Letters to the editor Jan. 27
Back the blue?
I saw numerous ads during campaign season where Tim Sheehy proclaimed "cops are good, criminals are bad." I am hoping he remembers that and will let it be a guiding principal for him in Washington. Criminals are bad, even if they live in a prestigious address on Pennsylvania Avenue. And criminals that side with other criminals, criminals that were photographed attacking cops are especially bad. One can only hope that when Sen. Sheehy made his pronouncement about criminals being bad, he was promising not to work with any.
-Diane Taylor-Mahnke, Whitefish
Independent judiciary
If you value a balanced form of government, please contact your state legislators and urge their opposition to the pending bills to politicize the state judiciary. Particularly damaging are the bills to make judgeships a partisan office.
The sponsors of these bills claim they are necessary because judges are legislating from the bench against the true will of the people. They cite as evidence the number of bills from the last two legislative sessions that have been found unconstitutional.
The real explanation is that the bills were, in fact, unconstitutional. But changing a constitution so your bills can become law hits a high bar. Establishing partisan elections so the party in power can put judges in place who will interpret the law the way the party wants is easier.
The candidates supported by a particular party in partisan primaries will be screened by party loyalty. Judicial background and character will be, at most, secondary. That is how you consolidate party power, and that is what political parties were formed to do.
These bills seek to bend the interpretation of the law by ensuring that candidates for judge confirm a particular political bias before they run for office. Wow! The exact opposite of what you’d want in a judge and unbelievably short-sighted. Interpretation of the law shouldn't sway with each election.
Under these bills, only those who tout a particular party line will receive the support of the party, even in the primary, and, sadly, independents have little chance of winning a general election. Power brokers in either party won't look for objective judges, but citizens in a democracy should.
Please do not let this happen. Contact your legislators.
- Steve Brady, Kalispell
Swing and a miss
The cartoon image of President Donald Trump bringing in a wrecking ball to Washington, D.C., is quite cute but misses the mark. Trump is a builder not a destroyer. He is actually bringing in a remodeling crew that will do a makeover of Washington on time and on budget. Exactly as promised.
- William Fry, Kalispell