Senator Vitter’s Office Finally Comments On Judge Who Denied Interracial Marriage

[ccharles000]

Okay, you may have heard that GOP Senator David Vitter of Louisiana has come under fire for refusing to comment on or condemn Keith Bardwell, a white justice of the peace from his state who refused to preside over the nuptials of an interracial couple.

I’ve now gotten comment from Vitter’s office, and it won’t make his critics any happier. His spokesman tells me Vitter thinks “judges should follow the law.” But he didn’t directly comment on Bardwell or pass judgment on what he did, even though Governor Bobby Jindal and Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana have both called for the judge to resign or have his license revoked.

Vitter’s spokesman also seemed to suggest that asking for comment on Bardwell isn’t legit, and took a hard shot at blogger Mike Stark, who has been publicizing widely-circulated video of Vitter dodging questions about the judge. Vitter spokesman Joel DiGrado emails me this:

“First, Sen. Vitter thinks that all judges should follow the law as written and not make it up as they go along. Second, it would be amazing for anyone to do a story based on this fringe, left-wing political hack’s blog — he’s been handcuffed and detained in the past over his guerrilla tactics.”

I asked DiGrado in a follow-up email whether Senator Vitter agrees with Jindal and Landrieu that Bardwell should be removed. Will update if I hear back.

http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/senate-republicans/senator-vitters-office-finally-comments-on-judge-who-denied-interracial-marriage/