Today many Colorado citizens of all political persuasions (at least those registered with a political party) have the opportunity to make their voices heard and influence their respective party’s choice of candidates in the elections, at their county assembly. The county assemblies are the first binding votes cast leading to selection of political candidates for the general elections, and we encourage everyone to take advantage of the opportunity, whatever your party affiliation.

The county assemblies ALSO present the opportunity for citizens to speak out on matters of policy, as well as politics - by voting on resolutions to gain support within the political parties and their membership.

Clear The Bench Colorado asks citizens attending the assemblies who care about our Constitution and upholding the rule of law - be they Republican, Libertarian, Green Party, or Democrat (although it may take a bit more courage from members of the latter parties) to support the following resolution (which may vary slightly in wording) at your county assembly:

     Whereas, the rule of law must be upheld by judges who respect the Constitution and act to interpret laws as written, rather than make them by legislating from the bench and overriding the will of the people -  

      Be it Resolved that  We The People strongly advocate a “NO” vote on the retention of Colorado Supreme Court Justices Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey in the November 2010 elections, in order to restore accountability to the judiciary of Colorado.

Join Clear The Bench Colorado in returning “power to the people” - get active, get involved, raise your voice and help to restore accountability to the Colorado judiciary by exercising YOUR RIGHT to vote “NO” on the four unjust justices of the Colorado Supreme Court (Justices Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) who need YOUR approval to continue taking away your rights: your right to vote on tax increases, your right to defend your home or business from seizure by government abuse of eminent domain power, and your right to enjoy the benefits of the rule of law, not rule by activist, agenda-driven “justices.”  Help to Support Clear The Bench Colorado with your voice (Sound Off!), your contributions, and your “NO” vote to remove these unjust justices on election day this November!

Tonight is the night that Colorado citizens of all political persuasions (at least those registered with a political party) have the opportunity to make their voices heard and influence their respective party’s choice of candidates in the elections, at their local precinct caucus.  The precinct caucuses are the most direct interaction that the majority of Colorado citizens have in the political process, and we encourage everyone to take advantage of the opportunity, whatever your party affiliation.

The precinct caucuses ALSO present the opportunity for citizens to speak out on matters of policy, as well as politics - by introducing resolutions at the caucuses to gain support within the political parties and their membership.

Clear The Bench Colorado asks citizens attending the caucuses who care about our Constitution and upholding the rule of law - be they Republican, Libertarian, Green Party, or Democrat (although it may take a bit more courage from members of the latter parties) to introduce the following resolution (which must be submitted in written form) at your local precinct caucus:

     Whereas, the rule of law must be upheld by judges who respect the Constitution and act to interpret laws as written, rather than make them by legislating from the bench and overriding the will of the people -  

      Be it Resolved that  We The People strongly advocate a “NO” vote on the retention of Colorado Supreme Court Justices Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey in the November 2010 elections, in order to restore accountability to the judiciary of Colorado.

Join Clear The Bench Colorado in returning “power to the people” - get active, get involved, raise your voice and help to restore accountability to the Colorado judiciary by exercising YOUR RIGHT to vote “NO” on the four unjust justices of the Colorado Supreme Court (Justices Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) who need YOUR approval to continue taking away your rights: your right to vote on tax increases, your right to defend your home or business from seizure by government abuse of eminent domain power, and your right to enjoy the benefits of the rule of law, not rule by activist, agenda-driven “justices.”  Help to Support Clear The Bench Colorado with your voice (Sound Off!), your contributions, and your “NO” vote to remove these unjust justices on election day this November!

The resurgence of “We The People” in the form of local citizens banding together in grassroots civic action organizations to defend our constitutional rights is THE continuing political story of the year 2010 in America…

Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold is both proud and humbled to have been invited as a guest speaker to several such groups over the last several months - beginning with the massive (7000+) crowd at the Tax Day Tea Party rally at the Denver Capitol and continuing through several events throughout the Spring (examples here, and here), Summer (examples here, here, and here) and Fall (examples here, here, here, here, and here) and Winter (here, and here) of 2009 - and now coming back for more in 2010!

