It is inevitable that there will be bad bills before the Florida Legislature, but some are so dreadful that you want to check whether it's already April Fool's. And some are worse than even that, which brings us to Rep. Fred Brummer and his House Joint Resolution 627, a constitutional amendment that would do to the judiciary as the Vandals did to Rome. The vandals this time are the Christian Coalition and its allies in the radical leadership of the House of Representatives, who bear a welter of grudges toward the Florida Supreme Court over abortion, the death penalty, the presidential recount cases, and who knows what else. Now that it's payback time, they intend to take down the Florida Bar, too, for its insolence in defending the courts against the wrath of the political mob. You didn't misread that.
History illuminates the motive.
Under the minority rule proposed by HJR 627, three more conservative justices would have been turned out, too. The governor would fill vacancies at his whim, subject only to Senate confirmation. There would be no more nominating commissions to ask such impertinent questions as whether the applicant might be a dunce, a tyrant or a crook. Speaking of crooks, they've got to love HJR 627. The Supreme Court would be restricted to licensing and disciplining lawyers only for their appearances in court.