By MONROE ROARK
mroark@thecitizennews.com

The voters are really confusing me.

On one hand, not nearly enough people go to the polls when the time comes, as evidenced by the numbers released after every election; the problem is almost uniform across the United States. On the other hand, after seeing how the votes are tallied in some races, I wonder why some people even bother.

Take two primaries in California earlier this week, for example. I'm fairly certain you've heard about one of them (you may be sick of it by now), but the other might be under your radar screen.

Much of the country was probably thrilled to hear that Gary Condit's career in the U.S. House of Representatives is likely finished after this year. He was soundly beaten in the Democratic primary race for his 18th District seat by his former friend and protege, California Assemblyman Dennis Cardoza.

Some media reports called it a landslide, with Cardoza getting some 63 percent of thevote. That's certainly a wide margin of victory, but am I the only one troubled by the fact that 37 percent voted for Condit? Amazing.

Cardoza pulled off this victory without even campaigning. According to the local media in northern California, he skipped a dozen debates and spent much of his time in Sacramento, which I suppose is where he should be as a state legislator. Meanwhile, Condit campaigned his rear end off.

But Cardoza, whose name shouldn't even be known outside of his home state, had the national media doing his work for him, pounding on Condit concerning the Chandra Levy disappearance and Condit's own evasiveness during the investigation. Condit didn't help his own cause much by making himself look even worse every time he stepped in front of a microphone, refusing to be forthright concerning his relationship with Levy.

A lot of people thought Condit was crazy to even run for reelection, but he obviously had a better read on the voters than most. It also helped that the country has gone to war in the past six months and put his scandal on the back burner as far as the national news is concerned.

So who votes for Gary Condit after everything that has been uncovered about him in the past year? Maybe the same people who vote for a judge (a judge!) under arrest for child pornography.

This is the one you might not have heard about. According to the Associated Press, a Superior Court judge in southern California facing a federal child pornography charge and accused of child molestation garnered the most votes out of a field of 12 in his bid for reelection Tuesday, forcing a runoff.

Judge Ronald Kline has had a difficult time campaigning, since he is under house arrest and has to wear an ankle monitor. He was indicted in November after an Internet watchdog group tipped off authorities that he was downloading child pornography.

As with many judicial elections, Kline would have been unopposed except for his arrest. He was indicted the day before the deadline for filing candidacy papers, so his name was the only one on the ballot. But a large group of challengers surfaced and ran as write-in candidates.

Court records indicate that federal agents seized computers at Kline's home and found more than 100 pornographic images taken from various Web sites. Investigators also claim to have found a computer diary in which the judge allegedly talks about a sexual attraction to a 13-year-old boy, according to press reports. Since his indictment, an alleged victim has come forward and said that Kline sexually abused him in the 1970s.

Kline denies all of the charges and has pleaded innocent. He has been on paid leave since November, pending the outcome of the case.

I'm all for the presumption of innocence until proven guilty for every citizen. But anyone under the public trust as a congressman or a judge has no business running for office in this kind of situation.

Ironically, Condit might have kept his seat if he had come right out and said that he had an affair with Levy. If he had done so at the beginning and cooperated fully, he would likely be in the clear by now, provided he really had nothing to do with her disappearance. The American public has proven in recent years that sexual indiscretions, even when betraying the trust of a spouse, are often meaningless.

As for Kline, who can imagine him ever sitting on the bench again, especially right now? Apparently a few thousand people. They, along with the Condit supporters, showed their lack of judgment at the polls Tuesday when they pulled the lever for him.

[Monroe Roark can be reached at mroark@TheCitizenNews.com.]

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