The Grassroots Revival continues.  Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold is speaking this morning (Saturday) at the Vail Valley 9.12 Project meeting at the Avon Branch Library starting at 10AM.

Join Clear The Bench Colorado and the Grassroots Revival in restoring “power to the people” - get active, get involved, raise your voice and help to restore accountability to the Colorado judiciary by exercising YOUR RIGHT to vote “NO” on the four unjust justices of the Mullarkey Majority (Justices Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) who need YOUR approval to continue taking away your rights: your right to vote on tax increases, your right to defend your homes and business from seizure by rapacious governments, and your right to enjoy the benefits of the rule of law, not rule by activist, agenda-driven “justices.”  Support Clear The Bench Colorado with your voice (Sound Off!), your contributions, and your “NO” vote to remove these unjust justices on election day this November!

Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold is the featured guest speaker at the Colorado Springs Candidate Search 2010 Forum this Tuesday (9 March) at the Mr. Biggs Family Event Center (I-25 & Nevada).  Doors open to the general public at 5:00 PM for meeting and mingling, and the speeches and debates begin at 6:00 PM.

[UPDATE: Video from the event, posted by "theusrepublic" on WittySparks]

The event will also feature candidates for Colorado Governor, State Treasurer, and U.S. Senate.

This event provides an opportunity for you to learn more about the candidates asking for your vote in statewide elections this year (primaries are in August, general election is 2 November).

The grassroots, nonpartisan organizations sponsoring and hosting this event are:

Take the opportunity to learn more about why the MOST important votes you can cast in this very important election year are four “NO” votes on the unjust justices of the Mullarkey Majority on the Colorado Supreme Court - and get to know more about the candidates for those other offices, too.

Become an informed citizen; conduct your own evaluation of ANY official (including judges) asking for your vote, based on how (and whether) they follow the Constitution and uphold the rule of law.  Armed with information, Yes, you can exercise your right to vote “NO” on the four ‘unjust justices’ of the Mullarkey Majority (Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) who need YOUR approval to continue taking away your constitutional rights: your right to vote on tax increases, your right to defend your home and business from seizure by rapacious governments, and your right to enjoy the benefits of the rule of law, instead of suffering under rule by activist, agenda-driven “justices.”  Support Clear The Bench Colorado with your comments (Sound Off!) and your contributions - and vote “NO” on retaining these unjust justices in the upcoming November elections!

Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold is this month’s featured speaker at the Mesa County Republican Women’s luncheon (Monday, March 6th) at the Two Rivers Convention Center, discussing the grassroots movement to restore accountability to the Colorado Supreme Court and bring back balance to the bench.

Learn more about the Mullarkey Court’s repeated assaults on the Colorado Constitution, the resulting impact to your wallet, the degradation or outright elimination of YOUR constitutional rights, and most importantly what you can do about it.

Enjoy a great luncheon, then sit back and learn more about how - and why -  you can and should exercise YOUR right to vote “NO” on retaining the four unjust justices of the Mullarkey Majority (Justices Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) who need YOUR approval to keep taking away your constitutional rights: your right to vote on tax increases, your right to defend your homes and business from seizure by abuse of eminent domain, and your right to enjoy the benefits of the rule of law, not rule by activist, agenda-driven Colorado Supreme Court “justices.”  Support Clear The Bench Colorado with your comments (Sound Off!), your contributions, and your “NO” vote on retaining these unjust justices in November’s elections!

Clear The Bench Colorado will be giving the opening presentation at the South Denver Candidate Search 2010 Forum this Saturday (6 March) at the Douglas County Fairgrounds in Castle Rock, CO.  Doors open to the general public at noon, and the event is scheduled to continue through 5:00 PM.

The event will also feature candidates for the Colorado House & Senate, U.S. Congress (Districts 2, 6, and 7), U.S. Senate, State Treasurer, Colorado Secretary of State, and Colorado Governor.

