ADVICE NEEDED about upcoming election for judge.

[I Have A Dream]

I'm in a dilemma about what to do in an upcoming election for county judge. (The position is for a 10 year term.)

There are three judges running. Two are Democrats, and one's a Republican. The problem is that I really, really dislike both of the Democratic judges (one for ethical reasons and the other just really isn't qualified, in my opinion). The Republican judge seems to be a good person and well qualified.

The unethical Democrat has also announced that he's "proudly pro-life" (his words), which makes me even more concerned about him winning. (The others might also be anti-choice, but they haven't announced their beliefs in this area.)

After B* stole the 2000 election, I told myself that I'd never vote for a Republican. (I don't remember ever having voted for a Republican in the past, but I had solidified this feeling into a resolve.)

I'm now in a dilemma. I think that I have 3 options. Don't vote at all, vote for the unqualified Democrat (which makes me sad), or vote for the qualified person who is a Republican (the thought of which makes me sick).

I'm inclined to just not vote. However, I am really concerned about the unethical Democrat winning, and I also think that people deserve to have a good judge when they must go to court.

Any advise that you could give me would really help me! I really don't know what to do. (I know that I only have one vote, but I take voting very seriously, and in my county, one vote might the the one that makes the difference. In the primary, the unqualified Democrat won by less than 50 votes.)

[SharonAnn]

1. Voting Republican will strengthen the Republicans in that county.

Judges have great influence here. In our county, he's the 'king-maker" of the Republican party here, which holds nearly all offices. Here, though he's probably good judge, I won't vote for him because of the strength it gives to the Republican party here.

The Republicans have brought this upon themselves, that some of us won't vote for them no matter what.

[I Have A Dream]

4. Yeah, this is what I think too. I hate this!

I want to be a good citizen, but I can't either way. I either must vote for someone who shouldn't be in the office, or I must vote for someone who will give power to a group that abuses it every opportunity that they can.

[rzemanfl]

2. Vote for the unqualified Democrat. He or she went to law school,

graduated and passed the bar exam-which shows that he or she is not stupid and can LEARN the job. Unethical people and Republicans (the second group includes most, but not all of the first) won't change. A person who is a bit unsure of themself is likely to be a very careful and fair judge and probably will work their butt off in the job. Whoever wins, unless they are an incumbent, will almost immediately go to the judicial college in Reno-which is like boot camp for judges. So, if you are faced with a choice between evil and inexperience, inexperience should win.

Or, you could move to another county...

[I Have A Dream]

6. I just might manage to work myself up into a sickness by that time...

and will, therefore, be stuck in my bed, thus precluding the need for me to make a decision. :(

I think that I'm probably making too much out of this, but local politics really are more important than most people think.

Thanks for giving me your thoughts, rzemanfl. What you're saying makes a great deal of sense.

[rpannier]

3. In a situation like this

I'd vote for the best qualified candidate. The position of a judge is too important to be chosen just by political affiliation alone. A judge with low ethical standards is dangerous both to the process and the people.
Unqualified people should NOT be on the court ala Harriet Miers.
Not voting is also a bad idea.
We talk here a lot on DU about being above the political fray and voting for the best people. Not all Republicans are evil people.
In the end, vote for the person who makes you feel the most comfortable.

[rzemanfl]

5. I disagree on two points. First, any Republican who remains one

after five years of Bush, Frist, DeLay, et al, is definitely evil or at least ineffably stupid. Second, and I did not correct the poster, all three candidates are "qualified" for the job, i.e., a member in good standing of the state bar, plus there is probably a "years of practice" requirement to run for judge. I think the concern is that one Democrat may not have the most impressive resume.

[rpannier]

7. Most of my family are reistered Republicans

and they voted against scrub (I am only one of three Democrats in my family). Not every Republican is evil. You need to get over that talking point. It convinces nobody except the choir.
As to the qualifications for being judge. That I will not dispute with you because I do not know any of the three.

[rzemanfl]

24. A Republican who does not vote Republican, it seems to me, is

no longer a Republican. I am an alcoholic who has not had a drink in more than 20 years. Unless and until I relapse, I am not harming my liver or driving drunk nor are the Republicans in your family a problem until they relapse and vote for BushCo and its minions.

[I Have A Dream]

8. Thanks for your thoughts, rpannier.

I agree that all Republicans aren't "evil". However, as you know, they often "don't play well with others".

