Before it disappears in the fog of campaign news, here’s a footnote to the story I noted last week about the effort by Carol Beier, a Kansas supreme-court justice, to destroy the professional career of a political enemy, former state attorney general Phill Kline, for attempting to enforce the abortion laws in a state where the abortion industry has long exerted enormous political influence:
The country’s first criminal prosecution of Planned Parenthood was left teetering Friday when it was revealed the state of Kansas destroyed abortion records that prosecutors planned to use as evidence.
Johnson County prosecutors have asked a judge to delay a Monday hearing to determine whether there’s enough evidence to try the abortion provider on 23 felony counts of falsifying termination of pregnancy reports. . . .
Court records say that Kansas health officials shredded the documents as part of “routine document destruction.”
The destruction of the documents took place under the governorship of Kathleen Sebelius. Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in Kansas, was a staunch supporter of Sebelius, a liberal Democrat who is now Obama’s HHS secretary.
The destroyed records were crucial in establishing the authenticity of records from 2003 that Kline obtained when he investigated Planned Parenthood as attorney general. Planned Parenthood also provided copies of the records, but Kline contended that those did not match the ones he had in his possession…
In addition to the 23 felonies, the complaint also charged Planned Parenthood with multiple misdemeanor counts of failing to maintain the pregnancy termination reports, failing to perform viability tests on fetuses, and unlawful late-term abortions.
Prosecutors contended that Planned Parenthood had not kept the documents five years as required by law and falsified copies to cover it up.
Kline’s investigation had been hampered by the state supreme court’s muzzling of a district-court judge who had found probable cause to suspect Planned Parenthood of document tampering, apparently to cover up illegal procedures.
Sam Brownback, the governor of Kansas, is a conservative, but the state’s judiciary — and especially the deeply politicized state supreme court — will be dominated by Sebelius appointees, such as Beier, for the next two decades.
There are several one-liners that work well here. Elections have consequences beyond the next four years. We get the government we ask for. We get the government we deserve. The voters of Kansas chose a liberal governor who appointed liberal judges to the state Supreme Court and now all the citizens of that state, including the innocent unborn, will be impacted by that choice for years to come. Abortion advocate Kathleen Sebelius, but she left a mark on Kansas that can never be erased.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseKansas is one of the most conservative states in the Union. So, how does the left gain such a foot-hold, as to control the Supreme Court?
In a word: Populism. Anti-capitalist rantings sound pretty hymnal during recessions and minor down-turns.
How sad, that the people of Kansas made themselves suffer under a court that bears no resemblance at all to themselves, by voting for those who appointed them.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseNot sure I agree totally, madisonian. I think the rural parts are conservative, but the cities are much more liberal. Their democratic political leanings go back a lot further than this economic downturn.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseLiberalism is not just a mental disorder, it's also a criminal enterprise.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Sam Brownback, the governor of Kansas, is a conservative, but the state’s judiciary — and especially the deeply politicized state supreme court — will be dominated by Sebelius appointees, such as Beier, for the next two decades..."
Of course now Brownback gets to make similar appointees who get to dominate the supreme court (and others) for decades. Alas, how I hate living in a democracy! If only I lived in a one-party country with no alternative to the party in power but violent revolution!
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