This event provides an opportunity for you to learn more about the candidates asking for your vote in statewide and district-specific elections this year (primaries are in August, the general election is November 2nd).

The grassroots, nonpartisan organizations sponsoring and hosting this event are:

Take the opportunity to learn more about why the MOST important votes you can cast in this very important election year are four “NO” votes on the unjust justices of the Mullarkey Majority on the Colorado Supreme Court - and get to know more about the candidates for those other offices, too.

Become an informed citizen; conduct your own evaluation of the performance of these justices, based on how (and whether) they follow the Constitution and uphold the rule of law.  Armed with information, Yes, you can exercise your right to vote “NO” on the four ‘unjust justices’ of the Mullarkey Majority (Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) who need YOUR approval to continue taking away your constitutional rights: your right to vote on tax increases, your right to defend your home and business from seizure by rapacious governments, and your right to enjoy the benefits of the rule of law, instead of suffering under rule by activist, agenda-driven “justices.”  Support Clear The Bench Colorado with your comments (Sound Off!) and your contributions - and vote “NO” on retaining these unjust justices in the upcoming November retention elections!

The resurgence of “We The People” in the form of local citizens banding together in grassroots civic action organizations to defend our constitutional rights is THE continuing political story of the year 2010 in America…

Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold is both proud and humbled to have been invited as a guest speaker to several such groups over the last several months - beginning with the massive (7000+) crowd at the Tax Day Tea Party rally at the Denver Capitol and continuing through several events throughout the Spring (examples here, and here), Summer (examples here, here, and here) and Fall (examples here, here, here, here, and here) and Winter (here, and here) of 2009 - and now coming back for more in 2010!

The Grassroots Revival continues.  Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold is speaking tonight at the ROAR (Revive Our American Republic) forum starting at 6:30PM in Golden (see website for directions).

Join Clear The Bench Colorado and the Grassroots Revival in restoring “power to the people” - get active, get involved, raise your voice and help to restore accountability to the Colorado judiciary by exercising YOUR RIGHT to vote “NO” on the four unjust justices of the Mullarkey Majority (Justices Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) who need YOUR approval to continue taking away your rights: your right to vote on tax increases, your right to defend your homes and business from seizure by rapacious governments, and your right to enjoy the benefits of the rule of law, not rule by activist, agenda-driven “justices.”  Support Clear The Bench Colorado with your voice (Sound Off!), your contributions, and your “NO” vote to remove these unjust justices on election day this November!

The Clear The Bench Colorado message is spreading around the state…

Following the recent Denver Post front-page, above-the-fold coverage of the “tough vote” facing Colorado Supreme Court justices in the upcoming statewide elections this November and the resulting domination of the Post’s “letters” section the following week, Sunday’s Pueblo Chieftain published a guest editorial by Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold urging Colorado citizens to “vote against retention of four state Supreme Court justices” in the November elections.

That editorial is published in its entirety below:

Clear The Bench

Vote against retention of four state Supreme Court justices

By MATTHEW ARNOLD
CLEAR THE BENCH COLORADO

Clear the bench, Colorado! The most important four votes you can cast in 2010.  Yes, 2010 is shaping up to be a pivotal year — for our country as a whole, and for Colorado in particular.

   Campaigns for governor, U.S. senator, Congress and the state legislature are already at a fever pitch. But the most important votes Colorado citizens will cast this year aren’t for any of those elected offices.
  The most important votes Coloradans can cast this year are “NO” votes against the four Colorado Supreme Court justices asking to be retained in office.
Did you know that 2010 is a year in which four Colorado Supreme Court justices must receive the approval of Colorado voters to stay in office? Did you know that they get 10-year terms?  Did you know that these four Colorado Supreme Court justices have done the following at the expense of democratic and representative government at the local and state level?

