Ousted judge (Moore) fails to sway Alabama vote | Atlanta J-C

[Ediacara]

Ousted judge fails to sway Alabama vote

By TOM BAXTER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 06/01/04

In a primary election seen largely as a referendum on the movement to post the Ten Commandments in government buildings, four candidates allied with former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore trailed Tuesday night in early returns.

U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus, a six-term Republican incumbent, held the lead in a primary contest with Phillip Jauregui, Moore's lawyer and former campaign manager. In three state Supreme Court races, candidates who expressed support for Moore's defiance of a federal court order were running behind their opponents.

The Alabama races were viewed as a test of the durability of the issues raised by Moore when he defied the court order last year to remove a granite monument engraved with the Ten Commandments from the lobby of the Alabama Judicial Building.

Moore campaigned for Jauregui, who managed Moore's campaign for chief justice and has represented him in court. Jauregui argued during the campaign that Bachus, who is seeking his seventh term in the House, has not done enough to defend against "judicial activism" in Washington.

Moore also supported Jerry Stokes, Pamela Baschab and Tom Parker, whose Web site displays a photograph of him with Moore.

More at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

[Voltaire99]

1. Commandment No. 1: Thou Shalt Not Be A Redneck Idiot.

My Good Book also lists Commandment No. 2:

Stop voting against your own interests, po' white folk.

[leesa]

2. Good news. Let's get these sicko fundies out of public office.

[liberal72]

3. Actually Tom Parker may win.

He is leading, by a close margain, as of 10:53pm CST tonight.

[struggle4progress]

4. Ten Commandments Influence Ala. Primary

Alabama's Republican primary Tuesday turned into a referendum on Roy Moore's Ten Commandments stand, with three of four supporters of the ousted chief justice losing or trailing in their bids for party nominations.
<snip>

Former Moore aide Tom Parker had 80,925 votes, or 51 percent, compared to 76,621 votes, or 49 percent, for Associate Justice Jean Brown, with 73 percent of precincts reporting.

Shelby County judge Patti M. Smith defeated Pam Baschab, a judge on the Court of Criminal Appeals with Moore's support, in a primary race for another court seat. Smith had 58 percent of the vote to Baschab's 42 percent, with 76 percent of precincts reporting.

Moore supporter Jerry Stokes was in second place and well behind Jefferson County Probate Judge Mike Bolin in a four-way race for the third seat, with 76 percent of precincts reporting. But Bolin, with 51 percent of the vote, needed to remain over 50 percent to avoid a runoff.
<snip>

The Ten Commandments issue was little help for Moore's attorney, Phillip Jauregui, who put up an underfunded GOP primary challenge to six-term Rep. Spencer Bachus. Bachus trounced Jauregui, garnering 87 percent of the vote with 88 percent of precincts counted in the congressional district.
<snip>

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4158262,00.html