Gov. Matt Blunt has shown an uncanny ability to give high level appointments to big donors. The best example is Rudy Farber - $50,0000 in donations - Missouri Highway & Transportation Commission. Now let's see, do we really want lawyers seeing who can donate the most to Matt Blunt to get an appointment to the Missouri Supreme Court? Its bad enough that Farber - a rich Republican hack - gets to decide who gets their road paved first. It is down right disgusting to think a rich political hack from either side (let's not forget, Missouri swings back and forth between R and D) would be deciding your case and granting pay backs.
The Missouri Plan is not perfect, but it does not reward campaign contributions. Gov. John Ashcroft was kept in office for 8 years and because the majority of Missourians liked him, he ended up getting to appoint the entire Missouri Supreme Court. Ashcroft never complained about the Missouri Plan of selecting neutral judges. Ashcroft never hired an attack dog like Jeff Roe to orchestrate an attack on the non-partisan court plan. Hard for me to say this, but Ashcroft played by the rules, i.e. the Missouri Constitution. His last appointment was Chip Robertson (Ashcroft's own chief of staff). Chip is no Democrat, but he supports the Missouri Plan.
Justice should be blind (and yes, Attorney General Ashcroft, she's also partially naked). Justice and judges should not be sold off to the highest donor as Gov. Blunt has done with the rest of our state government.
