“Gov. Sam Brownback and fellow ultraconservatives control the executive and legislative branches, yet Brownback wants the judicial branch as well, to eliminate any possible resistance to his far-right ideological agenda.
“Brownback’s recent tactics included threatening to defund the state judiciary in the event of a court ruling against a law the governor favored — one that removed Kansas Supreme Court authority to set district court budgets and appoint local chief judges.
“Other ideas from the ultraconservative camp involve scrapping the state’s current merit-based system of selecting justices, lowering retirement ages for judges, and partisan elections for judges.
“Frustrated by recent school finance rulings, Brownback would rather rein in judges with whom he disagrees than acknowledge the state’s constitutional obligation to equitably fund K-12 public schools.”