Iron-clad evidence…

…that Cook County Judge Raul Vega belongs on the federal bench, and a guarantee he'll never be confirmed, all in one story...

A judge in Chicago issued a preliminary ruling Wednesday against U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) in the Tea Party favorite’s child-support dispute with his ex-wife, ordering Walsh to explain why he appears to be $100,000 behind on his child-support payments.

Cook County Circuit Judge Raul Vega also wanted to know why Walsh wasn’t in court for the hearing — the McHenry Republican’s ex-wife, Laura Walsh was — and said he expects him to show up at the next hearing, in November.

Walsh’s new attorney, Janet Boyle, asked Vega “for what purpose” he wanted the congressman in court.

Vega gave her a puzzled look.

To which Boyle responded: “Mr. Walsh is a U.S. congressman.”

“Well, he’s no different than anyone else,” the judge said.

Ms. Boyle might have detected the judge's answer within her own rejoinder. It's "Mr. Walsh," not "Lord Walsh."

Kudos to a judge who understands the Constitutional principle of equality before the law. You'd think it'd be a standard lesson in law school, though.