<P> The Wall Street Journal wrote "If the recent slugfests have proven anything, it's that Missouri's courts are every bit as hung up in politics as they are in other states . The difference is that in Missouri the process happens behind closed doors ." </P> <P> Similarly, Professor Brian T. Fitzpatrick of Vanderbilt University has argued that politics are undoubtedly a part of judicial selection in Missouri Plan states, writing, "In short, I am skeptical that merit selection removes politics from judicial selection . Rather, merit selection may simply move the politics of judicial selection into closer alignment with the ideological preferences of the bar ." Fitzpatrick notes that "...if we are willing to accept the notions that lawyers care about the outcomes of judicial decisions and that these outcomes are correlated with judges' ideological preferences, then we might expect merit commissions to select judges who share the ideological preferences of the bar rather than those of the public ." </P> <P> Tennessee governor Phil Bredesen has made similar complaints . He remarked, "I think (the nominating commissioners) have been vastly too political in their selection process . And what they are supposed to do is give you the best candidates in the ideal world ." </P>

The missouri plan for selection of judges involves