It’s a process that’ll end fair and square.  Nothing to see here, move along.  D and R hopefuls (read underdogs) and golden children (read moneyed) continue to circle in hopes of a delegate ‘vote’ in the coming months to become THEIR party’s  candidate and hopefully join that esteemed club in WDC.  There are no surprising revelations in this post, just watching the grass grow like everyone else and wondering what will take root.

Each party has assured its supporters that their candidate will be chosen by a majority vote of their respective delegates.  If you truly believe that, there may be stock investment options in a wall down south.

As you know, on the ‘D’ side there are four names that are now common in the mix: Curtis, McCarthy, Quist, Schreiner.  That’s not to say there aren’t others or there won’t be others, it just seems safe to say that looks like the pack, so to speak.  In fact, there’s talk of Zeno Baucus.  He carries the name, the readymade war chest and daddy’s baggage.  A proverbial kiss of death.

From the ‘R’s we have: Buttrey, Gianforte, Rosendale (maybe), Sales, Zolnikov.  Again, nothing new here.  Rosendale has proven his electability in a statewide race and Montana voters don’t seem to mind that an original idea and a cold glass of water would put the rifleman in a coma.  Meanwhile, Gainforte has already demonstrated what a lot of money can do for a campaign, while his strongest opponent, Buttrey, carries the odious stigma of sponsoring a bi-partisan Medicaid expansion bill in 2015.

If you believe everything you read and watch on the screen it looks like a Quist/Gianforte decision.

Quist was quietly roaming the halls of the Montana State Capitol last week, cowboy boots, jeans, western shirt, hands in his pockets and signature hat.  He looked more like a wandering visitor than a confident candidate.  Meanwhile, the other three are hard at work and involved in the legislative process.  The trio are on the move, smiling and invested in the here and now.  They would bring a sense of energy and change to the D party.  We just can’t have that. They are also missing the blessing of former Governor Schweitzer.  But keep in mind that Schweitzer’s last prized pony was Larry Jent.

The same could be said for the other side.  Gainforte has managed to splash onto the news by catching Mike Dennison’s attention.  While Rosendale and Zolnikov haven’t been as present in their enthusiasm, Buttrey and Sales are, shall we say, politely expressing their frustrations with the backroom dealing by their party as well.  To be fair, Sales and Buttrey too are knee deep in Montana’s legislative process and don’t have the luxury to roam the state for ‘votes’.  Sales and Buttrey.  Pachyderm vs rino. We, or rather Jeff Essman, can’t have that either.  Especially with his attachment to Gianforte.

Again, nothing new here, nothing exciting.  That can be said for the entire affair.  Zinke made his move and left a man on board in more ways than one.  The Commander abandoned the ship as Montana’s lone representative in Congress with one parting middle finger by voting to allow for an easier sale of public lands.

A Gianforte/Quist election could be interesting to watch.  Then again it’s already lacking energy and orginality.  A quick look at Gianforte and Quist’s websites will tell you that.  The ‘formontana’ is , yawn, catchy, yawn, after all, who’s not ‘formontana’?

For the rest of you in the race, take heart.  It’s 1 seat in 435.  A body that spent it’s time voting to repeal a health care law over and over and over and over and over.  To use the overused analogy, cockroaches are more popular than Congress.  The only mistake you made was not seeking the blessing and anointment of the party elite rather than the party delegates who think they will make this decision.

TGTJ

‘Maybe all men got one big soul ever’body’s a part of.’

 

 

Helena woke up Sunday morning to a fresh, clean blanket of snow on the ground and a steaming pile of schtuff on the editorial page of the Helena Independent Record.  Senators Scott Sales and Fred Thomas have some idea that they are both in a positon to mind the budget and the state bank account.  A quick trip to the past is in order.

In 2012 Sales’ wife, Sandra, was prosecuted for embezzlement from, in case you’ve been living in a cave, her elderly mother.  Sales claims to not have noticed the additional $20,000 to $45,000 flowing through his household income.  An honest oversight no doubt.  And then there was his more recent admission of guilt in a case filed against him for his involvement with dark money group Western Tradition Partnership.  Don’t think too harshly of him, he did say he regretted being involved…after he was caught.

