If 527s aren’t allowed to target a candidate, and the name of this one is “The Committee to Stop Lembke” then it looks like somebody is violating the law.

Mr. Lembke brought this on himself. He had NO BUSINESS entering into a child custody battle or divorce case. Perhaps his time would be better spent on recovering the $2.2 BILLION in child support owed to families in the State of Missouri?

“If Lembke is successful, the checks and balances afforded by our three co-equal branches of government will be lost, perhaps forever,” the letter asserts. “Lembke must be stopped.”

Perhaps Paul Passanante, and any other lawyers that join this group should study the U.S. and Missouri Constitutions a bit before they put so much effort into trying to discredit the efforts of Jim Lembke.

Since Paul put the statement quoted above in his letter, I will ask him; where in the U.S. or Missouri Constitutions does it state that the three branches of our government are “co-equal”?

This effort to declare the three branches of government as equals is based solely on the judiciary’s desire for more power. Our branches of government are indeed separate, but nowhere close to equal. The majority of power is placed in the hands of the elected representatives of the people (as it was intended by the Founders).

In 1944, the Missouri Supreme Court adopted the Missouri Bar Association as a subcommittee of the Missouri Supreme Court. Therefore, all licensed attorneys in Missouri are members of the Judiciary. When we elect lawyers to serve in the Legislative or Executive branch, those elected are serving in two branches of government at the same time. A lawyer’s mandated membership in the Bar Association presents a blurred, if not completely eliminated, separation of powers, and has likely led to the distorted belief of many like Paul Passanante who have come to believe that our branches have attained a “co-equal” status.

I invite Paul Passanante and any of his followers to an open debate on their claim of co-equal branches of government, the merits (or lack thereof) of the non-partisan plan of judicial selection, and the ineffective clearing house for judicial complaints known as the Commission for Retirement Removal and Discipline (of judges).

It is time the Citizens of Missouri know the truth about their Judicial Branch!

I will send Jo Mannies my phone number.

While we can have a never-ending argument about the appropriate power of the judiciary, Lembke’s efforts to remove a judge solely based on one decision he didn’t like, is reason alone to oppose him. He’d also like county counselor Patricia Reddington fired from her job. Lembke is a loose canon who should be more focus on legislation that promotes the state’s economy.

southcountymike…

I’m sure that your comments are honorable, but I don’t see a need to vilify Jim Lembke for doing his job.

Our real problem is that the House of Representatives is responsible for providing the constitutional check on officers of this state (yes - including the Judiciary). See Article VII, Section 2 of the Missouri Constitution The problem is that Lembke is one of the few willing to do the job. He’s the good cop that has to work with the bad cops. Doing his job makes them look bad.

In the case of Judge Hutson, Lembke was contacted by two attorneys and a former judge about the matter before he decided to take action. Why would attorneys and a former judge contact Lembke? –Because the current system (the C.R.R.D.) doesn’t work. Honest lawyers know to keep their mouth shut, and bad attorneys won’t say anything because they like the system.

I don’t know anything about Patricia Reddington or anything she may, or may not, have done, but I do know that if Jim Lembke is looking into her actions, he is not doing so to bolster his political career. (that’s just a claim made by attorneys that have become accustomed to self-policing)

The attorneys have deep pockets. They will use their funds to attack any Representative that is willing to stand up to them.

NOT ALL ATTORNEYS ARE BAD – Many know that if they want to continue to have a lucrative career, they need to go along to get along.

I received the letter from Passanante today. While it states specifically that Lembke “must be defeated,” notes that The Committee to Stop Lembke has been registered with the MEC as a continuing committee, and requests donations to that committee, it fails to comply with any of the disclaimer requirements set forth in Missouri law. Not a good move by a lawyer, especially one who notes in his very first sentence that he has been practicing law for 32 years.

The mailing label made it clear that the mailing was to a mailing list originating from the Missouri Bar. It will be interesting to see the committee’s July 15 report, whether it bought (or rented) the list from the Missouri Bar or whether the Missouri Bar donated the list as an in-kind contribution to the committee, as well as how much the committee paid for the list (or if donated, what its stated value is).

There is a partisan slant to Passanante’s action. Last year he contributed to the campaigns of Jay Nixon, Chris Koster, State Rep Michele Kratky (D-65) and the aborted senate campaign of Democrat Kevin Gunn.

C’mon Jim, You seem like a pretty bright fellow. You can’t possibly believe Lembke pushed this impeachment because he he had a duty. Was the fact that a fellow politician’s daughter was involved a coincidence? Give me a break. And as far as Patricia Reddington, I can tell you that she has been on a hit list of James Stonebraker (husband of John Hancock’s political director, Miriam Stonebraker) for quite some time. South County Republicans would like nothing better than to hurt her. Paybacks are a MF.

To the Oracle…

I received the letter too. However, it seems as if it was a personal letter from Mr. Passanante, not from his committee. The envelope was personalized and the letter was on personal stationary. This did not seem like a letter from the Committee, but rather from Mr. Passanante as a lawyer. The letter suggested he had started the committee and that those receiving the letter should support his effort.

And, being the Oracle that you are, you must know that upholding the Nonpartisan Court Plan, which seems to be Mr. Passanante’s central concern, is a nonpartisan issue. You’ll see plenty of money from all sides of the political spectrum going into this group.

Mike…

While it is true that the daughter involved in the divorce is the daughter of a former politician, she is also an attorney, and her sister, whom was representing her, is also an attorney.

These weren’t laymen, uneducated in the law, who came to Rep. Lembke asking for help. These were attorneys that know our current system for dealing with bad judges is ineffective.

The Commission on Retirement, Removal and Discipline is a fraternal organization that acts more as a clearing house for judicial complaints than anything established to provide for realistic accountability. The C.R.R.D.’s nuber one objective is to preserve the appearance of a fair and impartial judiciary. After all, in the public’s eye, appearances are everything.

IT should be noted that the Resolution for Impeachment filed by Rep. Lembke AGAINST Judge Hutson was not voted down by the House; it was dismissed solely by Speaker of the House, Rod Jetton, after being reviewed by his legal counsel. (Funny thing is- nothing in our Constitution grants the Speaker’s counsel the authority to make such a recommendation) Do you think Villiage Law Rod Jetton not capable of being bought?

Jim Bryne,

How come 20-30 states have modeled their plans after MO’s? What’s your stance? Pro Jim Lembke, pro changing the Nonpartisan Court Plan, Dem, Rep? I’m just confused as to why you support this guy.

The committee seems to be against Jim Lembke who has attacked a judge not in his district, attacked the nonpartisan court plan, attacked the stem cell issue after voters already cast their votes, and once proposed a bill banning the creation of “human chimera’s”. What was Lembke’s inspiration for this bill? Dungeons and Dragons?

Attacking Mr. Passanante as a partisan is futile. Everyone is a partisan on various issues. Being partisan (no matter what part of the partisan spectrum) is never wrong. Look in the August reports for both dem and rep money. I doubt much shows up on the Stop Lembke Committee July report since they just got set up.