• Upheld the unconstitutional “mill levy tax freeze” property tax increase.
• Eliminated constitutional protections for tax credits and tax exemptions — leading to the “Dirty Dozen” tax increase bills recently passed by the Colorado Legislature.
• Enabled taxes to masquerade as “fees” —  leading to the massive FASTER car tax increase.
• Abused eminent domain laws, endangering property rights (your home or business).
• Usurped the legislative power to decide “proper” school funding levels.

   Thanks to rulings by the activist (Chief Justice Mary) Mullarkey Majority on Colorado’s Supreme Court, we’ve suffered all of these tax increases (property taxes, car taxes — er, registration “fees” —  and now the “Dirty Dozen” tax increase bills taxing everything from candy and soda, online software downloads, agricultural products like pesticides and animal drugs and hormones needed to ensure safe foods, energy used in producing every good or service in Colorado, Internet sales (they want to track — and tax — things you buy online), even doggy bags — all without a vote of the people, even though the people’s vote is required by Colorado’s constitutional Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR) to approve what are, in effect, tax increases.

   Did you know that the unconstitutional “Dirty Dozen” package is exploiting a few lines in last year’s “Mill Levy Tax Freeze” (property tax increase) ruling?

   Last year, the Legislature found out about that part of the ruling on April 1 — only enough time for them to pass just one bill (the tobacco tax increase), just like a bad April Fool’s Day joke.

   These tax “jokes” can’t be very funny to Pueblo residents, who are being hit hard by tax increases, particularly the energy tax (this year’s HB1190) and the car tax (last year’s SB108):

   Evraz Rocky Mountain Steel in Pueblo, the state’s largest energy user aside from public utilities, said it may have to cut 30 to 120 jobs because of the energy tax.

   The Car Tax has already hit many motorists with a $40-$50 increase (as much as triple or quadruple the previous year’s charge) in the first year alone (guess what, folks — two more years of increases to go!).

   Our Constitution was written and adopted specifically to limit the scope and power of government — to restrain government, not to give the Colorado Supreme Court free rein over the rights of citizens.

   Inform yourself on what the Constitution actually says — it’s your law, not theirs — and not nearly so complicated as they would have you believe.

   “The ultimate touchstone of constitutionality is the Constitution itself and not what we have said about it.” — Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter, Graves v. New York, 1939.

   Colorado Supreme Court justices are — and must be — accountable: to the law, to the Constitution, and ultimately, to the citizens of Colorado (”We The People“). Retention elections are the only mechanism by which the people of Colorado can hold our Supreme Court justices accountable.

   Stand up for your constitutional rights and privileges. Don’t allow four justices of the Colorado Supreme Court to continue to rule them out of existence.

   Vote “NO” on the four “unjust justices” of the Mullarkey Majority (Justices Michael Bender, Alex Martinez and Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) this fall. Election Day is Nov. 2.

   Let’s clear the bench, Colorado!

Yes, you can exercise your right to vote “NO” on the four ‘unjust justices’ of the Mullarkey Majority (Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) who need YOUR approval to continue taking away your constitutional rights: your right to vote on tax increases, your right to defend your home and business from seizure by rapacious governments, and your right to enjoy the benefits of the rule of law, instead of suffering under rule by activist, agenda-driven “justices.”  Support Clear The Bench Colorado with your comments (Sound Off!) and your contributions - and vote “NO” on retaining these unjust justices on the bench!

It’s been an eventful week in Colorado - unfortunately, so eventful that it’s been hard to keep up.

Unfortunately, I haven’t had the time to give any one of these issues the attention (and analysis) they deserve this week - particularly the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling on Amendment 54, which calls for a thoughtful (and time-consuming) assessment, particularly in the context of other cases on campaign finance and political speech coming before the court.  It should be interesting, for example, to contrast the court’s ruling on one set of restrictions on political speech with another.

In other news, Governor Ritter signed nine tax increase bills into law this week (part of the “Dirty Dozen” tax increase bills exploiting last year’s “Mill Levy Tax Freeze” ruling to circumvent the TABOR requirement to receive prior voter approval before raising taxes.  As previously noted, many (if not all) of these tax increase bills (now laws) are likely to be challenged in court as violations of the Colorado Constitution - almost certainly to end up before the Colorado Supreme Court sometime next year, making the composition of the court an issue of extreme interest to the businesses, ranchers & farmers, and the employed (and those seeking employment) and consumers (basically, everyone in Colorado - even dogs!) hurt by these (dubiously constitutional) tax increases.

