Supreme Court race is most important race in Montana

[fsbooks]

Well I suppose there is good chance we will vote for Kerry and that will make the difference, but personally I am looking for a national landslide in Kerry's favor.

What I speak of is Supreme Court #5, pitting the 10 year highly respected veteran Jim Nelson against Cindy Younkin. Jim Nelson has authored landmark decisions that have been cited by the United States Supreme Court. He is universally praised by Montana citizens of all political persuasions. On the other hand, two of Cindy Younkin is a conservative Repulican hack whose major claims to fame include her efforts to overturn the Citizen Initiative 143 which effectively banned game farms (saying "Just because it got passed by the people doesn't make it right) and the bill she sponsored that effectively gutted many of the most important provisions of the Montana Environmental Policy Act.

If Younkin wins, it would create a new conservative majority on the state Supreme Court. Currently, the Supreme Court is the only state institution that has any rememberance of the progressive values codified in the state Constitution.

Many people do not pay attention to Supreme Court races, and being "non-partisan" if you don't know who a person can make a terrible mistake. Cindy Younkin beat Jim Nelson in the primary 95603 to 86255. I embarrassing admit here I voted with the majority. When in doubt, I thought, go with the woman. I have been taking informal polls of intelligent, semi-politically aware people, asking, "OK, you are in the voting booth right now and you have the choice between Cindy Younkin and Jim Nelson. Who would you vote for?" Sad to say, these people are as unaware as I am, Younkin is generally the person they choose.

[John Q. Citizen]

1. Thanks for the heads up

I always have problems on my court votes because there is not enough information put out before the election to have any idea.

[Ediacara]

2. along that same tack....

WTF doesn't Montana print voters guides? Washington (and I was under the impression most other states) prints a booklet with statements from every candidate for every office, as well as statements for and against initiatives written by the proponents and oponents.

AFAIK, there is nothing like this in Montana, and it's a huge disservice to the voters of this state.

[fsbooks]

3. I'm working on one.

http://mdfa.blogdns.org/Candidates.shtml

It has a ways to go, and of course, it will be quite biased. Though to your point, it certainly is not something every voter (far from it I suspect) will see.

I do however remember seeing booklets before an election, but I do not know if they were by the state, the League of Woman Voters, or some other entity. What I remember is the pro and con for initiatives and constitutional amendments written by parties I know not chosen how.

[John Q. Citizen]

4. The voter guides i've seen

have the people responsible for the initiative write the PRO and the people organized against write the con. In a good guide there is a rebutal to both arguments.

[Ediacara]

5. Yep, that's what I'm talking about

I know that in Washington at least, the SOS prints these and makes specific guides for every district with the cadidates/issues specific for every district.

Before I moved to Montana, I thought these were a nationwide practice, as I know they exist in other states.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

6. Check out Montana Conservation Voters

http://www.mtvoters.org

Whether or not you consider yourself an 'environmentalist' they are a good source of info.

[tcdv5]

7. Don't feel too guilty...

Younkin has fooled a lot of people, as you discovered, and she did a huge push to get her name in front of voters earlier this year. I saw her yard signs everywhere! I think the best defense is twofold: letters to the editor that are very similar to your posting and yard signs that sit alongside Kerry/Schweitzer/Tracy, etc. signs. Signs aren't too cerebral, but they help me when I don't have much other info, and it will help get Nelson's name out there.

Let's make sure we get some letters to the editor in with some specifics about Nelson being "universally praised by MT citizens" and Younkin's environmental antagonism. Please post any of this kind of info you find! Thanks for bringing this up!

[newyawker99]

8. Hi tcdv5!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast: