This page was last updated on April 19, 2015.
State Supreme Court needs Woodruff; Lonzie Cox, Jr.; Beaver County Times; April 18, 2015. Though my friends have fun at my expense by referring to him as my “Cousin Lonzie,” I am not related to Mr. Cox.
Most of Mr. Cox’s at least 94 letters since 2004 are tinged with race, and all take leftist positions. The most recent previous Cox letter I critiqued was “Dr. King deserves thanks from many groups.” You can find more Cox letters in the archives (2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004).
When it comes to race issues, Mr. Cox is pretty tolerant if you share his leftist ideology. For example, Mr. Cox had no problem with the late-Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV), a former KKK officer, but referred to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as an “Uncle Tom.”
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“Soon Troy Polamalu will join Bradshaw, Stallworth, Swann and Woodruff as ex-Steelers greats. Dwayne D. Woodruff may not be as familiar to the new generation of Steelers fans as the others, but Woodruff was a very good defensive back and Super Bowl winner in his own right.
“Since retiring from the NFL, he studied law, became first an attorney and then a judge in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Family Division.”
[RWC] Judge Woodruff received his law degree (Duquesne University) while he played for the Steelers, not after. As I’ve noted before, correct facts aren’t Mr. Cox’s forte.
“At present, Woodruff is a candidate for Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice in the May primary election. Many of Woodruff’s supporters point to the fact that that there has been only one African-American Supreme Court Justice in the 292-year history of that court.”
[RWC] If you think Mr. Cox cares about having a black justice, think again. If Mr. Woodruff were running as a Republican, we wouldn’t see this letter, just as Mr. Cox didn’t support Lynn Swann (R) when he ran for governor in 2006.
“This lack of racial diversity may be detrimental at times, especially since blacks are arrested and convicted all out of proportion to their population percentages. With the U.S. Supreme Court lurking in the shadows furiously destroying civil rights gains as well as potentially eliminating health insurance coverage for millions of sick Americans in the court’s upcoming Obamacare decision, Woodruff seems like a good choice for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. He deserves our votes.”
[RWC] If you’re wondering what Mr. Cox is whining about re the U.S. Supreme Court, it’s likely the decision in Shelby County v. Holder. Regarding the current Obamacare case, this same U.S. Supreme Court – specifically Chief Justice John Roberts – in a previous Obamacare decision twisted itself in knots to declare Obamacare constitutional when it clearly is not. Albeit the point of law is different in this case, I don’t know why Mr. Cox thinks the Court won’t do the same thing in this case. This decision will likely say, “despite what supporters used to assert and though Congress wrote only people who use state-run exchanges – not the federal exchange – are eligible for subsidies, the Obamacare bill really meant everyone should be eligible.”
© 2004-2015 Robert W. Cox, all rights reserved.