Some polling on public financing

Of State judicial election campaigns:

A response to the Impartial Justice Bill

State judicial elections are getting more publicized, more expensive, and more malicious.

Indeed they are, and during the last two Wisconsin election cycles, we had the conservative Republican candidates and their devoted "Family Values" supporters to thank for the latter phenomenon.

Hard to say whether that's an incongruity or an anticipated feature.

The problem clearly isn't how much money that judicial candidates raise, it's the uses (and particularly the abuses) to which it's put.
When judicial candidates are honest (which should be a given), then more money in service of greater honesty would be a good thing.

Meanwhile, dishonesty must remain the exclusive and jealously protected preserve of legislative and gubernatorial hopefuls.

Which is to say, if you really feel the need to lie, cheat, and deceive, then do us all a favor and run for something other than a judge.

That way, people like me can more easily reconcile our idealism with our cynicism. Because you're making it increasingly difficult.