Some of you may remember the 2008 Southern District Supreme Court race between then-Justice Oliver Diaz and then-Chancery Judge Randy "Bubba" Pierce. Late in the race, an ad appeared that accused Justice Diaz of voting "for" baby rapers and other assorted awful characters. The ad was paid for by the Law Enforcement Alliance of America PAC.
Well, that PAC just bought $356,000.00 worth of north Mississippi TV time to run ads against Flip Phillips before next month's elections.
The local media roundly condemned the 2008 LEAA ad, and FactCheck.org picked it apart mercilessly. The Special Committee on Judicial Election Campaign Intervention, formed by the Mississippi Supreme Court, even sent a letter to Judge Pierce demanding that he advise them whether he was responsible for the ad, and if not, to ask LEAA to cease and desist.
Knowing what we now know about the LEAA and their tactics, the Mississippi Supreme Court's Special Committee on Judicial Election Campaign Intervention should be proactive in preserving the integrity of our Supreme Court elections. They should immediately demand to know the extent of the Josiah Coleman campaign's involvement in the coming ads. Waiting until the Mississippi electorate is again subjected to the handiwork of widely-criticized hatchet men would bring to mind an old saying: "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice...."
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