Crist fills open seat

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist appointed Jorge Labarge to fill a state supreme court vacancy.

Over at NR, Ed Whelan isn't impressed:

The rumored appointee is Jorge LaBarga, whom my source describes as a “journeyman trial judge” who “has shown no evidence of having a well-formed conservative judicial philosophy."

Some more background on Crist and Court appointees.

..... the buzz here in Florida is that Governor Charlie Crist is preparing to name his third Florida Supreme Court pick as soon as today. Crist's first two picks were solid conservatives - Rick Polston and Charles Canady - but did not shift the balance on the Court since each replaced conservative jurists.

There is intense pressure on Crist from the media, left-wing activists and plaintiff's bar to preserve the liberal majority on the Court. The only conservative who made it out of the state's judicial nominating commission is Frank Jimenez, who has been subjected to a withering character assault, much like the assault on Miguel Estrada. While Crist hasn't announced any name yet, there's a lot of concern here that he will give in to the Left and appoint someone other than Jimenez. If so, it will be a real lost opportunity to restore some balance to one of the worst Courts in the nation.

Count Daily Kos as one of those that was hurling anticipatory buckets at the possibility of a Jimenez appointment. They also weren't too keen on Labarga, because he refused a new recount during the 2000 Presidential election. That vote alone doesn't reveal too much about Labarga's judicial philosophy -- it's worth noting that Democratic Governor Lawton Chiles first appointed Labarga a Circuit Court judge post.

UPDATE: Red State has issued an Action Alert and Drudge Siren warning conservatives about Labarga. They conclude the alert by dissing Charlie Crist's presidential ambitions.

Charlie Crist has been on a roll lately undermining conservatives. Behind the scenes, he is trying to drum up opposition to Jeb Bush’s Senate run, not because he doesn’t want another Bush, but because he wants a more moderate candidate.

Adding Labarga to the mix would pretty much disqualify Crist from ever being the GOP nominee for President, let alone anything else.

(Ea). Let me translate: No one is qualified for being GOP nominee, except Sarah Palin... um... okay, and we'll spend the next four years telling you this.