The Blount GOP appears to have the Knoxville News Sentinel's Blount County stringer on their fax speed dial, given the number of dispatches about Judge Meares lately. And apparently, Judge Meares either a) doesn't have a sympathetic ear in the media, or b) is less concerned about the political spin cycle and more concerned about doing his job.

I don't speak for Judge Meares, and I don't pretend to know what he's thinking. But reading between the slanted lines of recent reporting, anyone paying attention might conclude that:

• His opponent's handlers, who include prominent local Republicans, a sitting Republican judge, and lawyers simultaneously representing the county's top GOP official and the local newspaper, have made various unfounded accusations against Judge Meares in print and in letters to the editor, not to mention floating an unsubstantiated "whisper campaign" in the Knoxville paper, and…

• Judge Meares has probably tried (just surmising here) to talk to these people directly to resolve any concerns about the operation of Blount Co. courts and has most likely run into a brick wall because they won't return his calls, and…

• Judge Meares, believing it incumbent upon himself as an officer of the court who is sworn to uphold his duties and protect the integrity of the court he serves (just surmising here, again), took what some might consider drastic action to get answers about whether the procedures and rules are being followed and whether in fact rules about making the rules are being followed.

As reward for trying to actually do his job when no one else will, Judge Meares has now been accused of playing politics from the bench.

This is "swiftboating," pure and simple. It's an attempt to twist a candidate's virtues into political liabilities for purposes of winning an election at any cost. The irony is that it's being done by people who value desperate partisan politics over virtue and the public trust.

Personally, I don't think selection of Tennessee's local judiciary should be determined by partisan elections. Or maybe even elections at all. But that's neither here nor there, because it is what it is and here we are.

I also think that Judge Meares' opponent is probably a good guy, and maybe even marginally qualified for Circuit Court Judge. But I wonder if he really wants to get dragged down into all this partisan mudslinging at the hands of his handlers.

My guess is that both candidates would rather run on their records and let voters decide who is more qualified and more experienced. Informed voters who look past partisan politics and media spin should be able to come to their own conclusions.

The only thing I would add is that Judge Meares has repeatedly said there's no place for politics in the courtroom. His opponent, however, is running ads in the local paper saying that he's the "Republican candidate" and that people in the community "share his values."

Maybe I missed something in high school civics class, but the only values anyone should care about regarding judges charged with dispensing "equal justice for all" are a) upholding the Constitutions of the State of Tennessee and the United States of America as they are sworn to do, b) having an extensive knowledge of the law and its application, and c) ensuring that everyone appearing in their court gets a fair trial. Are there some other "values" I'm missing? Surely the Blount GOP is not suggesting that local judges should be "legislating from the bench" in deference to the political whims of the electorate?

And as far as any controversy surrounding accurate reporting of case dispositions, I would only add that the "explanations [1]" offered by the County Court Clerk, an elected Republican who has been involved in a number [2] of controversies [3], are laughable.

Blount Co. voters ought to be asking about all these mistakes and inefficiencies and scandals and politics that plague our Blount Co. courts, where judges are just trying to come to work and do their jobs every day free from political influence and interference. Voters should also be asking who has what agenda and who is more credible, instead of who is the Democrat and who is the Republican. And more important, they should be asking themselves whose values they really share.

Once again, I do not speak for Judge Meares, and have had little contact with him or his campaign other than meeting him at a few campaign events and knowing one of his campaign people who I trust and respect. In fact, his campaign didn't reply to my email regarding questions about all this. I take that as a sign that Judge Meares is busy being a judge, as opposed to getting dragged down into local partisan politics and the mud being slung by the Blount GOP.