The movement, called Better Courts Now, is supporting four San Diego Superior Court candidates that have the backing of "pastors, gun enthusiasts and opponents of abortion and same-sex marriages," the Associated Press recently reported.

A banner on the front-page of the Better Courts Now (BCN) website welcoming visitors, reads: "Welcome to BetterCourtsNow.com. The most innovative approach to unifying the moral vote. Better Courts Now, is an attempt to network with you in a way that allows you to become a change agent in making judges accountable. Join the fight and let your voice be heard!"

In mid-March, Capital Weekly reported that the website "also includes testimonials from at least one person affiliated with the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), a group that has been in the center of political battles over gay marriage in California and around the country."

"It's important that we unify our votes so we ensure that solid men and women of high morals, who will not legislate from the bench, are elected to office," Assemblyman Joel Anderson, R-La Mesa, says in a 97-second video. Later he adds, "We are in full agreement that we need to get behind BetterCourtsNow.com."

Capital Weekly pointed out while "Anderson is probably the most recognizable person on the list [,] .... [o]ther prominent people on video page include: Steve Baldwin, who held the AD 77 seat from 1995 through 2000; Ron Prentice, San Diego chairman for the Yes on 8 Campaign; Don Hamer, a prominent black pastor in San Diego; Dean Broyles, an attorney the Western Center for Law & Policy; Brian Jones, vice mayor of Santee; and Charles Li Mandri, west coast regional director of the Thomas More Law Center."

Dr. Jennifer Morse, the founder and president of the Ruth Institute in San Marcos, also appears on the site. According to Capital Weekly, "The Institute's website displays prominently that it is `A project of the National Organization for Marriage' [an organization founded in 2007 by Maggie Gallagher, a noted gay marriage opponent who also founded the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy (IMPP)]. The group states that it promotes `lifelong commitment' and `big families.' It opposes unmarried couples living together and medical treatment for minors with gender confusion. The site also states that it sponsors students' essay contests and `Gay marriage affects everyone' seminars."

"We believe our country is under assault and needs Christian values," said Craig Candelore, a family law attorney and the founder of the Men's Legal Center in San Diego, who is one of the group's candidates. "Unfortunately, God has called upon us to do this only with the judiciary."

According to AP, the election of judges -- which is on the June 8 ballot along with primaries for state offices and U.S. Senator, as well as a number of state initiatives -- is normally a "snooze-button" affair that often causes a puzzled look and a "who's she/he" reaction from voters. This time around, however, the snooze alarm is ringing loudly as the election has been turned "into what both sides call a battle for the integrity of U.S. courts."

Better Courts Now was founded three years ago by the late Don Hamer, San Diego County's Zion Christian Fellowship pastor, who was a major supporter of Proposition 8 (California's ban on same-sex marriage) and, according to AP, "vetted the [judicial] candidates before he died of a heart attack in March." According to a post by "Christian Dem in N.C." at Daily Kos, Hamer was "the voice of seven videos back in 2008 that claimed Obama wasn't really a Christian, including one in which he accused Obama of being a Muslim."

Hamer's fellow pastor, Brian Hendry -- the GOP candidate for the state senate from the 40th district -- and others have carried on the work, "launching the mostly online campaign to replace the incumbent judges (Lantz Lewis, Robert Longstreth, Joel Wohlfeil and DeAnn Salcido, all Democrats) with Christian conservatives (Candelore, Bill Trask [the general counsel for a mortgage-lending firm], Larry Kincaid [an El Cajon lawyer who practices civil, criminal and family law and was an unsuccessful candidate for judge four years ago], and Harold Coleman Jr. [an Arbitrator]," AP reported.

Last week, East County magazine reported that "Better Courts Now's candidates were not found qualified for the positions they seek by the County Bar Association.  In response, Better Courts Now has accused the Bar of `blatant political bias' and noted that Larry Stanwood Johnson, chair of the Bar's Certified Family Law Specialists Committee, has solicited donations from Committee members for the incumbent judges."

"Better Courts Now says it wants courts to be more accountable to the public," AP reported. "But [Lantz] Lewis, [who has served twenty years on the bench] said the group appears to be seeking allegiance to its views -- not accountability."

"I just don't think judges should be in a situation, where they are asked, `Do you believe in God, abortion, gay marriage?'" Lewis said.

For Craig Candelore, a victory would be the first step toward reclaiming the culture: "If we can take our judiciary, we can take our Legislature and our executive branch."