Palin appoints former Planned Parenthood board member to Alaska Supreme Court

By Dan Fagan

In a move that should give social conservatives great pause, Governor Sarah Palin has appointed a former board member of Planned Parenthood to the Alaska State Supreme Court.

Palin appointed Anchorage Superior Court Judge Morgan Christen to the state’s highest court on Wednesday. 

There is no disputing Palin’s appointment of Christen with her association with Planned Parenthood will cause the Alaska Supreme to lean left and will ensure a more activist court when it comes to gay marriage, and abortion. The Christen appointment is key because she replaces justice Warren Mathews, one of the dissenting votes striking down the parental consent legislation.

The Governor, who early on won the support of Alaska liberals after she pushed through an enormous, unprecedented tax increase on the oil industry, seems to be back in their good graces with this appointment.

ADN liberal bloggers responded to Palin’s Supreme Court appointment writing,

“Ohmigawd!??The governor's been taken over by space aliens.??What an improvement!”

“Wow. Way to go Palin! I can't believe I just said that. But hey, credit where credit is due.”

“Glad to see a woman in the position to balance out the court. Good for Palin for keeping bible thumper beliefs out of the court system and honoring the separation of Church and State.”

“This is the one good action that Sarah Palin has taken over the past three years. And I have no problem admitting it. Great pick!!!! So even if the wing-nut parental consent bill passes, the state Supremes now have enough votes to overturn it as unconstitutional.”

Granted Palin would have had to put up a fight to block the appointment of the far left Christen to the court. Under Alaska law the judicial council made up mostly of liberal lawyers gets to filter out candidates who do not hold a leftist background. The governor must pick from the names forwarded.

But former Governor Frank Murkowski during his term fought the process and at first refused to name any of the names submitted to him. The liberal media beat him up pretty bad over it and he eventually caved.

If Governor Palin would have taken on this fight, it probably would have ended up in court. If she had taken up the fight and asked for all the candidates’ names that applied to be forwarded, it would have brought to the public’s attention that trial lawyers control the third branch of government in Alaska. But with the governor refusing to spend any political capital on this issue, it is sure to disappear from Alaska’s political landscape.

The governor caving into trial lawyers also guarantees an activist court will continue to push its agenda on the people of Alaska. It will continue to stand between you and your child, continue to redefine marriage and block development.

Palin appointing Christen kills any move by the legislature to pass parental consent legislation. The new court with Christen on it will surely strike down any new laws. This is one of the reasons Palin’s caving is confusing. Just recently held a news conference standing side by side with conservative lawmakers sponsoring new parental consent legislation.

Refusing to fight for parental consent laws is risky for Palin. It clearly will help her avoid controversy from the liberal media. But conservatives supporting her won't like the fact she appointed a former Planned Parenthood board member to Alaska’s highest court.

Many of the governor’s conservative supporters have ignored her high taxes and liberal anti free market policies. They support her simply because she says she is pro-life and is open about her faith. But the Christen appointment proves that while the governor lives the pro-life message in her personal life, she is not willing to spend political capital on the issue in her political life.