In 1997 Thomas, aka Dr. Deregulation, carried SB 390, which by most accounts, has cost Montanans more than it has saved them and cost them in more ways than one.  If you’ve been paying a power bill in Montana since ’97 you could ask yourself if you’re better off some 20 years later.  If you held stock in  the Montana Power Company you can ask what the value of those certificates are today- as a piece of history on Ebay.  If you’re the widowed pensioner of a retired Montana Power Company employee you could ask how Thomas and deregulation led  you to the world of public assistance.  But we shouldn’t blame Thomas entirely.  Lots of folks jumped on the band wagon: energy profiteers, Republican legislators, a hand full of Democratic legislators and the Montana AFL-CIO led by then Executive Secretary Don Judge.

We should feel comfortable and trust these two to lead ‘the ship’ out of the ‘storm’.  If that’s the case, then you also believe a Helena snowplow will be along any minute now.

TGTJ

‘Maybe all men got one big soul ever’body’s a part of.’

 

 

 

‘Bullock cuts budget and lays off Troopers.’  ‘Fox cries foul.’  The average Montana citizen has no idea what is really going on here and probably won’t unless they happen to know a guy who knows a guy who heard from a guy that to undo all of this there will need to be an increase in the gas tax.

Bullock’s 10% cut to MHP represents what has become a loss of oil and gas revenue that few pay any attention to, unless you manage the budget of the State of Montana or get to come to Helena for 90 days every other year and learn what that revenue means to certain agencies in state government.  The Department of Transportation will experience the same agency reduction as MHP unless gas taxes are increased.  Of course the highway worker changing road signs isn’t quite as popular as the Trooper rolling along in a Dodge Charger.

Loss of gas and oil revenues.  That seems like a legitimate explanation, but why the yellow flag from Fox?  Something as simple as a phone call could have solved the surprise factor: ‘Hey Tim, it’s Steve.  We’re going to be pretty short on cash down the road here so we’ll have to make some tough decisions on your budget proposal.’  Seven digits on a phone. Didn’t happen.  No wonder Fox feels burned.  Or is there something more here?

Of course there is and it’s pretty simple.  Bullock doesn’t want to be the Governor who raises taxes. Fox doesn’t want to be the future candidate for Governor who pushed for an increase in taxes.  So re-elected Bullock buries deep cuts in his budget for both MHP and Transportation.  Re-elected Fox finds those cuts and plays the ‘we’ll lose Troopers’ card.  So far it’s a reasonable game of political chess between the two.  It’s not so reasonable to those pawns on the board that represent Bullock’s former employees from his time as AG and Fox’s current employees who would like to feel the sense of security that they’ll still be able to make the house payment and put food on the table.

The posturing hardly seems like Bullock’s style given his past four years where he could often be heard introducing himself with ‘And I’m a public employee.’ or the 2013 mantra ‘Let’s govern and take care of the people of Montana.’  Actually, this seems a bit more like a past Governor whose footprint still exists on the second floor in the budget director’s office.

As for Fox, he seems to be leaving out a few key details on his end.  For instance, the proposed reduction is within the Highway Patrol Division, however, there is no mandate that he must cut Trooper positions.  And in fact, the majority of those 27 positions are vacant and have been vacant for some time to meet vacancy savings imposed by the 2015 Legislature.

In the end this comes down to who will get to wear the badge of having suggested an increase in the gas tax.  Democrat Bullock who will need to spend his time paving the way for the next Democratic candidate for Governor.  Or will it be Fox, who will continue his work as AG and likely poise himself for a 2020 Republican run for Governor.  In that effort each face obstacles.  Fox will need to fend off a far right challenger.  Bullock will need to find and groom a successor.

TGTJ

‘Maybe all men got one big soul ever’body’s a part of.’

 

 

 

For slightly over half of the voting electorate this Thanksgiving promises to be anything but as they continue to gag on the bitter vetch of an impending Trump presidency. Not since the election of Andrew Jackson have the American people have elected a non-establishment candidate as president of the United States. The pundits began talking about the turnout of the white working class long before election and the discussions continue as the “establishment” attempts to figure out what the hell happened. In fact, what happened is very easy to define. The “working class,” because more than just white people elected Donald Trump president, figuratively grabbed the “establishment” by the short hairs!

