…The Russian judges give Russian team perfect scores.
Well, yes, 2012 is an Olympic year. And the big news about the Montana Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Judge Sherlock’s decision in the Western Tradition Partnership’s lawsuit challenging Montana’s prohibition on corporate political donations conjures up memories of those close competitions during the Cold War where the fate of US Olympians rested on the number of Russian judges.
The fawning media coverage of Steve Bullock’s “historic” victory is enough to gag a maggot. Like he was going to lose when the deck was so stacked in his favor. The fact that two justices had the courage to actually rule on the controlling law and/or the merits of the case was the shocker. There was no way in hell that Mike McGrath’s Court was going to hand the Democrat Party’s golden boy a big head-slap going into the gubernatorial election.
It isn’t the first time – and it won’t be the last time – that politics determines case law, so anyone who is surprised by either the timing or the decision is either terminally naive or fatally stupid. I would strongly urge anyone who falls into that crowd to take out extra life insurance. Your family will appreciate you for that anyway.
We’ll hear lots about this decision during the coming campaign — Captain Montana takes on the Evil Corporations and WINS!!!! If this case had been anything of a controversy, there’s no way Bullock would have shown his face in the courtroom, let alone argued the state’s position. But politically this was an ideal issue for the AG (Aspiring Governor) to showcase his legal expertise as well as his commitment to protecting the “ordinary citizens’ rights” from the mean, nasty 1%.
Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock (D) issued the following statement:
“For over 100 years, Montana has had an electoral system that preserves the integrity of the political process, encourages full participation, and safeguards against corruption. The Supreme Court’s decision upholds that system and is truly a victory for all Montanans.
The actual merits of the case are irrelevant – it’s a perfect “sound bite” issue, and even if WTP decides to appeal the decision, nothing will happen before the election that will make the front page of any Montana newspaper.
Don’t you just love it when the judges nail the landing?
Delaying tactics for the 2012 election perhaps?
That’s what I think. IF it gets appealed, I can’t imagine the US Supreme Court not overturning this.
Still, I bet we see a lot of out-of-state corporate money buying negative ads in the race for the Senate.
Thank goodness then unions like the “purple people beaters” (SEIU) can still spend money to influence elections.
Bullock would have won no matter how the decision came out. If he had lost, he would have been singlehandedly defending the sanctity of Montana politics, but he won, so the issue isn’t going to do him any good for very long. The MT Supreme Court on the other hand lost. They just put up a bet that they are smarter than SCOTUS (and they’re not) that will cost them all their credibility.
The curious thing about CU that I don’t understand, is that corporations have been buying influence for years by manipulating the tax code. All that CU said was that you no longer have to register as a 501 c3. If the hand wringers complaining about “corporate influence have their way, then unions, the Sierra Club etc. will also be out of business.
But no since letting facts get in the way of a good argument.
Steve – I don’t quite understand your point: “If the hand wringers complaining about “corporate influence have their way, then unions, the Sierra Club etc. will also be out of business.”
Could you elaborate a bit, please. (I know I’m a little dense, but I really am perplexed about what you’re trying to convey.)
Sorry for the delay in answering. Corporations exist as business entities but also include labor unions (incorporated) the Sierra Club (incorporated) the Democrat National Committee (incorporated) etc. The point is that all of these entities have the ability to make a shell that uses the tax code to support their respective positions. If all corporate money is to be banned as Bullock seems to argue, then these shells would be banned as well.
Labor unions and non-profits had been doling out gazillions of dollars for years to Democrat campaigns and candidates; how will this ruling impact those entities? Or are you saying that this total ban is perhaps a campaign issue that Steve will tout for the next ten months and then completely disregard after that?
Cynicism is such a b*tch, huh?
Thanks for taking the time to explain – I really was having a total Perry moment on this one.