I really want the people of my county to have a good judge. However, I don't know what baggage will come with the Republican judge, if he were to win.

[No Exit]

9. The unqualified democrat--why do you say the person is unqualified?

Has he or she never been a judge before? Everyone's got to start somewhere.

Has he or she practiced law?

I had a similar dilemma in 2004. A judge I really like was running as a republican. I (wince!) voted for him, but he was the only republican ANYTHING I voted for.

Unfortunately, though, if he doesn't change his party affiliation, I will not vote for him again. I refuse to ever vote for a republican for any office again.

[beaconess]

10. I say vote for the qualified Republican -

If more decent Republicans get support in various races, it will make it more difficult for the Republican whack jobs to maintain their hold on the party. I agree with others here who say that all Republicans aren't evil. And I don't hold it against Republicans for refusing to relinquish their affiliation just because some asses have tried to hijack their party. They should stay and try to take their party back.

[I Have A Dream]

15. Thanks for your input, beaconess.

I also agree that all Republicans aren't evil. I have many Republican friends.

[I Have A Dream]

12. I consider the person to be unqualified because I think that the person...

is average. I think that a judge should be exceptional. When I said "unqualified", I said that it was my opinion. I'm sure that the person has the legal requirements to be a judge.

[No Exit]

13. Please consider voting for the person, then.

I mean, my viewpoint is that everyone needs to send a strong message to ALL the republicans in this country, by NOT voting for them.

They ARE interconnected. I used to think it didn't matter so much that my state had lots of repukes in office, that I needed to concentrate on helping to defeat the national level repukes. But that's not correct: they give aid and comfort to each other, right down to the lowest elected offices. They ALL must go!

I have seen many people who were average (some I thought were below average) come out of law school and fumble around, then hit their stride and begin to learn. When a person has finally practiced law for years, even an average person can shine, because repetition is a great teacher. I mean, when you see similar legal situations over and over, you can (even if only average) get to be quite good at dealing with them. Experience is a great teacher.

So I hope you'll give the average candidate a chance--because their being a democrat is, IMO, important.

And I'm not so sure I accept that judges, compared to rank and file lawyers, are exceptional. I've seen too many judges who are no better than average. But even those generally get the job done.

Oh--and one more thing. A person with a DEMOCRATIC point of view makes a much FAIRER judge than does a person with a REPUBLICAN point of view. At least, that's been my experience--even back in the days when I used to vote republican.

[I Have A Dream]

14. Thank you, No Exit.

I will definitely take everything that you said into account. I think that I'm leaning towards doing what you're advocating. Your "point of view" statement makes a lot of sense.

[No Exit]

23. Thanks! Good luck with whichever one gets elected! n/t

[rzemanfl]

25. Four years of college, three of law school, the SAT or ACT and

the LSAT, plus good grades to get into those schools and you consider the person only "average?" I hope you mean only an average lawyer. Let me ask you this, if you had a heart attack in a strange town and the only cardiologist available went to an average medical school, graduated in the middle of his class and did his residency and fellowship at average hospitals, would you drive to somewhere where you could get a doctor with better credentials?

[I Have A Dream]

26. Yes - an "average" lawyer. Whether others agree or not, I think that...

judges should be the cream of the crop of available lawyers. I don't want their becoming a judge to be where they've become incompetent. (The Peter Principle.) As we can see with B* and his cronies, much damage can be done when someone's incompetent. I feel that the position of judge is an important position in our society that needs the best people that we can find to fill the positions.

I don't understand your analogy of the doctor. Nobody's dying here. I have the luxury of being selective.

I'm probably going to go with the "average" Democrat hoping that the person will be able to do a good job. The person's not incompetent as a lawyer -- just average.

[rzemanfl]

27. I practiced law for 25 years and it is hard to tell who the "cream of

the crop" might be. Is it the lawyers who represent big businesses, have big budgets and win a lot of cases? Is it the product liability lawyers who have big advertising budgets and skim off the best cases to try themselves? Or is it the prosecutors who have the discretion to only charge the cases they think they can win? Could it be the overworked public defender who nonetheless fights for his client's rights? Is it the law review guy with a legacy admission who got a check from Mom and Dad every month or the guy who worked his way through law school? Beats me, which may be one of the reasons I no longer play the game. The doctor analogy went to the point about "average" and I'm sorry if it was off the mark.

I think you are making the right decision, I would rather have an average guy trying to do the right thing than a brilliant unethical guy trying to further his own agenda deciding my case any day.