A large part of the establishment especially for the Democratic Party has and remains the established leadership of organized labor. Since the 1930s rarely has labor strayed from the side of Democrats and as a consequence we constantly hear how together they created the middleclass and ushered in a period of prosperity heretofore never seen or replicated. And then the wheels came off the bus.

The Democratic Party became the party of every special interest regardless of the impact on working class America and “killed their populist soul”. Party bosses and union bosses, firmly joined at the hip, continued to tout the undeniable and unbreakable bond between the two. Meanwhile, the Republican Party played a long game tapping into the cult of masculinity that carries strains of Jeffersonian and Jacksonian little “d” democracy that any man could and should rise on his own merits. It’s a message that still resonates strongly among the working class, union and non-union.

By the time Montana held its primary in June Clinton was already the presumptive nominee but she still lost to Sanders by almost 10,000 votes. Union leadership in Montana followed the lead of their nationals endorsing Clinton well before the primary with the same old tired saw, “it isn’t perfect but better than the alternative.” At the same Trump garnered almost as many votes as Clinton and Sanders combined. The writing was on the wall despite dire warnings about the demise of organized labor under a Trump presidency.

Now that the American working class has the attention of the party elites it will be interesting to see how they react. The Republican leadership in congress will only have two years to prove their worth before the mid-term elections. In the meantime, Democrats will need to roll up their sleeves and acknowledge that class, not ethnicity, is very much a part of the groundswell of discontent among workers—white collar, blue collar, union, non-union, pink, or precariat—workers matter. And unions, they need to pay attention to their base or Trump and his minions will finish the unraveling of organized labor that began with Reagan.  This isn’t your daddy’s industrial union anymore.

The soul of America rests on who wins the battle for the working class. Let’s just hope working class America is “man” enough to take their medicine…four years of President Donald J. Trump.

T-Bone Slim – “Wherever you find injustice, the proper form of politeness is attack.”

Wash, rinse, repeat is the same old mantra of the Montana Democratic Party.

The 2016 election cycle dredged up the repetition of all the same old tricks, same old props, and worst of all, the same old players trying to sell the same old believers a worn out message.  Montana Democrats had a similar opportunity as those working the national agenda: continue down the path of established monotony and defeat or break away from the loop and embrace a future of change.  But to change requires self awareness and most of all, courage.  The Democratic Party, on a national and state level, has once again proven it lacks both.

The failure of the party is today and much worse the failure of the party is tomorrow. That failure is in between the lines of a message of defeat.  In reality, Steve Bullock may very well have had the road plowed for him by Tim Fox as moderate Republicans playing the long-game were willing to see four more years of Bullock then a nice eight year stretch of control of the Executive and Legislative branches under presumptive nominee Tim Fox.  For some reason the Democratic Party , the party of the people, fails to grasp the concept of the long-game and continues trumpeting the worth of a goalie at the expense of not playing any offense.

Instead, resources were squandered on Denise Juneau in an unquestionably ill fated race where the choir was consistently spoon-fed the notion that this race was a dead heat when in fact it was dead on arrival.  This is in no way meant to be disparaging of Denise Juneau as a viable candidate.  She has earned her stripes in two state-wide races proving she can win in Montana, but pant-suit nation just doesn’t/didn’t resonate for most Montanans. We can only hope that she is not done in or with Montana politics.

Perhaps the most devastating losses in the Tier B elections occurred with the defeat of Jesse Laslovich for State Auditor and Melissa Romano for Superintendent of Public instruction.  Both of these candidates represent the future of the Democratic Party in Montana.  Their loss will reverberate through the political strata of the Montana Democratic Party but those affected most will be the citizens of Montana.  Had either of these two prevailed, they may well have pulled the other across the line.  Instead, Montana’s Tier B races were a disaster and the effects have created the opportunity to permanently change Montana to a state unrecognizable from today’s beauty and grandeur.

