Interesting story comparing seating of judges in Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin

Without forewarning, they witnessed a $5.8 million state supreme court race unlike anything they'd (Wisconsin) seen before, and not just because it was four times the cost of any previous court campaign.

"It was so unlike anything we'd seen because of the extent to which the campaigning was personal and ugly, with a tremendous amount of mud-slinging," said Mike McCabe, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. "It was really demeaning."

If the 2007 campaign was a surprise, the 2008 Wisconsin Supreme Court race was affirmation. That one came in at about $6 million and, McCabe contends, was even uglier, containing "race-baiting and sometimes downright untruthful claims."

The 2008 race also was unusual in the huge amount of money special interest groups spent. McCabe describes the effect as "literally pushing candidates over to the sidelines, forcing them to become bystanders." Nearly 90 percent of the television ads placed during the campaign were financed by four special interest groups, he said.