[I Have A Dream]

28. Thank you for all of your help, rzemanfl. n/t

[rzemanfl]

30. You're welcome and I'll shut up now. n/t

[Zynx]

11. I personally hate elected judgeships since they tend to produce the

knee-jerk "tough on crime" types that have really hurt our criminal justice system by giving huge sentences out to relatively minor offenses. The popularization of our legal system has been a negative trend in politics.

That said, I would go for the unqualified Democrat simply because I would hate to see the Republicans gain any more power in this country regardless of the position. Qualifications don't necessarily mean anything. James Buchanan was our most qualified president in history and was also our worst. Some relative legal novices have been great justices on the Supreme Court. Those factors being taken into consideration, I say go with the "unqualified" Dem.

[I Have A Dream]

16. Thanks,, Zynx. I'm really leaning in this direction at this point. n/t

[Popol Vuh]

17. Two disqualifies on Judges

being disqualified from my vote are (1): If they are a Republican. (2) If they are a prosecuting attorney.

Would you want to be an accused with a Republican Judge? Or a judge who use to be a prosecutor? The later I also think is just plain inappropriate.

[I Have A Dream]

18. I had a Republican co-worker tell me yesterday that he rules out...

candidates if they're endorsed by unions. He thinks that unions are evil even though he gives them credit for much of the safety that we have on the job today. I just don't "get" some Republicans.

Thanks for your input, PV. Very good points.

[Zynx]

29. Almost all Republican economic policy is aimed at destroying unions.

They have a near irrational hatred of unions and virtually every measure they ever push is aimed at destroying unions.

[Norquist Nemesis]

19. In the end, you have to vote your conscience

You have to vote for what YOU can live with.

That said, and only speaking for myself, but I will never again vote for a Republican candidate. I don't care if he/she runs on a platform of helping the poor, increasing taxes to do what the government should be doing, regulating business as it should be, claims pro-choice, and supports workers right to organized labor.

He/she can tell me that religion is up to the individual and shouldn't be entwined in the political landscape, that free trade should be regulated and treatied to mandate a fair/level playing field, and that employers should have fines amounting to 10% of their assets then jail time for hiring illegal immigrants (per illegal employee). It won't matter.

As long as a person is going to choose to assign themself a Republican Party label, I won't vote for them. (period) This is the same party that has supporters who have literally expressed pained expressions towards me when I state I am a Democrat or Liberal. This is a supporter of the same party that has allowed extensively written and orally spoken such trash that as a member of the Democratic Party and as being a Liberal that I have a mental disease and am to blame for the ills not only of this nation, but of the world.

I won't vote for a Republican. I'll leave it blank before I EVER vote for a Con.

[I Have A Dream]

20. Interestingly, we have a lot of Republicans where I work.

One of them recently tried to convince me that I wasn't a liberal because he thinks liberals are evil, and he likes me. How's that for convoluted logic? It couldn't be that his prejudices and stereotypes about liberals might be the thing that's actually wrong!

I have a feeling that, if I voted for the Republican, I'd kick myself every time I get upset by what the Republicans as a party do. I'll feel as though I'm aiding and abetting Rick Santorum!

[Norquist Nemesis]

21. Honestly, I didn't used to be "partisan"

I had considered myself moderate or a littler left of moderate. Outside of local issues, I'd get involved and active federally only about a year before the elections.

But, as I said above, with the expressive reactions I've received...it's changed. I live in an area that is Republican Propogation central. It's down the road from Denny Hastert and crucial to GOP machinery in local, state and federal politics. I grew up with staunch Republican parents, fighting them on so many issues--local tax referendums, abortion, minimum wage, daycare at the university to name a few. I gained an undeniably strong work ethic from my parents, but it's part of my core to give the shirt off my back if it helps someone in need and lifts another up to becoming a productive member of our society that will do the same...something they would never do. :shrug:

I've been shocked and appalled by the reaction of people who I knew were Republican (proudly telling me how their child attended his first Young Republican meeting) when I announced I'm a Democrat and a Liberal. The 'reaction' was a PAINED reaction of disgust and disbelief.

All the while, I'm watching and listening to talking heads explaining I have a mental disease...it's like religions...it's madness...and finally: Unpatriotic. That was the last and final straw. I will NEVER vote for any Republican candidate.

[BJW]

22. Contact League of Women Voters Group in your aream--eom