It is difficult to expand on George Ochenski’s  accurate depiction of what’s gone wrong and without naming names, who’s to blame.  The Party establishment is to blame.  The stench and decay of November 8th still overpowers anyone within 100 miles of Helena. Shaking out the sheets, as Ochenski suggests, just won’t do.  It’s time to clear and then raze the house.  The Party has done us no favors and  has left us with a bleak future.  As the saying goes ‘when you’re in a hole, stop digging’.  Today’s party leaders can lug the guts to the neighbor room.  The courageous will embrace the future and take over without you.

TGTJ

‘Maybe all men got one big soul ever’body’s a part of.’

It’s a sad time for Larry Jent.  Last week he was trounced by Attorney General Tim Fox in a debate on Face the State and then this week a recorded interview with Enhancing Montana’s Wildlife & Habitat was posted.  Some thirteen or so minutes into that interview Jent accuses the Montana Public Employees Association and organized labor, the Montana AFL-CIO, of being the root cause for the lack of qualified game wardens in Montana.

It’s difficult to believe that someone with Jent’s intelligence and background could make a statement that accuses a labor organization of being too ‘…wedded to the collective bargaining process…’.  Larry, collective bargaining is the very process for which unions exist.  Perhaps reading this slowly would help- workers band together to form a collective bargaining unit (aka a union) and then workers collectively bargain.  To say the two are wedded would somehow insinuate that one could ever exist without the other or that somewhere in time the two existed separately.  Make no mistake, Jent has clearly been fuming for some time for not being endorsed by Montana’s labor unions.  Jent managed to invite himself to speak to the excutive board of Montana AFL-CIO and left without an endorsement.  And why should he have expected it?  After all he did enter the race at the very last minute on the very last day and by his own admission, at the urging of former Governor Brian Schweitzer.  To simplify again, running for the office wasn’t even his own idea.

Jent alludes to and refers to two legislative sessions in the interview.  The 2005 session in which House Bill 35 was passed and created a  new pay mechanism for Montana Highway Patrol officers.  Some quick research showed that the bill had the blessing of the attorney general, governor and the union.  By all accounts Jent championed the bill and followed his script well.  In fact, his website touts the bill signing with all of the players pictured.  He’s obviously proud of the work he did. Unfortunately, and much like his claims to have saved the public employee retirement system on Face the State, he believes he single handedly saved the Montana Highway Patrol from going out of business.

The ‘Stay At Home Attorney General’ candidate made a vague reference to House Bill 313 that was a stand alone pay increase just for game wardens and the MPEA during the 2011 session.  What he doesn’t point out is that this bill had no support, was poorly planned and executed by Montana Game Warden’s Association.  Apparently “Larry-Come-Lately” Jent missed the wild west days of every state agency bringing its own pay plan  to the legislature before former Governor Marc Racicot put an end to the nonsense.  The MPEA and MEA-MFT had already reached a pay agreement with the Schweitzer administration, that had overwhelmingly support from the members, and could not support a rogue pay bill. In the labor world this would be called an unfair labor practice.  Maybe that’s just too wedded for Larry. The game wardens and the Montana Public Employees Association have since gone their separate ways and the game wardens have now joined the ranks of the esteemed Fraternal Order of Police (FOP).  The same FOP that recently endorsed Donald Trump, that paragon of Gilded Age excess and anti-union rhetoric.

Larry was for many years considered a class act and a reliable legislator who was willing to carry bills.  Like many legislators, he needed to be reminded of what he was working on and kept in a lane to get to the end of the process.  He treated people with respect and was in turn treated with respect.  Perhaps the strings that are directing him in this ill fated race for AG are too tight or perhaps not tight enough.    You’re better than this Larry and it’s not too late to finish this race with dignity and your self-respect still intact.

TGTJ

‘Maybe all men got one big soul ever’body’s a part of.’

