Saturday, July 28, 2018

Montana Democrats Continue to Embarrass Themselves on National Stage

It has been an interesting couple of weeks in Montana politics. While one elected official tries to make nice with the president his party continues to demonize, another who seems bent on replacing Trump as Commander in Chief made himself look really foolish on the national stage.



As President Trump made a swing through the Treasure State, Senator Jon Tester, in a heated race to retain his seat against State Auditor Matt Rosendale, started running ads that seemingly praised the president, both in print and broadcast.

His broadcast ads, saying only an auctioneer could rattle off all his signed bills, conveniently does not reference his party affiliation, while suggesting some sort of alliance with the president.

And while he's happy to tout his legislative victories when they align to the president, Tester also slammed the Trump administration's decision to no longer have the IRS require non-profit political groups report their donors.

The IRS was accused of rampant abuse in the collection of donor information under President Obama. Tester had initially posted a tweet that was later deleted which stated this rule change would limit public disclosure - which was never actually the case.

The irony of Tester's position is palpable to anyone who has spent any length of time in Montana: most pundits say that without a dark money group intervening on his behalf in 2012, Tester would have lost his election to Denny Rehberg.

And it doesn't even seem like that group wants to appear like a legitimately active organization.

So while Tester talks out of both sides of his mouth, in Helena, Gov. Steve Bullock took things a step further by using his office and taxpayer dollars to file a lawsuit that seems to have no basis in anything other than his own political ambitions.

And if the governor's intent was to get his name in the national news to promote his aspirations and increase recognition, it isn't the first time he's made so craven an attempt.
All of this, along with accepting the role to chair the National Governor's Association, seems to be clearly positioning Bullock for a 2020 presidential run.



It was a notion from which Bullock did not dissuade Chris Matthews in a truly embarrassing nationally televised interview. As Bullock seemed to chuckle like a nervous teenager on a first date at every question thrown his way, eventually answering them with empty platitudes, Matthews grew weary of his nonchalance.

Asking Bullock if he'd like to be known as a socialist, when Bullock again just laughed, Matthews retorted "You just laugh at all my questions, you gotta answer them... This is what its like running for president."




In the meantime, the governor also reversed course on accepting a contract renewal from private prison operators at home in Montana, sending people from the left and the right into a tizzy.

In an enormous step back for criminal justice reform, @GovernorBullock just committed Montana & taxpayer dollars to @CoreCivic, a corporation that disregards constitutional rights & treats humans as financial assets. Montana’s financial future is now tied to mass incarceration.

Despite having said the deal "doesn't make sense for Montanans" just months ago, Bullock set aside his reservations, the prospect of meaningful criminal justice reform in state, and the civil liberties of his constituency, all just as the state reported that they would receive revenues higher than anticipated.

He tied all of this together in a nice package that seemed to emphasize restoring Medicaid cuts as a panacea and diversion tactic for having signed back with the prison contractor.

But the same guy who claims he seeks transparency seemed to be shying away from it in the wake of this dubious decision. There was no media response from the governor regarding this action.
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