TNJA EXPOSES PARTISAN DEMOCRAT STATE SUPREME COURT JUSTICES

NASHVILLE, TN, June 16, 2014 – Following the revelations that operatives of Barack Obama are

Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Gary Wade, seated,
and, standing from left to right, Justices Janice Holder,
Sharon Lee, William Koch Jr. and Cornelia Clark.
Gary Wade, Cornelia Clark, and Sharon Lee face
retention "elections" in August.

working for the re-election of Tennessee’s Supreme Court Justices, and that liberal financier George Soros and trial lawyers are directing resources toward the same campaign, Tennesseans for Judicial Accountability (TNJA) strongly questioned the judges’ nonexistent nonpartisanship.

“Our justices are already favorites of trial lawyers – have they now added Barack Obama and billionaire George Soros to their fan club?” asked TNJA president Grant Everett Starrett. “What’s it going to take to pierce the smokescreen the Democrats have put up for 40 years to maintain their control over the judiciary? If the judges quack like Democrats, waddle like Democrats, and rule like Democrats, they’re Democrats.”

J. Ammon Smartt, co-founder of TNJA, observed, “The judges may claim a fig leaf of Republican support, but even the Soviet Union found well-compensated unelected local lackeys throughout the captive nations of Eastern Europe to toe the line of Moscow. But where are the Republicans who support the judges who do not have a stake in the outcome? Is something ‘bipartisan’ merely because you can exploit a handful of people of the opposite party to support you?”

If so, in the spirit of bipartisanship, TNJA is happy to direct attention to the statements of two-time Democrat gubernatorial nominee John Jay Hooker, who has received over a million votes from Tennesseans, and has gone on the record saying: “Hopefully, in the two months between now and election day in August, THE PEOPLE will be made aware of their opportunity to defeat ALL Retention-Election Judges.” [John Jay Hooker, 5/29/14]

TNJA listed seven deadly Democrat sins of the judicial candidates:

• Their spokesman appears to be an Obama operative joining a cabal of Democrat personnel on their campaign. The Tennessee Watchdog is reporting that Victoria McCullough, identified as a spokesperson for the three justices up for re-election in the Chattanooga Times Free Press, may have previously served as development chief of staff for Obama’s political organization and worked for the Obama White House. The Tennessee Watchdog also calls out other partisan Democrat members of the judges’ campaign staff. (Tennessee Watchdog, 6/11/14)

• The judges’ handpicked Attorney General refused to join 26 states in challenging the constitutionality of ObamaCare. (Tennessee Report, 3/2/12)

• The D.C.-based political media firm that designed the Keep Tennessee Courts Fair website specializes in “progressive causes” and works exclusively for Democrats, including Barack Obama, the Democrat National Committee, the national trial lawyers group, the national teachers union, and the SEIU. (MVAR Media Clients)

• George Soros’ Justice at Stake organization is getting involved on the behalf of the three incumbent judges. (Tennessee Watchdog, 6/12/14)

• All three judges were appointed by a Democrat, and screened by a Democrat-dominated committee stacked with trial lawyers.

• Trial lawyers recently lauded Supreme Court Chief Justice Gary Wade as the “2014 Appellate Judge of the Year.” (TN Courts, 5/6/14)

• “[Wade is] a Democrat, a proud Democrat, in the reddest county in Tennessee.” – The Mountain Press, in 2005, also reporting that Wade had raised money for Democrat Ned McWherter. (The Mountain Press, 8/08/05)

“These points constitute demonstrative evidence that the judicial candidates up for reelection are partisan Democrat politicians,” said Starrett. “And yet this is just the tip of the iceberg for why Tennesseans should vote to replace them in August.”

About Tennesseans for Judicial Accountability: TNJA was formed in 2013 to formalize the efforts of conservative attorneys who for years have fought to ensure that our courts actually follow the Constitutions of Tennessee and the United States. A primary goal of TNJA is to promote needed improvements in the judicial system to achieve the fair and impartial administration of justice within an independent judiciary. To that end, we supported the presence of Amendment 2 on the ballot this November and continue to set the record straight with respect to the judiciary. TNJA is a non-partisan, nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization. Our President is Grant Everett Starrett, an alumnus of Stanford and Vanderbilt Law School. Our Chairman of the Board is J. Ammon Smartt, a corporate attorney and an alumnus of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Memphis Law School.

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