It’s Actually Not about the West Wing–It’s about Rule of Law
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I have a confession: I never, ever watched the West Wing. I don’t think I’ve watched a single episode.
So many of you will probably enjoy–or at least understand–this video more than me.
But if it has gotten your attention, please consider donating to the woman it supports: Bridget Mary McCormack.
McCormack is a University of Michigan Professor and Law School Dean for Clinical Affairs running for MI’s Supreme Court.
I’ve met McCormack just once: at a Michigan ACLU Dinner. I met her through an old ultimate frisbee friend, Dave Moran; the two of them co-direct University of Michigan’s Innocence Clinic (which specializes in cases where there’s not exonerating DNA evidence).
And if that’s not enough to convince you she supports the same things this blog does, check out the “Rule of Law” tab on her website.
Bridget Mary McCormack is committed to the rule of law. She understands the responsibility of courts to apply the law to the facts of every case. Our law is grounded in the Constitution—the bedrock of our legal system that all judges must follow.
Specific laws are made by the political branches of government, not by judges, and courts are duty-bound to apply those laws as written by the legislature. Michigan citizens and businesses alike must be able to count on our courts as the branch of government that provides stability and consistency for our legal system. Judges therefore must interpret and apply the law neutrally to the cases before them, and not put their thumb on the scales of justice to reflect their own opinions or beliefs. This is essential for our State’s highest court.
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Bridget understands that our legal system is designed to provide stability and protection for Michigan’s citizens. That system works best when judges do the hard work necessary to resolve complex legal issues. She is committed to work tirelessly to ensure that the Michigan Supreme Court gets it right.
Bridget Mary McCormack has–as I understand it–a kickass ad. But it doesn’t even begin ot address what a remarkable person she’d be on MI’s Supreme Court.
If you can afford it, please consider supporting McCormack.
Update: Somehow last night I replaced one Irish name with another. Fixed now.
You are forgiven, Marcy.
For my own part, I will confess to having seen every episode. At least once. Some have become an annual event around our house.
And you’re right — to folks who watched the show, there are an amazing number of inside jokes that had Mrs Dr Peterr and I both in stitches. But even without that as background, the message of the ad to look for all the non-partisan elections on your ballot is very, very important.
I watched every episode too, but in real time. I somehow remember the show being better written than that piece. And much funnier too.
Freaking awesome!! am amazed (no offense) that the candidate was able to enlist pretty much the entire base cast of the show for a non-partisan state election. Was a little disappointed that Sheen, after the great “Apocalypse Now” reference, didn’t go all Captain Willard on them. I wonder if he woke up that morning (in his head), in some fleabag hotel in Saigon muttering to himself “West Wing . . . Sh**, I’m still on West Wing”. :)
neither have i, and i don’t feel any loss, but then the only panem et circenses i watch is falcon’s football.
i have a son and daughter-in-law, however – one never called their house at show time. :)
REALLY geek confession. I think that I read blogs because there is no more West Wing. It may be my adult version of running into the kitchen to get the Rice Crispies in the commercial to proudly show it to the T.V. (As I used to do when I was 5).
JTIDAHO: The Ad tells you why the West Wing crew reunited. Bridget Mary McCormick is the sister of one of the West Wing stars.
Ah, West Wing…
Then there was the episode where the President wanted to assassinate a foreign terrorist suspect, and everybody on the inside agonized over it and concluded that it was illegal and they’d go to jail if it ever became known publicly. They knew that, they understood they’d go to jail, and they did it “for the good of the country”. Whether the story would come out was a running theme for the balance of the show, but it never occurred to anyone that maybe they should just do it because they could or because it would be legally OK to do it.
Ah, for the Good Old Days of clandestine activities undertaken by patriots willing to accept responsibility if caught. Not like today, where the lawyers can be counted on secretly to opine that whatever the President wants to do is just plain legal, the congress votes to codify it and the courts are expected to refuse to question it. This way, nobody has to worry about getting caught and it’s so much easier to burnish one’s Nobel Peace Prize (President Bartlett’s Nobel Prize was in economics, no moral dilemma presented there).
Marcy, I didn’t see a single episode in real time, but I borrowed DVDs of The West Wing just this past year from our well-stocked Libraries in Canuckistan. I highly recommend giving them a look, esp. the first 3 seasons when Rob Lowe was around …
In for $25.
@JTIDAHO: Her sister has ties to the show. She paid $5000 for the entire thing, though the creative folks donated their time.
@What Constitution:
This is the episode I turned the (overrated) show off in disgust, forever. You’re forgetting an important detail, too: more-in-sorrow-than-in-anger Jeb Bartlett did it for the Sharonesque PM of Israel.
It also might have been the same episode where Bartlett intones, ominously, “There’s a lot of hate out there on the internet.”
State Supreme Court candidate Bridget McCormack canceled a planned speech to Kent County Democrats Thursday night after Republicans filed an ethics complaint against her, alleging that she could not be a featured draw at the fundraiser.
“The Kent County Democratic event was not organized by the McCormack for Justice campaign and the invitation from a non-campaign affiliated group listing Bridget Mary McCormack as featured guest was not authorized by the campaign,” said McCormack campaign spokeswoman Liz Boyd.
The decision came after the Michigan Republican Party filed a complaint in the afternoon against McCormack with the Attorney Grievance Commission, saying judicial candidates cannot be the “draw” or “featured guest” at a partisan fundraiser.
http://www.mlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/09/supreme_court_candidate_cancel.html