Another bit of news related to the Colorado Supreme Court that escaped much notice:  Lobbying groups want taxpayers to underwrite their School Funding Lawsuit against the State of Colorado.  Yes, that’s right: special-interest lobbyists want taxpayers to fund a lawsuit against the state (defended by taxpayer money).  The goal of these lobbyist groups is to get each school district to help fund the cause…

How is this related to the Colorado Supreme Court?  Well, the lawsuits are attempting to exploit the court’s ruling in the Lobato school funding case - in which the Mullarkey Court overturned lower courts that had held (correctly) that school funding decisions are a matter of policy - not law - and are therefore the job of elected legislators - not appointed judges - to decide.

Sending issues of educational budgetary policy to the courts (instead of the appropriate venue of elected legislators or school boards) is troubling not only on constitutional grounds, but as a matter of precedent and policy; in fact,

“most states realize the bad policy and bad consequences of adequacy lawsuits and are moving away from them. Colorado is out of sync for its courts to be sanctioning such action.“

One short week, two big campaign finance cases, three MAJOR examples of how much the Colorado Supreme Court affects all of us - on so many levels - and why your four “NO” votes in the upcoming retention elections for the unjust justices of the Mullarkey Majority are the MOST important votes you can cast in this very important election year.

Yes, you can exercise your right to vote “NO” on the four ‘unjust justices’ of the Mullarkey Majority (Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) who need YOUR approval to continue taking away your constitutional rights: your right to vote on tax increases, your right to defend your home and business from seizure by rapacious governments, and your right to enjoy the benefits of the rule of law, instead of suffering under rule by activist, agenda-driven “justices.”  Support Clear The Bench Colorado with your comments (Sound Off!) and your contributions - and vote “NO” on retaining these unjust justices on the bench!

This Sunday the “Letters to the Editor” section of the Denver Post was dominated by comment on last Monday’s Denver Post’s front-page, above-the-fold coverage of the “tough vote” facing Colorado Supreme Court justices in the upcoming statewide elections this November.

Much of the letter-writing was devoted to the obligatory rants bashing Jon Caldara and John Andrews, also quoted in the article - which I find amusing since (although I certainly appreciate their supportive comments) neither one of them is driving the train of the non-retention campaign (”not Independence nor Backbone nor either Jo(h)n - just little ol’ me - Underdog.”  Er, Clear The Bench Colorado).

Aside from the rants and Jo(h)n- bashing, though, some of the letters (not ALL were negative) raised some interesting points, which I will attempt to address:

“The headline of your article in reference to the retention of four Colorado Supreme Court justices effectively makes it an issue, whether it is or not.“

Actually, for once, the Denver Post is reporting news, not making it.  The “retention of four Colorado Supreme Court justices” is already very much an issue this election year - in fact, it is THE issue in Colorado elections this year.

“The debate over eliminating or suspending tax credits and exemptions has quickly become the defining issue of the 2010 session.“

Over the last month, the legislative session has been dominated by news about the “Dirty Dozen” tax increase bills that owe their very existence to an expansive interpretation of language in last year’s notorious “Mill Levy Tax Freeze” ruling (that upheld an unconstitutional - and permanently upwards-ratcheting - property tax increase).  That ruling also provided the legalistic pretense for the legislative action to impose tax increases (via the mechanism of repealing existing tax credits and exemptions - which is still a “tax policy change resulting in a net revenue gain”) in violation of the TABOR requirement to receive prior voter approval.