 

It has to be impossible for Greg Gianforte to make this kind of Freudian slip again during his now spirally campaign, but we can all hope he will for the sake of entertainment.  During an interview with Montana Public Radio at his latest campaign stunt Gianforte was asked what kind of gun he was using and responded ‘It’s a Marcus Daly over under’.  In fact, Gianforte was shooting a Charles Daly over and under, his trusty all around gun.  It’s hard to tell which model he’s trying to impress the average Montanan with, however, he may have wanted to opt for a different brand.  Charles Daly shotguns are made in Turkey and probably have the finger prints of Muslims all over them.  But that and the fact that it’s imported aren’t really the point.

The idiocy here is the continued grasping of the vetoes by Governor Bullock relating to ‘pro gun’ legislation in the past two legislative sessions.  While it would be important to understand the specifics of each bill it may be more valuable to understand just how some legislation passes ‘along party lines’.  Particularly when there is a veto pen (or brand) waiting at the legislative factory doors when such garbage law is dumped.  Seasoned and sensible legislators understand that they have to maintain some level of standing within their party to move their own bills when the time comes. Sticking to a party line on bills that are destined for the big V is a safe and logical way to do just that.  To believe that all Republican legislators who voted in favor of bizarre ‘gun bills’ were actually in favor of such bills is pure ignorance of what actually takes place during those 90 days every other year.

House Bill 240 is a prime example and one of the six bills the Republican Party and Gianforte have been trotting out as Bullock is labeled as anti Second Amendment.  HB 240 would have prohibited the Board of Regents and the Montana University System from ‘…regulating or restricting the possession of firearms on university property…’.  Fortunately, and to date, Montana has not had to mourn the tragedy of a campus shooting and will hopefully continue to avoid the national spotlight thanks to Governor Bullock refusing to sign such a moronic bill. College freshman should leave their firearms back home and stick to keg stands, beer bongs and visits to the ER for alcohol poisoning.  Perhaps there is a ‘liberal’ open carry policy at Gianforte’s Petra Acedemy.

Gianforte has aligned himself with the likes of Gary Marbut of the Montana Shooting Sports Association and enjoys his endorsement by the National Rifle Association.  A rhetorical question here, how is an ‘A’ rating from the NRA possible without having done anything but engage in his usual promise of anything they ask?   Sounds a bit like an NRA participation medal presented by Marbut himself.

To paraphrase:  It’s been four years of Steve Bullock and all I got was to keep my guns and health care.’

TGTJ

‘Maybe all men got one big soul ever’body’s a part of.’

Labor unions across the United States celebrated today in a variety of fashions: parades, picnics, hosting endorsed candidates, and perhaps heaving a collective sigh of relief that another year has come and gone and unions in America still exist and have a purpose.

Montana has celebrated the first Monday in September as “Labors’ Day” since the early 1890s.  In fact, Montana adopted the holiday several years before President Grover Cleveland signed it into existence on the federal level.  Not surprising given the strength of unions in the Treasure State but also a bit deceiving.  Elmer Mats, a self-proclaimed Daly Democrat, carried the Montana Labor Day bill through the legislature in 1891 not because he had a strong desire to honor the working class people of Montana but because it suited the agenda of his political benefactor, Copper King Marcus Daly.  A small fraud we overlook today that helps mask an even larger fraud perpetrated at the expense of working class America, a fraud that stretches all the way back to Chicago and the Haymarket Square Riot of 1886.

In response to the injustice of the prosecution and execution of the Haymarket Martyrs, the Second International, those pesky commies, designated May 1^st, May Day, as the International Workers Day.  However, when it came time for the United States to acknowledge and adopt a Labor Day the conservative elements in the American labor movement colluded with corporate America and the political elite, selecting the first Monday in September.  The fraud goes deeper because we don’t celebrate the working class, in the United States of Corporate America we democratically celebrate everyone: the worker and the boss, the poor and the 1% because we all work regardless of our financial status or social class.

And what has this benevolent attitude regarding Labor Day gotten us?  A country where over half the states have unjust right to work laws; a country that no longer boasts a vibrant and progressive middle class; a country once again enjoying the inequities of a Second Gilded Age; a country that has embraced a law giving corporations the status of individuals.  So as you wind up your 2016 Labor Day give yourself some time for reflection and introspection and if you don’t like what you see then roll up your sleeves and work to change it.

