Among the many principles of journalism (such as this sadly forgotten nugget: "If it potentially harms the lives of our readers/listeners/viewers, cover it and report all the facts") is one that I hold dear: "When a good story comes telling itself, get out of its way." Tonight, constant reader, such a story rises from Big Sky Country and I cannot improve upon the words of Montana District Court Judge Dirk Sandefur, who is surely to be tarred as an "activist judge" by a certain group of associates from New York City, from Chicago and from Washington. Nor can I improve on the words of the Montana Taxpayers Association's Board of Directors, nor upon the words of Oklahoman Walter Jenny Jr., whose opinion-editorial was published today in the Edmond Sun. And if, after careful contemplation of the facts and opinions offered by these learned souls, the constant reader needs yet one more fix, we bring you the thoughts of learned souls who guide the University of Maine.
By way of simple introduction, you only need to know that last Thursday, Montanans in Action - also known as Trevis Butcher of Winifred - filed a motion requesting that a new judge be assigned to replace District Judge Kenneth Neill, who is by all accounts a duly qualified jurist, for the purposes of hearing the arguments of rational people against the alleged illegal activity of petition-circulators hired to deliver the so-called Taxpayer Bill of Rights to the Montana ballot. Was this merely a tactic to delay the proceeding? We'll never know. If so, it failed, as District Judge Dirk Sandefur was assigned to convene the hearing, which he did without delay on Friday. Testimony continued apparently into the week, and Sandefur issued his ruling early this afternoon.
And what did it say? Let's have a random sample of quotes from his order, shall we? Here are some operative phrases to look for, and just to make this fun, yell out "Go, Judge Sandefur" each time you catch one of these phrases in the ruling: "knowingly listed false and fictitious addresses," "falsely attested," "bait-and-switch tactic," "deceptively induced countless Montanans," "inherently deceptive," "fraudulent practice," "legally defective," and "conceal, withhold or misrepresent identifying and contact information."
"In this case, King, Schumacher, Meyer, and 40 other paid, out of state signature gatherers knowingly listed false or fictitious addresses on their certification affidavits. Thus, all of their affidavits were false and are legally defective to that extent."
"In this case, King, Schumacher, Cook, Meyer, and other paid out of state signature gatherers attested that they personally gathered or assisted in gathering signatures that in many cases were gathered by other persons outside of their presence and without any direct assistance from them at the time and place of the actual gathering of the signatures to which they were attesting. Consequently...the certification affidavits of King, Schumacher, Cook, Meyer, and other paid out of state signature gatherers who similarly engaged in this practice were false and are legally defective on the grounds that those individuals falsely attested that they gathered or assisted in gathering signatures gathered by others outside their presence."
"Moreover, it is highly probable, more probable than not, that a number of paid, out of state, migrant signature gatherers routinely, as a matter of course, employed the above-referenced bait-and-switch tactic and that this tactic deceptively induced countless Montanans to sign all three petitions when they were led to believe that they were only signing one. Consequently, by implication based on the inherently deceptive nature of this tactic, the affiant-signature-gatherers who attested to signatures induced by this deceptive practice could not truthfully attest that those signers knew the contents of the petitions before signing them. Therefore, all affidavits containing signatures induced by this fraudulent practice are legally defective on the grounds that the affiants could not and did not have personal knowledge upon which to truthfully attest that the signers knew the contents of the petitions before signing."
"Invalidation of all signatures or petitions associated with fraud or procedural non-compliance `does not disenfranchise legitimate voters' because invalidation `upholds the integrity of an initiative process that has been undermined' by the fraud or non-compliance and because legitimate voters have no right to vote on an initiative absent compliance with the procedural requirement for qualification."
"In this case, there is evidence that it is a common practice in the professional signature gathering business or industry to bring migrant signature gatherers, with no substantial ties to a state, in from out of state for the sole purpose of hustling up the necessary signatures to qualify local ballot initiatives and then immediately move on to the next state without leaving a trace, thereby preventing any effective accountability or means to verify the integrity and regularity of the signature gathering process. There is also evidence that, while the out of state migrant signature gatherers are working in a state, it is a common industry practice for them to certify signatures gathered by other signature gatherers and to conceal, withhold, or misrepresent identifying and contact information. More significantly, there is evidence that it is a common practice to pay migrant signature gatherers by the signature, thereby creating an incentive and profit motive to engage in deceptive, fraudulent, and procedurally irregular signature gathering practices."
O, constant reader. I think you see which way the wind blew in Montana today, so you may imagine the content of many telephone calls between Montana and New York City. Judge Dirk Sandefur heard testimony of the birth of an ugly baby, and he judged it akin to the making of sausage, except that sausage-making is legal. Here's one more operative phrase to catch - "ample evidence of specific and widespread instances of deceptive practices and conscious circumvention of procedural safeguards" - which, translated to English, means "law-breakin' when you know you're breakin' the law."