Other legislative actions, such as last year’s unconstitutional repeal of the Arveschoug-Bird 6% limit on the growth of general fund spending and the passage of the most unpopular tax increase in Colorado history (the FASTER car tax - er, registration “fee” increase) are also directly tied to the current Colorado Supreme Court majority’s consistent disregard for (if not active hostility towards) those sections of the Colorado Constitution (i.e. TABOR) with which they personally disagree.

The Mullarkey Court’s predilection for usurping legislative power and authority is not restricted to re-writing law.  They have also taken it upon themselves to claim the authority to determine the correct level of taxation and spending (constitutionally, powers reserved to the legislative branch) for school funding, and have also usurped the authority of the legislature to draw up Colorado congressional districts following the 2000 Census - a pattern which is likely to be repeated if these same justices remain in power following the upcoming 2010 Census.

Even the executive branch (gubernatorial) elections in Colorado are dominated by the same themes, due to soon-to-be-former Governor Ritter’s inextricable connection with the “Mill Levy Tax Freeze” property tax increase, the ‘FASTER’ Car Tax (er, “fee”) increase, the “Dirty Dozen” tax increase bills, and countless other proposed “fee” increases in violation of the Colorado Constitution (TABOR) requirement to first obtain voter approval.

From the litany of tax increases through erosion of property rights and other constitutional (and statutory) protections and looking forward to the post-Census reapportionment and redistricting processes - there is NO area of policy (and politics) unaffected by the Colorado Supreme Court.

That is why the MOST IMPORTANT votes that can be cast by Colorado citizens in this very important election year are four “NO” votes in the retention election of the Colorado Supreme Court justices subject to voter approval in retention elections.

It is also why voters must be provided with more extensive, substantive, and useful information on which to base their voting decisions.  “The high marks received by each justice through the system of evaluation in place” are NOT an endorsement of the justices, but rather an indictment of the weakness and inadequacy of the judicial performance review process (as noted in a previous Denver Post guest commentary article).  Despite the genuinely hard work and good intentions of the majority of the judicial performance review commissioners, the process (and end-products) are perhaps endemically flawed.

There has been a failure of real performance evaluation and a lack of analytical content in the write-ups for the voters.  If narratives provide meaningful information about how a justice has decided cases, there will be accountability and the system will work as it is designed to do.  Too often in the past, narratives have amounted to complimentary resumes instead of job performance evaluations.  Some commentators and observers have denigrated the narratives as a “rubber stamp” exercise for retaining judges.

Finally, another letter-writer asserts that the issue is really just an attempt “to abolish Colorado’s nationally acclaimed judicial selection procedure” (throwing in some conspiracy-theory mush about how the real goal “is to allow corporate contributions to buy judgeships” - where did that come from?)

That doesn’t even make any sense - it’s a complete non-sequitur.  Clear The Bench Colorado has consistently stated that our institutions - including the judicial merit selection and retention election process - are worthy of defense (albeit in dire need of improvement and reform).  Indeed, defending the institutions requires that the process be effective - and taken seriously, including the judicial evaluation and retention election elements.  Unfortunately, those aspects have suffered from a lack of attention - until now.

The ultimate responsibility - and authority - rests with the voters.  Clear The Bench Colorado urges all Colorado citizens to become informed about how the Colorado Supreme Court has aided and abetted assaults on their rights (and wallets!) with a consistent pattern of not following the Constitution where it doesn’t agree with their own agenda - and drawing the necessary and logical conclusions.

Clear The Bench, Colorado!

Become an informed citizen; conduct your own evaluation of the performance of these justices, based on how (and whether) they follow the Constitution and uphold the rule of law.  Armed with information, Yes, you can exercise your right to vote “NO” on the four ‘unjust justices’ of the Mullarkey Majority (Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) who need YOUR approval to continue taking away your constitutional rights: your right to vote on tax increases, your right to defend your home and business from seizure by rapacious governments, and your right to enjoy the benefits of the rule of law, instead of suffering under rule by activist, agenda-driven “justices.”  Support Clear The Bench Colorado with your comments (Sound Off!) and your contributions - and vote “NO” on retaining these unjust justices in the upcoming November retention elections!