Conservation groups did not "buy" the defeat of I-147 through an overwhelming advertising campaign.

Indeed, they were vastly outspent by I-147 proponents, particularly Canyon Resources, a Colorado-based mining company that poured $3 million into a media campaign aimed at convincing the public that cyanide mining can be done safely.

Montanans take the initiative

Fifty-nine percent of Montana's voters said "no way." Whatever improvements in mining practices that were offered in I-147 were probably overshadowed by the shoddy track record of many mines in Montana through the years. The state has multiple sites that are now polluted hot zones, abandoned by the companies that once profited from them.

Voters also knew the initiative did not close down any active mines, so they were not taking anybody's job by supporting it. Instead, they rejected the boom-and-bust, environmentally risky nature of cyanide mining, especially when a Colorado company is planning to do it near the headwaters of the Blackfoot River.

Some I-147 backers claim the initiative may have been defeated partly because Montana media largely opposed the measure.

Maybe, but we doubt it. One just has to look at the overwhelming defeat of Constitutional Amendment 42, which would have extended legislative term limits, an idea that most newspapers supported.

We put a premium on experience in a "citizens legislature" that meets just once every two years. The state Legislature runs better with experienced leadership. It is appropriately resistant to the influences of lobbyists and bureaucracies, and it is capable of developing coherent, long-term policies.

We believe the initiative failed because there is still confusion between the essentially volunteer state legislators and the power-entrenched members of Congress.

As for most Montana voters supporting the use of marijuana for medical purposes, we'd have to chalk that one up to the tendency of Montanans to mind their own business. The idea of police chasing glaucoma or cancer victims who smoke pot probably didn't seem like an appropriate priority for 61 percent of voters.

Plus, many voters probably get a whiff of hypocrisy when they consider that people can consume beer and liquor with abandon, but someone who uses marijuana for medical relief is a criminal.

It remains to be seen, however, whether "medical marijuana" will cause problems for police in enforcing against illegal uses of the drug.

If Montanans are indeed interested in personal liberties, same-sex marriage advocates might question why voters would overwhelmingly support a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a legal union between a man and woman.

The answer is simple: Most Montanans do not regard marriage as simply a constitutional right that can be changed willy-nilly. They consider it an ancient institution that continues to be defined by the majority. Not by a judge. Not by a mayor.

The tribe has spoken. Not only here in Montana, but in 10 other states as well.