been notably lacking in recent years.  Add to this a solid backing (almost purposefully noticeable) of candidate Kerry Bentivolio in the 11th district, and it should be clear that some folks are starting to pay attention to the grassroots.  And those grassroots are now becoming more fully vested in the party, and changing from within.

The slate?

Michigan Supreme Court Justice:
Stephen J Markman - Incumbent
Brian Zahra - partial term incumbent
Colleen O'Brien - new nomination

State Board of Education
Todd Courser - New
Melanie Kurdys - New

MSU Trustee
Melanie Foster - Incumbent
Jeff Sakwa - New

U of M Regent
Dr. Rob Steele - New
Dan Horning - New

Wayne State University Board of Governors
Michael J. Busuito
Satish B. Jasti

The Michigan Supreme Court pick was an interesting one for a number of reasons.  We have seen much of the criticism of either O'Brien or Markey on RightMichigan.com, and frankly it was undeserved.  Both candidates represented a conservative rule of law perspective and the nomination of Colleen O'Brien should not disappoint anyone.  I tried to refrain from affecting the discussion and was particularly neutral and trying to look at qualifications and overall perspective.

I carried that neutrality into the convention and had no reason to specifically support either candidate, and was not worried about the outcome other than a bit of a nasty back and forth with passed out literature left in the seats for attendees.  There were good people I knew supporting either candidate.  After listening to both candidates in caucus, re-looking at notes, talking to friends who supported either candidate, reviewing caseload, history, etc., my decision to support a single candidate started to develop.  I even spent 20-25 minutes speaking with justice Stephen Markman.

Saturday Morning found me leaning Jane Markey.

The Patriot Act is a classic example of such a law.  And I do find myself chuckling just a little when an Amber Alert mentions a missing 14-year-old girl, last seen headed out of town with a 19-year-old man . . . yeah, you know what's probably really happening.  Also on this list are the various elements of sex offender registration.  Between Megan's Law, the Wetterling Act, and the Adam Walsh Act we have I don't know how many different ways to permanently screw up other people's lives over nothing, for no other reason than because we as a society lack the testicular fortitude to deal with bona fide sex offenders according to their crime.

An example in my mind is a high school kid here in Kentwood a couple of years back who streaked across the football field during the final home game of the season . . . not even out of high school, and an overreactive law has already thrown out the rest of his productive life.  (Back in my day, the only LEO involvement in such an incident would be to escort the student in question home and turn him over to the parents for disciplinary action.)  I mean seriously, in Michigan you can land on the sex offender registry for nothing more offensive than cussing in public, which is a real concern for a career sailor such as myself.

And then there are other shortfalls.

"I always cheer up immensely if an attack is particularly wounding because I think, well, if they attack one personally, it means they have not a single political argument left."

By this measure, an e-mail that's been circulating to the convention delegation for about three days now must have Judge Jane Markey on cloud nine.  Two weeks before convention, and her opponent has already effectively admitted that she's going to have to go personal to beat her.  If that's the case, then Markey's already got this one in the bag.