Notes For Friday, November 15, 2002

Cardenas quits. 8:43 AM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]

Despite the efforts of the Miami Herald in general, and Peter Wallsten in particular, "Florida's status as the nation's biggest, and therefore most important, swing state" remains unchanged. Wallsten's most recent column. 8:37 AM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]

And This Is News? "The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee did not have anywhere near the financial resources of the NRCC." Read the story in Roll Call. 8:30 AM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]

Ye Reap What Ye Sow: Bush To Fill Another High Court Vacancy On the heels of appointing Raoul Cantero, the relatively young grandson of Cuban Dictator Batista to the Florida Supreme Court, Bush has another opportunity to fill a vacancy on Florida's highest court. Bush will select a replacement for retiring Supreme Court Justice Leander Shaw, one of two black jurists on the court and arguably its most progressive member.

Four white men have been nominated to replace Shaw. The nominations were made pursuant to a new law that gives Bush unprecedented power to pick members of the nominating commission. Cantero filled the vacancy created by the mandated retirement of a relatively conservative, and well respected, Justice Harding. The replacement of the progressive Justice Shaw with a conservative, however, has the potential to shift the court's balance of power on at least some issues. Although there are several decent nominees (not all of whom are conservatives), you can expect to see one Peter Webster (currently a 1st DCA Judge) don the robes.

Why Webster? Well, Webster wrote a 2-1 opinion in March 2002 that rejected a challenge to Bush's decision to end race and gender as considerations in university admissions. Webster also voted in October 2000 to uphold the 1999 state law allowing private school vouchers. In light of this, its a good bet that Webster is the man.

Sources: "Black justice's successor to come from four white candidates" and "Four judges make short list".

8:21 AM [Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]