Joan Orie Melvin wants to be a State Supreme Court Justice. So much so she got the PA Republican Party to run this ad to drive the rabid right "Tea Party" types to the polls tomorrow.

Remember this is an ad for a judicial election, where the candidate is supposed to decide court decisions impartially, based on careful consideration of the state constitution and case law.

But it should not be surprising from Joan Orie Melvin. Her sister, Jane Orie, is the State Senator who rallied the Republican troops for a constitutional ban on gay marriage. Senator Orie opposes abortion unconditionally and vocally opposes extending state protections against job and housing discrimination to gays and lesbians. According to Project Vote Smart, Orie would also like to "limit the welfare benefits given to recipients if they have additional children."

So every child's life is sacred until they are born, but after that let 'em suffer so their parents can be punished for bringing them into the world, apparently.

Sen. Orie also was major force behind the Senate Republican budget antics this summer, including the pension provisions that almost sent the city into Plan C.

But how close are these two sisters's politics, really? Close enough that Orie Melvin recieved $25,000 from State Senate Republican Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi. Which is an interestingly partisan investment for a candidate who has made a ton of noise about her Democratic opponent, Jack Panella, receiving contributions from trial lawyers (while taking more than $100k from the same trial lawyers herself).

Call your friends and neighbors, remind them there is one very close election that really matters this fall. And please remember to vote.