You may find it in this paragraph: "In addition to these common industry practices, there is ample evidence of specific and widespread instances of deceptive practices and conscious circumvention of procedural safeguards in this case. For example, in Missoula, an out of state signature gatherer, upon being challenged by a private business upon whose property he was soliciting signatures without permission, concealed his identity and misrepresented that he was gathering signatures for the Montana Attorney General who he also alleged was promoting the Ballot Initiatives. There is evidence that, in Helena, Butte, and Basin, paid out of state signature gatherers fraudulently induced signatures of countless Montanans. There is evidence that 43 out of state signature gatherers listed false or fictitious addresses in their certification affidavits."
Whoa, Nellie. Either this judge awoke on the wrong side of Montana this morning, or someone's neck is on the butcher's block after spending the money of Americans for Limited Government on such illegal activity. (And I shall assume it is now safe to remove the modifier `alleged' from that last clause, since a duly-empowed JUDGE has called the play.) How much money? Judge, can you supply that figure?
"Moreover, there is evidence that Proponents paid approximately $673,658.81 to migrant out of state signature gatherers and that the lions share of this money went to a relatively small number of migrant signature gatherers who gathered the majority of the necessary signatures while engaged or associated in the above-referenced deceptive and procedurally irregular signature gathering practices. Under the totality of the circumstances, it is more probable than not that this pattern and practice of fraud and procedural defect was prevalent throughout the statewide signature gathering process.
But surely Trevis Butcher and his fellow Montanans in Action - okay, well, surely Trevis Butcher himself - offered a rebuttal to all these "moreovers" and "ample evidences" when he had the opportunity, right, Judge?
"...Proponents presented no credible evidence to rebut Plaintiffs' showing of a pervasive and general pattern and practice of fraud and conscious circumvention of procedural safeguards." Wowsa. There went your appeal on the findings of fact, Trev. "Consequently, under the totality of the circumstances, the Court finds and concludes for the foregoing reasons that the signature gathering process for CI 97, CI-98, and I-154 was permeated by a pervasive and general pattern and practice of deceit, fraud, and procedural non-compliance."
I think this must have been how Daffy Duck felt when Bugs dropped the big brass bell over his head and rapped it with a mallet. The sudden and ongoing pealing through the brain, the deep and sustained vibration through nerve and bone, the inability to escape the pain. I almost feel sorry - but that figure paid to "migrant signature gatherers" ($673,658) and Butcher's own recalcitrance in response to legitimate questions keeps me from it.
So the blade is raised:
"...these deceptive, fraudulent, and procedurally defective practices seriously and substantially undermined the fundamental integrity, fairness, and purpose of our precious right and process of self-government by initiative of the people. Consequently, irrespective of the legitimate political merits of the Ballot Initiatives, the Court cannot in good conscience approve, sanction, or countenance this needless and manifest taint on the political process. Thus, in order to preserve and ensure the integrity of the initiative process inviolate, it is necessary to invalidate all signatures tainted by or associated with the pervasive pattern and practice of deceptive, fraudulent, and procedurally defective practices employed in this case by the migrant out of state signature gatherers."
"Unfortunately, it is virtually impossible to do so with any degree of mathematical certainty on this record. As recognized by courts in other states who have faced this dilemma, in order to preserve and ensure the integrity of the process, any imprecision or doubt must cut against the proponents of the initiatives, rather than the people, because the proponents had the burden and responsibility to substantially comply with the simple and straightforward procedural requirements of the law and were the only parties in a position to do so in order to qualify these significant ballot measures for a vote of the people on the merits."
...and the blade is dropped.
Montana's TABOR initiative AND the two others funded largely by Americans for Limited Government, and promoted by Howie Rich, and superintended in Montana by Trevis Butcher of Winifred, is removed from the ballot. So we may add to the total of funds wasted by ALG this year the sum of $673,000.
Of course, there will be an appeal; there has to be. Face must be saved, justification proffered. Sandefur himself will be the crux of an appeal, surely. He was biased, it will be said. He misspelled something. Didn't properly use an apostrophe. There was noun-verb disagreement. How shall the Republic be maintained under such shoddy delivery?
But the bell tolls, gentlemen, either over the head of Daffy Duck or in the tower clock ticking toward November's ballot. Time draws nigh, without respect to the sound and fury of anticipated appeals, appeals likely signifying nothing. Shall more dollars be wasted attempting to hold back the tide?
And assume that the sun stops long enough for Sandefur's ruling to be overturned, for the corpse of this TABOR to be revivified and heaved again onto the ballot. Shall we turn to the Montana Taxpayers Association for an intravenous vitamin injection? If that's the hope, then let me stand out of their way too, constant reader, and present the words of the MTA's own Board of Directors, to be found here http://www.montax.org/...
"The Montana Taxpayers Association's Board of Directors... believe it would be beneficial for Montana to watch and learn from Colorado."
"In a perfect world, government spending should be in check with growth in population and inflation, yet certain circumstances could alter that balance. We will continue to support our representative government to ensure that balance remains in place."
"The Montana Taxpayers Association urges all Montanans to vote NO on CI-97 and I-151."
That means the Montana Taxpayers Association - ordinary Montanans who have organized and assigned themselves the task of monitoring proposals that will affect the lives of Montana's taxpayers - won't support jumpstarting the heart of this dead TABOR.