Rowan – “Wherever you find injustice, the proper form of politeness is attack.”  T-Bone Slim

Hey Aaron, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat!

 

Again?

Nothing of substance up my sleeve….

Candidate Gianforte brings us yet another gimmick: sell the state-owned governor’s plane and use the cash to fund computer science in high schools across Montana. The idea is that the governor, and whoever the governor is in the future, can get out on the road, like the rest of us and that there are “…commercial providers available.”  (Eliminating a governmental entity for a commercial substitution is also known as ‘privatization’.)

It would appear that the desperation of the campaign is reaching a bit of a frenzy with the increase of stunts to try to distract from the fact that Gianforte has produced no tangible substance whatsoever.  And then there’s the problem of when he does produce something that he believes has value and will seduce voters, he later finds out that as Governor, he just doesn’t have the authority to pull it off.

How about a sampling of his feints so far?

Greg won’t accept PAC money and challenges Governor Bullock to do the same.  Greg will, however, fund his own campaign and accept the assistance of PACs such as the recent racist and fear mongering mailing regarding refugees in Montana.

Greg will donate his salary as Governor.  Around $110,00 annually.  That’s quite a sacrifice from a billionaire.

Greg will match any campaign contributions with his own money.  ‘I know I’ve claimed you commoners are among the lowest paid in the nation, but do you see how much money I have?’

Greg will sell the plane and fund education, but only computer science.  And he will put what’s left towards infrastructure, that is if Austin Knudson will let him.

There are, of course, more examples.  But back to the plane stunt.  You would think that if ‘sarcasm’ was going to be a campaign tactic that he should look like he’s enjoying it and coach those around him to do the same.  Instead, we get Representative Brad Tischida with his best Burgermeister Meisterburger glower.  Brad, this axe is starting to run short of metal from all your grinding on it and you’ll be needing a new trick soon.

And one last observation: Irony.  The candidate who proclaims to be the guru of technology and will bring high paying tech jobs to Montana poses with a prop of a newsprint classified advertisement.  Greg, couldn’t you at least try to sell that plane on Craigslist?  Surely they store their data on your cloud.

TGTJ

‘Maybe all men got one big soul ever’body’s a part of.’

Well Waded, here we are again with a new story that’ll cause you to put on your dancing shoes to show us all how well you can tip toe around yet another ‘donation’ for MSU.  Take a quick trip back to May of this year (which people like Waded and the Regents always hope you won’t) to remember the ‘agony’ by all those involved in the decision to allow gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte to buy a building and continue down a path of self promotion.  Now fast forward and exchange Gianforte for Koch to find a similar dilemma, or worse.

The story isn’t anything new.  It was reported shortly after the building drama that MSU had applied for a grant from none other than the anti government, anti public education and anti public service Koch Brothers: the founders of Americans for Prosperity and the funders of Citizens United.  The Bozeman Daily Chronicle posted a blip on the radar story that MSU had landed the 5.7 million dollar grant from Charles Koch which could create a ‘research center’ to study impacts of government policies and regulations on society.  Unbiased of course.  After all, why would the Koch brothers ever attach any strings to their money?

The question may be obvious, but should be asked: what’s the problem?  It’s just grant money and grant money has been floating around for a long time now.  In fact, we find ourselves in an era where funding for public education becomes more scarce each year.  (Hmmm, lack of funding.  Greater activity by ultra conservative groups like those funded by the Koch Brothers.  Could there be a connection?) Commissioner Clay Christian espoused the dire need to scour the earth for other sources of funding while excusing away the ethical and moral tentacles that extended from the Gianforte building monster.

In less than a month the Regents will again debate whether or not to accept money and this time, the dirtiest of money, Koch Brother money.  During their discussion regarding the Gianforte ‘donation’ each regent expressed the great consternation and deep angst of the decision to be made.  In the end they, of course, voted to approve the acceptance of the donation.  They will very soon find themselves facing the real test of whether they put their sorrowful words into action or if they put Koch money where their mouths are instead.

TGTJ

‘Maybe all men got one big soul ever’body’s a part of.’