If, gentlemen, you seek an appropriate eulogy to be offered over this carcass, look no further than the opinion-editorial offered by Oklahoman Walter Jenny Jr. in today's edition of the Edmond Sun. You may recall that the Oklahoma Supreme Court declared TABOR dead in that state nearly two weeks ago.
Jenny writes here http://www.edmondsun.com/... "In four sentences, the Oklahoma Supreme Court has provided the obituary for the so-called `Taxpayer Bill of Rights' petition. Now, new details are coming to light as to how this radical plan almost overthrew representative government in Oklahoma. TABOR, like Right to Work and term limits, was the latest of those simplistic sales pitches that sound too good to be true, and usually are: Limit the growth of state government to match the population growth times the rate of inflation."
He continues, "TABOR was attempted with disastrous results in Colorado because it ignores the essential role of state government to provide public services that cannot be provided by free enterprise. With little support at the Capitol, proponents turned to the populist initiative referendum. After all, how could taxpayers turn down lower taxes and rebates at the same time?
"After Oklahoma civic leaders filed suit, the state's high court unanimously found there were so many invalid signatures that the proposition could not be placed on the November ballot. The court said the evidence supports `substantial illegal participation of out-of-state circulators,' which is prohibited by state law, and added an official opinion will follow that will address those `illegal activities.'
"Remarkably, this $1.5 million project was almost entirely funded by out-of-state activists. The latest Ethics Commission report indicates Americans for Limited Government Inc. (ALG) coughed up $50,000 in July, bringing their year-to-date total to $105,000. In that same month, four Oklahomans donated a grand total of $790 to the campaign. Overall, Oklahomans have contributed less than 1 percent of the money.
"ALG is a Chicago-based group pushing similar initiatives in 13 states. So far they have spent more than $7.3 million on ballot initiatives for school vouchers, judicial term limits and projects like TABOR.
"Other major donors to the Oklahoma campaign include Americans for Tax Reform, which gave $225,000, Colorado Club for Growth chipped in $200,000, National Taxpayers Union Foundation gave $180,000 and the Legislative Education Action Drive (LEAD) offered $70,000. Those are impressive numbers for an Oklahoma initiative campaign. But the real story is about the incestuous relationship between these groups.
For example, Howard Rich, who is chairman of ALG and a leading advocate for term limits, is a wealthy New York real estate developer who founded LEAD and has served on the board of directors for the Club for Growth and the Cato Institute.
"Eric O'Keefe of Wisconsin, another former Libertarian Party activist, is involved in ALG and LEAD, was architect of the term limits movement, and writes papers for the Cato Institute. O'Keefe's wife has run signature-collecting efforts since the 1970s. Ed Crane was national chairman of the Libertarian Party, founded the Cato Institute, and is on the ALG board. Americans for Tax Reform is the vehicle of Grover Norquist, the conservative friend of George Bush. Norquist was quoted in a 2003 Denver Post article as saying, `We are trying to change the tones in the state Capitols -- and turn them toward bitter nastiness and partisanship.'
"This story is not unique to Oklahoma. During the past few years it has been repeated in Idaho, Maine, Montana, Missouri, Nebraska and Nevada. It's a conspiracy of a handful of wealthy right-wing extremists who disregard local laws and attempt to foist their political snake oil on an unsuspecting electorate."
Thank you, Mr. Jenny, for those thoughtful words at this time of great emotion. Readers will be encouraged to catch the full text of your remarks in today's Sun. You've been very kind to participate in today's service.
Now, as promised, a final note from the learned trustees of the University of Maine. These men and women who bear the burden of providing sufficient higher education for young Mainers, so as to provide a stable, educated workforce for Maine's industries, have taken a step to further educate Maine's voting populace in advance of November's date with destiny, as reported here http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/... and here http://bangordailynews.com/....
Trustees approved this week a resolution opposing the TABOR measure, saying it would "would result in cuts to programs at the system's seven campuses and politicize the university system's budget, which would require approval of two-thirds of the Legislature, rather than a simple majority," writes Beth Quimby of the Maine Morning Sentinel. Predictably, TABOR campaign spokesman Roy Lenardson is quoted as saying something about the ability of university trustees to do homework.
UMS Chancellor Terrence MacTaggart told Ruth-Ellen Cohen of the Bangor Daily News that the university would "shrink" and "there would be fewer programs and services for students and a reduction in faculty and staff." The measure would "deprive Maine of its most critical tool - the capacity to use higher education to prepare a highly skilled and more broadly educated work force," and add a "political complexity" to the university system's requests for budget and tuition increases.
Lenardson tells Quimby that "it should come as no surprise that an institution that receives tax dollars would be wary of the proposal."
Because men and women of good will whose duty is to provide high-quality but affordable higher education to Maine's young people have an ulterior motive, surely, and the love of money is at its heart, I assume he meant. But I'm just speculating; maybe be meant something else.
Constant reader, we're left with Maine, Oregon and Nebraska, with less than 60 days left to go before November 7. Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock.